Director of U.S. Institute on Education Sciences to Discuss Proven Educational Strategies May 21 at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for Children and Families at the University at Buffalo will sponsor a lecture by Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst, director of the U.S. Department of Education's new Institute on Education Sciences (IES), as part of the interdisciplinary center's annual lecture series.

Whitehurst, a distinguished pediatric psychologist, author, editor, educational administrator, teacher and researcher, will discuss advances in evidence-based approaches to child and adolescent mental health and education at 3:30 p.m. on May 21 in 203 Diefendorf Hall on the UB South (Main Street) Campus. His talk will be free of charge and open to the public.

A longtime advocate for children who has dedicated himself to the implementation of educational strategies with proven results, Whitehurst was appointed two years ago by President George W. Bush as first director of the IES, which was established within the U.S. DOE by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002.

The institute conducts, supports and disseminates research on education practices that improve academic achievement, statistics on the condition of education in the United States and evaluations of the effectiveness of federal and other education programs. It oversees the activities of the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, and the National Center for Education Research.

Whitehurst previously was professor of psychology and pediatrics and chair of the Department of Psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He also has served on the faculty of the Australia's University of New South Wales, and was academic vice president of the Merrill-Palmer Institute in Detroit, which led the development of preschool education and childcare programs across the nation.

Whitehurst has served as editor-in-chief of two leading scientific journals in his field, The Merrill-Palmer Quarterly of Behavior and Development and Developmental Review; is the author or editor of five books, and has published more than 100 scholarly papers on language and pre-reading development in children.

He developed the techniques of dialogic reading, a widely used method of shared picture book reading that enhances children's language development. His work in identifying preschool predictors of reading achievement influenced curriculum for Head Start and pre-K programs throughout the country and led to the development of screening instruments that identify children with low levels of reading readiness.

The Center for Children and Families Lecture Series is designed to provide health and mental health professionals, educators and students with current strategies for understanding, identifying and treating children with mental-health problems. It is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Shire Laboratories.

This event is co-sponsored by the UB Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences; the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; the UB School of Public Health and Health Professions, and the Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, Graduate School of Education.

Continuing medical education (CME) credits, continuing education units (CEU) and continuing education credits from the American Psychological Association (APA) can be earned by those attending the lecture.

For further information, contact Karen Fisher 716-829-2244 ext. 29.