Clark McKown

Clark McKown, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) and past Executive Director of the Rush NeuroBehavioral Center, a nationally recognized children’s center supporting children’s social and emotional development through clinical service, educational outreach, and research. He is also founder and President of xSEL Labs, whose mission is to improve student outcomes by helping educators understand children’s social-emotional strengths and needs. McKown is a nationally recognized leader in the field of SEL assessment who is regularly sought for his expertise. He was a member of the steering committee of The Practical Social and Emotional Competence Assessment Work Group, a collaborative of leaders in research and practice working to advance the field of SEL assessment. McKown has been Principal Investigator on several federal and foundation grants whose purpose was to design, develop, validate, and scale social and emotional assessment systems. Findings from McKown’s research have been published in top-tier peer-reviewed scientific journals including Psychological Assessment, Journal of School Psychology, and Child Development. He is lead author of a recently published report on the state of the field of SEL assessment and the book, “Assessing Student Social and Emotional Learning: From Planning Through Action” (W.W. Norton & Company). McKown received his B.A. in psychology from Yale and his Ph.D. in psychology from U.C. Berkeley.