An endowed professorship in urban education has been established at the University of Pennsylvania in honor of Constance E. Clayton, the superintendent of the Philadelphia public schools.
In a press statement, Marvin Lazerson, the dean of the university’s graduate school of education, said the endowment “recognizes one of the nation’s most outstanding urban superintendents, and makes permanent the collaborative efforts between Penn and the school district.’'
The new position will enable the school of education to expand its research on student achievement, professional development of teachers and administrators, and urban-education policies, Mr. Lazerson said.
Though most endowments at the university have been established with a single $1.25 million gift, the Clayton Chair is being funded by donations from 18 individuals, corporations, foundations, and the graduate school. When the fund-raising efforts are completed, the university is expected to begin a search to fill the position.
The PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service is broadcasting a live videoconference on quality management in education.
“Creating Learning Organizations: Growth Through Quality,’' scheduled to air on Feb. 26, will feature Robert Peterkin, the director of the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard University, the total-quality management guru W. Edwards Deming, and P. Michael Timpane, the president of Teachers College, Columbia University.
On April 5, meanwhile, the Kentucky chapter of the National School Public Relations Association is sponsoring a teleconference on crisis communication for administrators.
Information on the conferences is available from the PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service at (800) 257-2578, and Dick Thornton, Fort Knox Community Schools, Building 7467, Fort Knox, Ky.; (502) 624-4748.
More than 2,000 school boards from across the country have enlisted the author Jonathan Kozol to deliver resolutions they have endorsed calling for a greater federal financial commitment to education.
The resolutions were scheduled to be delivered late last week to Rep. Ronald V. Dellums, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and possibly to Rep. William D. Ford, D-Mich., who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee.
The resolution drive has been endorsed by administrators’ and principals’ organizations.--J.R. & M.P.
