University Lectures series to engage educational policy scholars in discussion on race, desegregation, American public schooling on Nov. 11

Kelly Homan Rodoski
(315) 443-3784

The challenging landscape in K-12 American education and in higher education in terms of access, equity and future effects of current federal and local policy and the law will be the focus of the next University Lectures presentation at Syracuse University on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

James Anderson and William Trent will engage in a discussion on “Race, Desegregation and American Public Schooling” at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The event is sponsored in cooperation with SU’s School of Education, and Dean Douglas Biklen will moderate the discussion.

The event is free and open to the public; reduced-rate parking will be available in the Irving Garage.

While in Syracuse, Anderson and Trent will meet with about 18 vice principals and administrators from the Syracuse City School District. They will share their expertise in a discussion about a broad range of topics, including the recent SCSD initiative to tackle low achievement rates in black males.

Anderson and Trent are both professors of education policy studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Anderson is also department head. Between them, Trent and Anderson have given expert testimony in most of the major legal revisitations of school desegregation cases in the last 15 years.

Anderson’s award-winning research has focused on the history of African American public higher education and the development of African American school achievement in the 20th century. He has also studied the history of African American education in the South from 1860-1935, the history of higher education desegregation in southern states, the history of public school desegregation, institutional racism, and the representation of Blacks in secondary school history textbooks.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Stillman College, as well as a master’s degree in history and social studies education and doctorate in history of education, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Trent is an internationally recognized researcher in the areas of educational inequality, race and ethnicity, and complex organization/social change/policy. He is a principal investigator for a comprehensive educational reform project focused on understanding the role of race, ethnicity, class and gender in school reform.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Union College, a master’s degree in sociology from George Washington University and a doctorate in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Now in its eighth year, University Lectures maintains its tradition of bringing to the SU campus some of the most influential movers and shapers from around the world for the 2008-09 season. Eight distinguished speakers have been invited by the University Lectures this year to educate in the areas of human rights; the 2008 presidential election; race and American public schools; innovation; and exploration. The series is supported by the generosity of the University’s trustees, alumni and friends. For more information, visit http://lectures.syr.edu.