Shaping the Future of
Education Since 1935

Don Clifton (1924-2003) and his colleagues at the University of Nebraska studied what made some student counselors more talented than others. Almost 70 years later, Gallup's work studying student and guidance counselors continues. In 2017, Gallup and Strada Education Network released findings that 55% of U.S. adults with at least some college but no more than a bachelor's degree list their informal social network as providing advice about their college major, more so than counselors or advisers.

Don Clifton created a narrative about the power of positive emotions and how we, as individuals, are at our best when our buckets are "full and overflowing." This theory provided tips on how to become better workers, parents, neighbors and citizens and served as the basis for the No. 1 bestselling New York Times book How Full Is Your Bucket? Teachers can increase positive moments in the classroom, enhance student engagement and improve student performance by applying this theory to their interactions with students.

Don Clifton and his team received a federal grant in 1973 to kick off a study to identify characteristics of outstanding teachers. Then in the mid-70s, Clifton famously said, "Our greatest contribution is to be sure there is a teacher in every classroom who cares that every student, every day learns and grows and feels like a real human being." This quote has long been an inspiration for educators.

The Talent Management Formula, or "Varsity Approach to Management," is the idea that people only develop in response to other people. Clifton explained this formula using an equation: Talent x Relationship (Reward and Expectation) = Growth and Productivity. Clifton discovered that when managers and leaders optimize the elements of relationships, expectation and rewards, and recognition, people perform at their highest potential.

The American Psychological Association honored Don Clifton with a Presidential Commendation as the father of Strengths-Based Psychology and the grandfather of Positive Psychology. More than 18 million people worldwide use the CliftonStrengths assessment that Clifton invented. The strengths explosion is creating cultural change in schools, colleges and universities nationwide with more than 600 schools using the CliftonStrengths assessment to prepare students for great jobs and great lives.

The Gallup Alumni Survey, formerly the Gallup-Purdue Index, enables institutions to understand whether alumni are engaged in their work, whether they are thriving in key aspects of their well-being, how they rate their undergraduate experiences and their attachment to their college or university after graduation. Gallup and Purdue launched the inaugural report -- based on interviews of more than 30,000 graduates -- in 2014. The report assesses graduates' employment, professions, workplace engagement and well-being and connects these outcomes with key student experiences to help institutions create a rigorous process for continuous improvement. From 2018 to 2019, Gallup joined forces with Strada Education Network to create the Strada-Gallup Alumni Survey.

Clifton Strengths Institute, the first "strengths institute," was founded at the University of Nebraska funded through a $30 million donation from Gallup and the Clifton Foundation. The Clifton Builders Program identifies and develops students with high leadership and entrepreneurial potential who want to change the world by building new businesses, teams or communities through leadership and involvement.

In June 2017, Strada and Gallup published their inaugural report On Second Thought: U.S. Adults Reflect on Their Education Decisions, illustrating the extent to which education consumers in the U.S. are pursuing and completing postsecondary education programs that advance their chosen careers and life goals. The Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Insights partnership and its corresponding surveys represent the nation's largest data set of consumer insights on pathways from education to employment.