U. of Illinois scholar Ayers to give talk at UNL college
Released on 10/16/2008, at 12:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008
**Please note that this lecture has been canceled.**
The keynote speaker for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Education and Human Science's student research conference will be William Ayers, a distinguished professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Ayers' Nov. 15 talk, which is open to UNL faculty and students, is "We are Each Other's Keepers: Research to Change the World." His interests include teaching for social justice, urban educational reform, narrative and interpretive research, children in trouble with the law, and related issues. He is the author of "To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher," which in 1993 was named Book of the Year by Kappa Delta Pi, an honor society in education.
"We are pleased to offer this opportunity for our students and faculty to hear a nationally acclaimed scholar, researcher and advocate for children and urban education reform," said Marjorie Kostelnik, dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences.
Ayers earned his bachelor's degree in American Studies from University of Michigan; two master's degrees in early childhood education, at Bank Street College and at Columbia University; and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Columbia University. He has been named a distinguished scholar and an honorary doctor at several major universities and has held leadership positions for the American Educational Research Association, among other honors.
Ayers' activism in the 1960s and '70s recently has been drawn into headlines during the presidential campaign. Kostelnik said his remarks and his visit to the college are for his scholarly research, not politics.
"The controversy that has erupted during the election is unfortunate but it is not part of what he is asked here to Nebraska to discuss," she said. Questions following the talk will be moderated and be on the topic of research in teaching. Kostelnik said no state money is being used for the private lecture and no students or faculty are required to attend. Ayers was selected for the lecture in March by a faculty committee.