Michael Kennedy

Michael Kennedy is a research professor of Neurobiology at Northwestern University and the founding director of Science in Society, the university’s research center for science education and public engagement. The center partners with urban K-12 teachers, administrators, and youth development agencies to create high-quality, long-term, impactful science learning opportunities for underserved youth.

Early in his academic career, Kennedy recognized a need for the University research mission to more deeply connect with the community, including training its scientists in public communication and community engagement.

Each of Science in Society’s initiatives arose from an authentic community “ask.”

In 2008, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago and teachers in Chicago Public Schools asked Kennedy to develop a science mentoring program to build youths’ science skills and interest in STEM careers. Together, the team launched Science Club, a multi-year afterschool mentoring program that brings STEM graduate students from Northwestern and area universities together with underrepresented middle school youth across the academic year. Together, they tackle inquiry-based, curriculum-aligned projects in small groups, bridging in-school and out-of-school learning. In this way, Science Club both supports youth STEM learning and provides scientists with training in community engagement, mentoring, and teaching. 

Science Club’s development was supported by a five-year, $1.4 million award from the National Institutes of Health. In 2019 Kennedy and collaborator Bernadette Sánchez received a $2.3 million award from the National Science Foundation to study Science Club’s long-term impact and highly effective mentoring model. 

Kennedy’s education work includes training K-12 teachers and youth development staff in effective science pedagogy. In partnership with Chicago Public Schools, Kennedy and his team developed a novel practicum-based, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-aligned training program for third-grade teachers. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (2014-19), Science Club Summer Camp (SC2) uses an immersive long-term approach to build elementary teachers pedagogical skills and identity as science educators. The success of this program led to a new federally funded elementary science teacher-leader program, ESTELE. Using SC2’s practicum-based approach, ESTELE teachers learn advanced NGSS pedagogical and coaching skill through workshops and co-leading summer SC2 teacher training. ESTELE teachers then continue their work during the academic year by training and supporting peer teachers at their local schools. Across both programs, Science in Society has trained more than 120 Chicago Public School teachers.

This work has received national recognition. In 2016, his center received a Phi Beta Kappa Society award for innovative efforts to build community connections through the natural sciences. The Afterschool Alliance and Noyce Foundation honored Science Club with the 2013 STEM Impact Award, one of only two programs in the country to be recognized for excellence in afterschool education.

Kennedy served a two-year term on the National Academies Teacher Advisory Council, a twelve-member standing board comprised of K-12 teachers and educators from across the country. The Council is designed to bring the wisdom of instructional practice, both in school and out of school, to the education-related work of the Academy.

His previous positions at Northwestern include associate chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, director of education and outreach for the Center for Genetic Medicine, and, most recently, chief of staff at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Kennedy has a BS in chemistry from St. John’s University and a PhD in biochemistry from the Mayo Clinic.