The top-ranked Institute of Child Development has a long list of esteemed graduates. This month, ICD honored an exceptionally distinguished alumna.

Sarah Mangelsdorf earned her PhD in child psychology in 1988, and was the first graduate advisee of Megan Gunnar, Regents Professor and former Director of ICD. Today, Mangelsdorf is a highly esteemed academic leader recognized for her work on issues of academic quality, educational access, and diversity and inclusion at some of the nation’s leading public and private institutions. She has frequently broken the glass ceiling in higher education, including becoming the first female Liberal Arts and Sciences dean at the University of Illinois. In 2019, Mangelsdorf left her position as provost of the University of Wisconsin to join an elite group as the first woman president of the University of Rochester. In addition, her continued research on social and emotional development in infancy and early childhood is internationally known in her field, and she has been honored several times for her teaching.

On October 6, Mangelsdorf was recognized by President Joan Gabel with the U’s highest honor, the Outstanding Achievement Award, at an event with family and friends. As one of her Rochester colleagues shared, “We believe we have a truly distinctive leader. We believe she is an outstanding Minnesota graduate and her academic prowess and leadership skills reflect on her Minnesota background in an extraordinarily positive way.”