Dean Camilla Benbow and Claire Smrekar, associate professor of public policy and education, participated on the panel “To Ph.D. or Ed.D.? That is the Question” at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s annual meeting.
Janet Eyler, professor of the practice of education and director of undergraduate studies for the Department of Leader-ship, Policy and Organizations, is the co-recipient of the 2008 National Society for Experiential Education Researcher of the Year Award. This award was made in recognition of Eyler’s research and publications in experiential education, and in particular, research she has conducted with Dwight Giles at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
The award was presented at the group’s conference in Orlando, Fla.
Donna Ford, professor of special education, has been selected as the 2008 National Association for Gifted Children Distinguished Scholar.
The association annually presents the Distinguished Scholar Award to an individual who has made significant contributions to the study of the education of gifted and talented individuals. Ford was judged by the association to have “a continued record of distinguished scholarship and contributions to the field of gifted education for more than 10 years.”
The award was presented in October at the group’s 55th annual convention.
Ellen Goldring, holder of the Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations will begin her five-year term as chair of the department on July 1. She takes over for James Guthrie, who led the department for the past decade.
A team led by Melanie Hundley, senior lecturer in the Department of Teaching and Learning, was recently named editor of the ALAN Review, the journal of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents.
Richard Lehrer, professor of science education in the Department of Teaching and Learning, will receive the Award for Distinguished Contributions on Applications of Psychology to Education and Training by the American Psychological Association’s board of educational affairs.
The award is given in recognition of the efforts of psychologists who have made distinguished contributions to education and training, produced imaginative innovations, or have been involved in the developmental phases of programs in education and training
in psychology.
Velma McBride Murry, Betts Professor of Education and Human Development, was appointed action editor of the Journal of Family Psychology beginning in January and joined the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology in December. Murry gave an invited lecture at the National Institute of Mental Health in January on “Prevention Programs for Rural African American Families: Coping with Chronic Illness and Mental Health Issues.”
Vicki Risko was awarded the College Reading Association’s Laureate Award for her research and work with students in Peabody’s reading specialist program. She recently was elected vice-president of the International Reading Association.