Erikson Institute

This article is about the child development institute in Chicago. For the mental health institute in Massachusetts, see Austen Riggs Center.

Erikson Institute is a private graduate school focused on child development and located in Chicago, Illinois. It is named for psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist Erik Erikson.

Erikson Institute

Type	Private graduate school
Established	1966; 59 years ago (1966)
Endowment	$50 million (2020)[1]
President	Mariana Souto-Manning
Academic staff	26
Administrative staff	51
Postgraduates	300
Location	Chicago , Illinois , United States
Campus	Urban
Website	www.erikson.edu

History

The institute was founded in 1966 by four child advocates: child psychologist Maria Piers, educator and activist Barbara Taylor Bowman, social worker Lorraine Wallach, and businessman and philanthropist Irving B. Harris.^[2] It was established to provide training for people working in the recently created Head Start program. Its original mission was to educate early childhood teachers and caregivers. The mission has expanded to the education of anyone who works with or on behalf of young children.^[2]

Erikson is led by its fifth president, Mariana Souto-Manning, who assumed the role on September 1, 2021.^[3] She succeeded Geoffrey Nagle, who ended his term as president and CEO in February of that year. Previous presidents include Samuel J. Meisels, who left Erikson to become founding executive director of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's Buffett Early Childhood Institute.^[4]

Academics

Erikson Institute is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It offers master's degrees in child development, early childhood education, and social work. The institute also offers certificate programs and professional development opportunities.