Chaddick Institute at DePaul University Announces Appointment of Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton as Senior Visiting Scholar & Civic Innovation Fellow
Chicago, IL — The Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University is pleased
to announce the appointment of Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton as Senior Visiting Scholar and Civic
Innovation Fellow for a three-year term beginning in January 2026, running through December 2028.
Dr. Yang-Clayton joins the Institute at a moment of critical need for innovative pathways into public
service, for re-imagined local government operations, and for new bridges between applied
practitioners and the next generation of policy-oriented professionals.
Dr. Yang-Clayton brings more than two decades of high-impact experience at the intersection of
academic research, policy practice, and organizational transformation. A PhD-trained sociologist
from the University of Chicago, she has held senior faculty and administrative leadership positions
in higher education, including serving as Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the
College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at UIC. She has been deputy director for Asian
Americans Advancing Justice, a lead principal investigator for the State of IL Census 2020 field
program and a proud graduate of the Chicago Public Schools. In 2023 she founded C3E, a
pioneering organization dedicated to embedding equity, effectiveness, and efficiency in local
government through applied learning, micro-credentialing courses, and practitioner-driven
content.
At Chaddick, Dr. Yang-Clayton will lead a new collaboration between the Institute, DePaul’s Master
of Public Administration (MPA) and public policy programs, and C3E’s innovative learning platform. Working with students, faculty, local government partners, and civic organizations in the Chicago region, she will develop and deliver practitioner-led workshops, live policy projects, micro-credentials, and mentorship opportunities. The goal: to revitalize downtown student engagement, equip the next generation of public-sector innovators, and support municipal practitioners as they design, implement and evaluate results-based, equity-driven policy initiatives.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kathleen into the Chaddick Institute family,” said Dr. Joe Schieterman, Director of the Institute. “Her demonstrated leadership in operationalizing equity within government institutions, combined with her ability to design high-impact practitioner-academic collaborations, makes her an outstanding addition to our mission of urban and metropolitan innovation.”
Dr. Yang-Clayton commented:
“I am delighted to join Chaddick and DePaul, and honored to bring C3E’s learning-and-practice model to the city’s leading metropolitan research and policy hub. This partnership reflects a shared urgency: to build meaningful pathways from campus to public service, and to equip local governments with the culture, tools and capabilities they need to meet the challenges of 2025 and beyond.”
DePaul University, through this collaboration, affirms its commitment to civic engagement, applied
scholarship, and student pathways into public leadership. The downtown Chicago location of the
Institute offers a prime vantage point for connecting academic inquiry with urban governance
realities.
Check out the official announcement here.