Wayne State University’s College of Education invites the community to a conversation about issues in urban education during its first Distinguished Lecture in Urban Education on Wednesday, January 16, 2019. The program will be held in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium of the Wayne State Law School, located at 471 W. Palmer in Detroit.
“We look forward to bringing educators, researchers, legislators, nonprofit and business leaders and the community together to discuss issues affecting urban education,” said R. Douglas Whitman, dean of the College of Education. “We hope this conversation expands our partnerships with the Detroit Public Schools Community District and others as well as generates ideas that help our college continue to address needs of schools, teachers, students and parents to provide all children with the quality education they deserve.”
H. Richard Milner IV, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Education at Vanderbilt University, will discuss the intersection of education and social justice during his keynote presentation, “Five Educational Imperatives for Justice.” His research, teaching and policy interests concern urban education, teacher education and African American studies, with emphasis on practices and policies that support teacher effectiveness in urban schools. A nationally renowned, award-winning researcher, Milner is editor of the Urban Education journal, co-editor of the Handbook of Urban Education, and the author of seven books, including Start Where You Are, But Don’t Stay There: Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms and Rac(e)ing to Class: Confronting Poverty and Race in Schools and Classrooms.
Local leaders from education, government and community sectors will highlight critical issues in urban education and discuss implications for policy, curriculum, teaching and learning, and school-community relations. Panelists include Nikolai P. Vitti, superintendent, Detroit Public Schools Community District; Sherry Gay-Dagnogo (B.S. Ed. ’04, M.Ed. ’08), elected member, Michigan House of Representatives; Darienne B. Driver, president and CEO, United Way for Southeastern Michigan; and Sandra M. Gonzales, associate professor of bilingual and bicultural education, Wayne State University.
“The College of Education is well poised to become a national leader in urban education research, teaching and partnership,” said Roland Sintos Coloma, assistant dean of the Division of Teacher Education. “This inaugural lecture will showcase a prominent scholar engaging with key local leaders and the community at large on education matters that will have statewide and national implications.”
The event was made possible in part by funding from the Frederick C. Neff Endowed Memorial Lectureship in Philosophy and Education, the Leonard Kaplan Education Collaborative for Critical Urban Studies, the College of Education and the Division of Teacher Education.
Registration and a reception will begin at 5 p.m. The lecture and panel discussion will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is requested; guests are asked to reserve their space online at go.wayne.edu/urban-education-lecture. Free parking is available in Structure 1, located at Cass and Palmer.
For more information, contact Roland Sintos Coloma at 313-577-0902 or rscoloma@wayne.edu.
About the Frederick C. Neff Endowed Memorial Lectureship in Philosophy and Education
Created in 1996 with a generous gift from Pauline Bergener (’32, M.Ed. ’44), a fellow educator and friend, the Neff Lectureship supports College of Education lectures that examine the moral nature of the educational system and the role of philosophy in solving educational problems. One of the most highly regarded philosophers of education in the country, Neff joined the College of Education faculty at Wayne State in 1959 and served as a professor for 21 years, which included 12 years as chair of the Department of History and Philosophy of Education.
About the Leonard Kaplan Education Collaborative for Critical Urban Studies
The Leonard Kaplan Education Collaborative for Critical Urban Studies was founded in September 2014 to honor the lifework and vision of Leonard Kaplan, an uncompromising advocate for the social and affective well-being of the “whole child” in America's schools. The Kaplan Collaborative commemorates his legacy by producing high-quality and interdisciplinary locally relevant research for community organizations, educational stakeholders, regional education reporters, educational policy makers and peer-reviewed journals. For more information, visit coe.wayne.edu/kaplancollaborative/index.php.
About the College of Education
For more than a century, the Wayne State University College of Education has prepared effective urban educators who are reflective, innovative and committed to diversity. Its Teacher Education Division boasts one of the most comprehensive, well-established programs in the country, and all four academic divisions offer a range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in nearly 30 program areas, including learning design and technology, leadership and policy, kinesiology, sports administration, education evaluation and research, health education, educational psychology, and counseling. To learn more, visit coe.wayne.edu.
About Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering nearly 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 27,000 students. For more information, visit wayne.edu.