Christopher A. Skrable (Chris) is the inaugural Executive Director of Chicago Studies and Experiential Learning and Assistant Dean of the College. In that capacity, he works to co-create respectful academic projects and partnerships that help the College learn from and with the communities of the city where it makes its home.
With an academic background in religious studies, continental philosophy, and educational psychology, Chris regards community engagement and holistic human development as core outcomes of education. A lifelong educator (secondary/post-secondary), he presents and consults nationally and internationally on place-based and community-engaged teaching and research, high-impact pedagogies, and student and faculty development. He's also become, by virtue of his amazing job, a fascinated student of Chicago history, about which he'll gladly talk to anyone (ad nauseum) at the slightest opportunity, and regularly develops and leads local and city-wide walking tours on a range of historical themes.
Chris joined the University community in 2013 as Associate Director of the University Community Service Center, where he was first offered the portfolio of Chicago Studies (then an occasional lecture series and undergraduate journal) as one of his responsibilities. He briefly served as UCSC's Interim Director in 2018, and then became part of the College Dean's Office in 2019 when Chicago Studies was elevated to become one of the offices supporting College-wide teaching and research innovation. Prior to coming to UChicago, Chris served as the inaugural Service-Learning Program Manager at Loyola University Chicago's Center for Experiential Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship (CELTS) and as the Director of Service at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Pilsen. His background also includes non-profit and advocacy work focused on positive youth development and immigrants' and LGBTQ+ persons' rights -- in Chicago, he has volunteered as a legal advocate and translator for asylum seekers and TPS recipients, and was the curricular and PYD lead for MAPSCorps from 2013-2020. Although originally from Virginia, Chris has lived and worked in Chicago since 2004.
Since 2020, Chris and his husband Angel have divided their time between Chicago and the hill country above San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, home to one of Puerto Rico's best farmer's markets and a crossroads for island-wide agro-ecología activism. This has turned them into incorrigible coffee snobs (it's the top agricultural product of their region of the island), and also drawn them into canine rescue, mostly thanks to their inability to say "no" to a cute pup who needs a home. At present, they share their home with six (yes, six) rescues: Bella, Cameo, Tyson, Lucas, Rocco, and Pincho.