IN THEIR OWN WORDS —The Grossman Legacy—

“Dean Grossman, thank you for showing us what a great leader looks like—a changemaker whose impact extends beyond the professional realm. Through your confidence in me, I've been inspired to find my voice and to support growth, change, and leadership for myself and those I serve.”

Miriam Harris Financial Administrator and Member of the Committee on Race, Equity, and Inclusion

“Pam’s overall contributions to Penn GSE—and the University, as a whole—cannot be emphasized enough. It would be hard to isolate just one change that she’s made that has had the most impact. I believe the cumulative effect of her leadership and strategic decisions have moved the School into a very different echelon than where we were in 2015.”

Leslie Levin, C’97 Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

“It’s just apparent that she's made an enormous mark on GSE, in both qualitative and quantitative ways. And she has done it with just an enormous amount of grace. She has elevated the organization both from a place-to-work perspective, as well as from a market perspective.”

Eric Kaplan, GRD’10 Chief of Staff

“I think if I could ever share one thing with Dean Grossman, it would be, on behalf of every Penn GSE student and every student that has had the opportunity to interact with GSE, a simple thank you. Because she steps up and she serves and she ensures that we, as GSE students, as a city, put our best foot forward every day under her leadership. So, she will be dearly missed, but her legacy will live forever.”

“I feel so grateful to have started my faculty career under Pam. I learned from her both as a mentor but also as a model of leadership. I'm very inspired by her in terms of both her kindness and encouragement, but also her very high standards and her belief that you really can meet those standards and still have a balanced, full life.”

Associate Professor Sharon Wolf, C’06

“Pam always focuses us on our mission as a school, and the educators, students, and communities we serve.”

Zachary Herrmann Executive Director of the Center for Professional

Learning

“Pam believes schools of education have an obligation to serve and to lead. And I think we can see that vision guiding almost all of the decisions and initiatives that she spearheaded—this commitment to serve the community as a leader for educational equity and innovation. … It’s easy for faculty to just get bogged down in our work and research, but I think Pam has been really effective in linking our work to that broader mission of the School.”

Associate Professor Abby Reisman

“It’s hard to overstate the influence Dean Grossman has had on my work. … [Her] presence at Penn and, relatedly, the institution’s clear commitment to teacher education, drew me to Penn GSE. It’s been a real privilege to have Dean Grossman on my dissertation committee. Her mentorship has pushed my thinking about what it would take to uplift the status of K–12 teaching as a profession in the US—just as she’s pushed the entire field to value the work of teachers.”

Maya Kaul Current PhD Candidate