±¬×ߺÚÁÏ shines at the 2025 AERA Annual Meeting
Denver, CO | April 23–27, 2025
Faculty, students and researchers from the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ made a powerful impact at the 2025 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting in Denver. This year’s theme — — set the stage for critical conversations around equity, innovation and the future of education.
Throughout the week, our community shared groundbreaking research and transformative practices across more than 70 sessions. Faculty such as Dr. Maggie Beneke, Dr. David S. Knight, Dr. Jessica G. Rigby, Dr. Betina Hsieh and Dr. Min Sun led thought-provoking discussions on topics ranging from AI and educational justice to dismantling ableism in academia and reimagining teacher education.
Doctoral candidates also played a vital role in shaping the dialogue at AERA 2025. Scholars like Yijie Wang (Learning Sciences and Human Development) contributed to research examining the interplay between child care and home environments in Early Head Start children. Kendall Fujioka (Organizational and Policy Studies) was involved in sessions exploring school finance equity and the allocation of resources for school safety. Alex Liu (Organizational and Policy Studies) supported work on leveraging AI to enhance K–12 mathematics instruction and policy analysis. Yiqing Watkins-Xu (General Special Education) contributed to studies on inclusive practices for multilingual learners with disabilities and early childhood education. Their involvement reflects the depth, diversity and collaborative spirit of research emerging from our graduate programs.
To celebrate these contributions, Dean Mia Tuan hosted a special reception at the Denver Selfie Museum. The event brought together faculty, students, alumni and partners for an evening of connection, reflection and celebration of the meaningful work being done across our community.
Scroll through the photo carousel or watch the video below to relive some of the highlights from this inspiring week in Denver.
Photos and video by Ebony Moxey.
