Who We Are
Mission
The mission of the Carnegie Foundation is to catalyze transformational change in education so that every student has the opportunity to live a healthy, dignified, and fulfilling life.
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was chartered by an act of Congress in 1906. Since then, it has pioneered a broad range of transformative advancements in K–12 and higher education, including the creation of the Carnegie Unit; TIAA; standards for schools of law, medicine, education, and engineering; Educational Testing Service; the GRE; Pell Grants; the Carnegie Classifications; the U.S. Department of Education; and the use of improvement science to build the field’s capacity to improve.
Today, the Carnegie Foundation is dedicated to advancing educational and economic opportunity for low-income, first generation, and underrepresented young people. Carnegie leverages its expertise, assets, partnerships, and convening power to address longstanding educational inequities that impede social mobility and exacerbate racial inequality.
To accomplish these aims, the Foundation pursues three intersecting strategic aims:
- The Future of Learning: We mobilize and propel engaging and rigorous learning experiences that prepare all students to thrive now and in the future.
- Postsecondary Innovation: We transform the postsecondary sector to advance the social and economic mobility of underrepresented students.
- Improvement in Education: We advance the high quality use of improvement science to address the nation’s most important educational equity challenges.
Carnegie will not do this work alone. Partnerships are key to execution and having impact at scale. Our institutional commitment to equity compels us to collaborate in new ways with new partners using new mechanisms to invite new stakeholders to engage, solve problems, build knowledge, and have impact.
EVERYONE MATTERS
We value the diverse identities and histories of those that come to the Foundation. We encourage one another to bring our whole selves to the work; to embrace our unique voices, differences, and contributions; and to build an authentic, equitable organization.
EXCELLENCE IN EXECUTION
We embrace the collaborative nature of our work and recognize that being an active learner is essential to achieve excellence. Our ideas matter to the extent that we make them come alive in our daily work with partners and in the ways that they shape the lives of students.
INTELLECTUAL TENACITY
We are committed to learning from success and failure. Our intellectual journey is driven by curiosity, informed by ongoing learning, and challenged through persistent reflection.
COMPASSION AND EMPATHY
We relate to others with a spirit of respect, compassion, and empathy. Our interactions are characterized by professional dignity, openness, and kindness.
JOY IN THE WORK
We celebrate one another and meaningful work well done, and we work together to foster a just and joyful organization.
INTEGRITY IN ACTION
We say what we mean and we do what we say. We act with integrity, purpose, and humility.
