Reflector Spring 2009

Visit Peabody College’s Web site at http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/ Bonnie Arant Ertelt, Editor Donna Pritchett, Art Director Michael Smeltzer, Designer Lew Harris, Assistant Editor Nelson Bryan, Class Notes Editor Lacy Tite, Web Edition Design and Development Contributors: Geordie Brackin, Kurt Brobeck, Xiu Cravens, Jennie Edwards, Jennifer Johnston, Melanie Moran, Ann Marie Deer… Read More

Connie Vinita Dowell, M.L.S.’79, with three decades of experience working in academic libraries, began her new position as the university’s first dean of libraries in March. Dowell previously served as dean of the library and information access at San Diego State University.  Connie Vinita Dowell, MLS’79, is Vanderbilt’s first… Read More

Two new faculty members, both in the Department of Psychology and Human Development, joined Peabody College in January. Professor Amy Needham, whose research emphasizes cognitive, motor and perceptual development in infants, came from Duke University.  Professor Bruce McCandliss conducts studies using fMRI and other technologies that place him on the leading… Read More

Peabody College of education and human development is the best graduate school of its kind in the nation, according to rankings released by U.S. News & World Report. “We are very pleased by this ranking, which speaks to the high quality of the college and especially our faculty, our students… Read More

The Susan Gray School has achieved national reaccreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Susan Gray School is one of the first programs in the nation to achieve reaccreditation under new, more extensive and more stringent NAEYC standards, which were released in the fall of… Read More

More than 80 experts convened to discuss and debate the controversial field of teacher retirement benefit systems at a conference in February at Peabody. The conference, co-hosted by the National Center on Performance Incentives at Vanderbilt, drew scholars from universities and research institutions across the country to discuss the design… Read More

Vanderbilt will serve as a research partner to the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), a nonpartisan initiative established by former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist that seeks education reform in Tennessee. Frist was joined at the announcement by Gov. Phil Bredesen, Tennessee Commissioner of Education Tim Webb, Nashville Mayor Karl… Read More

The Susan Gray School for Children dedicated the new Finan Family Playground as part of Peabody homecoming weekend activities last October. Above, Kelly Finan, BS’09, with assistance from David Williams, vice chancellor for university affairs and athletics, cuts the ribbon. The playground was made possible by Tom and Mary… Read More

For the first time Vanderbilt has been named one of the top 100 best places to work in the United States in Fortune magazine’s annual survey. It is the first educational institution to be named to the list.  The No. 98 ranking released in the February 2 issue encompasses approximately… Read More

For the second year in a row, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognized the Peabody Reflector in January during its annual District III competition. The magazine won a Special Merit Award in the Alumni Magazines I division. Read More

Tracy Cummings, a graduate student in the Experimental Education Research and Training program, received the NASA Science Engineering Mathematics Aerospace Academy Award in Washington, D.C., last September. The Science Engineering Mathematics Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) is a national program with 22 sites in 17 states. Cummings worked with a team that… Read More

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… Read More

Peabody College’s faculty’s articles are prominently listed in the American Educational Research Association’s ranking of the Top 50 Most Frequently Cited Articles as of January.  The Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Journal, Review of Educational Research Journal and the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics rankings all include Peabody College… Read More

Murphy  Joseph Murphy, professor of education at Peabody, is serving as chairman of a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards’ steering committee overseeing a national effort to develop an advanced certification for educational leaders. This initiative will include an advanced certification for both principals and teacher leaders.  The National Board,… Read More

Paying teachers for their performance was supported by both presidential candidates in the 2008 election and is being tried in school districts across the nation. But the question remains—does it work? A second-year evaluation of Texas’ statewide performance pay program, the largest in the nation, reveals insights into whether these… Read More

Peabody College has announced a competitive new Pre-Doctoral Fellows Program to assist Peabody doctoral candidates who are facing a growing void in the university job market due to the current economic climate.  “We are offering a competitive program for Ph.D. students who have defended their dissertations and anticipate or may… Read More

Students helping other students learn has been proven to boost academic achievement and social skills in students with and without disabilities. A new book by Vanderbilt University researchers, Peer Support Strategies for Improving All Students’ Social Lives and Learning, based on more than 20 years of research in the field,… Read More

Leonard Bickman (editor). (2008). The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods. Sage.  Leonard Bickman & D. J. Rog. (2009). The SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods. Sage.  John M. Braxton. (2008). The Role of the Classroom in College Student Persistence. Jossey-Bass. G. Cartledge, R. Gardner & Donna Y. Read More

Shellie Braeuner, M.Ed.’90, (2009). The Great Dog Wash. Simon and Schuster. R.A. McWilliam and Amy Casey, B.S.’02, M.Ed.’05, Ph.D.’08. (2008). Engagement of Every Child in the Preschool Classroom. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Mary Kaye Milmoe Chryssicas, B.S.’87. (2008). Yoga for Teens. DK Publishing. Jan Irons Harris, Ed.D.’95. (2008). The Principal’s Office, A Primer for Balanced Leadership. Rowman and Littlefield Education. William L. Read More

Spring weather in Nashville changes in an instant. As cold fronts from the northwest brush up against warm fronts from the Gulf, the clouds billow and sometimes illustrate the violence of the clash. But on this spring day, no violent weather was in the forecast. Perhaps the… Read More