Sam Whelan

Director

Sam Whalen has been a life-long rower as well as a university researcher and school leadership scholar. He holds a BA in American History from Princeton University, and an MA in Divinity and PhD in Education from the University of Chicago. Since 2003 he has been a social scientist and evaluator at the University of Illinois Chicago specializing in the study of school improvement and leadership. He currently is the Research Director for the Center for Urban Education Leadership within the UIC College of Education. A native of Philadelphia, he began his rowing adventure at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School and spent his teenage summers on Boat House Row, eventually representing the United States at the Junior World Championships in 1975 (Montreal, CN). He then joined the Men’s Heavyweight team at Princeton, winning an IRA championship in June 1977 and the Head of the Charles in the Championship Eight event in 1979, and serving as team captain in 1980. His coaching experience includes advising the UIC Rowing Club from 2015 through 2018. He and his wife have lived in Forest Park, Illinois since 2003 where they raised three children. Sam cannot overstate the impact that his coaches and exposure to rowing had on his successes and outlook on life. So he is very excited to join the CCS Board and advance its commitment to helping Chicago inner-city students thrive through rowing.