TU’s 150th Speaker Series concludes with one of the nation's top educators

Towson University’s 150^th Speaker Series will come to a close this Monday, April 18, as the College of Education welcomes famed educator Pedro Noguera to campus for several presentations throughout the day.

Having been described as one of the most important voices on healthy public education, Noguera currently serves as a distinguished professor of education in the Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences at UCLA.

Along with his position at UCLA, Noguera has served as a tenured professor and holder of endowed chairs at New York University (NYU), Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of eleven books and over 200 articles on education, and has appeared as a commentator on education for CNN, MSNBC, NPR and other national news outlets.

He recently received awards from the Center for the Advanced Study of Behavioral Sciences, the National Association of Secondary Principals, and from the McSilver Institute at NYU for his research and advocacy efforts at fighting poverty.

“The College of Education is pleased to welcome one of the nation’s most preeminent scholars of urban education to our campus,” said Jessica Shiller, professor in Towson’s Department of Instructional Leadership and Professional Development. “We look forward to his insights about how to make our teacher education program responsive to the diverse communities that public schools around the state serve.”

Noguera’s first presentation, “Preparing Teachers for Urban Schools: Commitment and Cultural Competence,” will focus on the ways in which schools are influenced by social economic conditions in urban settings. The lecture will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the West Village Commons ballrooms.

The second presentation, “Education, Racial Inequality and the Future of American Democracy in the 21^st Century,” will feature a discussion of the intersection between education, racial inequality and our democracy. Noguera will look to help the audience understand the imperiled nature of our democracy when education does not address racial equity, and will provide suggestions for ways in which educators can do better. The event starts at 7 p.m. at Hawkins Hall, in room 305.

Monday’s event is open to the public and free of charge. For more information about upcoming events for the Towson 150^th Anniversary, check out the TU 150 homepage.