Dr. Joyce L. Epstein
August 3, 2026
Services
Services are private or to be announced.
Obituary
Dr. Joyce L. Epstein (nee Levy) of Baltimore, MD, passed away on Monday, August 3rd, 2026, at the age of 85. She is survived by her son, Paul Epstein (Adrienn Malik); siblings, Ann Chernow and Anita (Haps) Margulies; nephews, Daniel Chenok (Jill), David Chenok (Katie), Oliver Margulies (Sarah), and Allan Margulies; and loving grandnieces and grandnephew.
Joyce was a pioneering sociologist of education whose work transformed the way educators understand the relationships among schools, families, and communities. Over the course of more than five decades at Johns Hopkins University, she dedicated her career to the belief that children are most likely to thrive when the important adults and institutions in their lives work together and share responsibility for their learning and development.
She graduated summa cum laude from Lesley College, earned a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and completed her PhD in sociology at Johns Hopkins University.
Joyce authored or co-authored more than 150 publications, including the widely used books School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action and School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools. Her contributions were recognized with numerous honors, including the Alvin C. Eurich Education Award, the Blanche F. Ittleson Award, the Johns Hopkins University Women's Network Women's Leadership Award, and the American Educational Research Association's Elizabeth Cohen Distinguished Career in Applied Sociology of Education Award. She was elected an AERA Fellow in 2009, received Lesley University's Sally K. Lenhardt Award for Professional Leadership in 2017, and, in 2025, received the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement's Family Engagement Trailblazer Award.
Joyce was a pioneering sociologist of education whose work transformed the way educators understand the relationships among schools, families, and communities. Over the course of more than five decades at Johns Hopkins University, she dedicated her career to the belief that children are most likely to thrive when the important adults and institutions in their lives work together and share responsibility for their learning and development.
She graduated summa cum laude from Lesley College, earned a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and completed her PhD in sociology at Johns Hopkins University.
Joyce authored or co-authored more than 150 publications, including the widely used books School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action and School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools. Her contributions were recognized with numerous honors, including the Alvin C. Eurich Education Award, the Blanche F. Ittleson Award, the Johns Hopkins University Women's Network Women's Leadership Award, and the American Educational Research Association's Elizabeth Cohen Distinguished Career in Applied Sociology of Education Award. She was elected an AERA Fellow in 2009, received Lesley University's Sally K. Lenhardt Award for Professional Leadership in 2017, and, in 2025, received the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement's Family Engagement Trailblazer Award.
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