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This is why I give: Karen Seashore
Regents Professor Emerita Karen Seashore came very close to embracing Wisconsin red and white rather than Minnesota maroon and gold. “I chose Minnesota primarily because I liked the idea of being in a city,” she says. “I continued to collaborate with UW colleagues for a decade afterwards, but never regretted the choice.”
Karen Seashore
She joined the faculty of the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (then educational policy and administration) in 1986, with a research focus on the way in which organizational structure and culture affect the people who work in them. Seashore initially studied higher education, then expanded to looking at K12 teachers’ quality of work, often in the context of changing educational policies and leadership at the school and district level. Her research on the importance of a teacher’s professional community has become widely embraced in preparing teachers and principals.
“I always felt the value—and the responsibility—of being in a land grant university. I was energized by the U’s investment in new interdisciplinary programs and thinking creatively, which is not the norm at other universities,” she says. Seashore embraced teaching as well as administrative roles, including service as department chair, director of the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), and associate dean for academic affairs under then-dean Robert Bruininks.
She established the Seashore Endowed Fellowship in honor of her late father, Stanley E. Seashore. Stanley had a degree from the U of M (as did Karen’s mother, uncle, great-uncle, and great-aunt!), and as an organizational psychologist, was interested in redesigning work settings to make them socially and personally meaningful. The Seashore fellowship benefits graduate students with an interest in broad social issues, reflecting Stanley’s commitment to helping ordinary people.
Financial assistance is crucial to helping future scholars and practitioners complete their advanced degree, and it’s a special honor to receive a named fellowship. Seashore hopes to inspire others, especially faculty and staff, to give back. “It feels good to help an institution that encouraged me for well over 30 years,” she says. “Supporting students was what I did here, so that was the right choice for me in deciding how to put my gift to use. Honoring my family’s legacy was the cherry on top.”
—Karen Seashore