March 2, 2015

VCU School of Education welcomes Harvard’s James Ryan for lecture

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By Leila Ugincius

Note: This event has been postponed. A new date has not yet been set.

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education, in collaboration with VCU Libraries, presents its ninth annual John and Mary Sue Oehler Lecture for Educational Leadership. James Ryan, J.D., the 11th dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a leading expert on law and education, will deliver the keynote address.

“Five Miles Away, A World Apart: Five Years Later” will be held Thursday, March 5, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the University Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms, 907 Floyd Ave.

“Dr. Ryan’s scholarship addresses national educational issues informed by local observations and perspectives that will be of interest to the entire Richmond community concerned with addressing complex issues of race, poverty and equity,” said Deborah Speece, Ph.D., associate dean for research and faculty development in the School of Education.

In his critically acclaimed book, “Five Miles Away, A World Apart,” Ryan traces the fortunes of two schools in Richmond, Virginia – one in the city and the other in the suburbs. Ryan shows how court rulings in the 1970s that limited the scope of desegregation laid the groundwork for the sharp disparities between urban and suburban public schools that persist to this day. Weaving together court opinions, social science research and compelling interviews with students, teachers and principals, Ryan explains why all the major education reforms since the 1970s have failed to bridge the gap between urban and suburban schools and have unintentionally entrenched segregation by race and class.

During this lecture, Ryan will discuss what has changed and what has not changed in the five years since the book was published.

To RSVP, email soe50@vcu.edu. For more information, contact Deborah Speece, Ph.D., at 804-827-9337. The John and Mary Sue Oehler Lecture for Educational Leadership is presented by the VCU School of Education through the Oehler Lecture endowment fund and is a free event, open to the public. The lecture is part of the School of Education’s 50th anniversary year. For more anniversary events, visit soe50.vcu.edu and connect via social media by using #soe50.