Note: This event has reached its venue capacity and is no longer accepting RSVPs.

Ladson-Billings will deliver a talk titled, “Dreaming in Public: Renewing the Commitment to Education for Democracy.”

The evening will be dedicated to both putting a spotlight on her legacy while also getting a glimpse into how Ladson-Billings plans to utilize her role as president of the National Academy of Education (NAEd) to tackle challenges and find new ways to bring insights from education research and practice to bear on different domains.

After spending more than 26 years as a faculty member on the UW–Madison campus, Ladson-Billings officially retired from her post as the Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in Urban Education on Jan. 4, 2018, so she could focus her efforts on serving as the new NAEd president.

“Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings is a model of how thoughtful, rigorous scholarship and dedication to community come together to create a career and life of maximum impact,” says UW–Madison’s Erika Bullock, an assistant professor with the Department of Curriculum and Instruction who helped organize the event. “Her life is a picture of what it means to pursue every curiosity and to maximize every moment.”

The public talk and reception is being held at the Gordon Dining and Event Center at 770 W. Dayton St., on the UW–Madison campus. The event begins with a welcome from School of Education Dean Diana Hess at 5 p.m. and is immediately followed by a presentation from Ladson-Billings. The public reception is scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

While the event is free and open to the public, an RSVP is required here by March 1.

Ladson-Billings has dedicated most of her academic life to examining the practices of teachers who are successful with struggling students. Her scholarship on culturally relevant pedagogy and critical race theory in education has never been more important or relevant, and her role as a leader in the realm of education research never more prominent.

In November 2017, Ladson-Billings began serving a four-year term as president of the National Academy of Education, which supports research for the advancement of education policy and practice in the United States. Its members are a select group of education experts from around the world.

In April 2018, at the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Annual Meeting in New York, Ladson-Billings received the Lifetime Achievement Award from AERA’s Division B (curriculum studies) and AERA’s 2018 Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award. Also last year, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced Ladson-Billings was elected to its 2018 class of members. Founded in 1780, the American Academy honors leaders in science, the arts, business and American life. Other members elected in that 2018 class included former president Barack Obama and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

“These are tremendous honors and I’m deeply appreciative to be recognized in these ways at this point in my career,” Ladson-Billings said last year. “But there is more work to be done. My big job now is to really focus on the responsibilities and leadership of the National Academy of Education.”

Ladson-Billings arrived at UW–Madison in the fall of 1991 as an assistant professor specializing in social studies and multicultural education. Shortly after her arrival, in 1994, her groundbreaking book, “The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children,” was released. It is here that Ladson-Billings expands on and advocates for “culturally relevant teaching.” This represents a new paradigm regarding ways to reduce academic disparity between mainstream and minority students. “The Dreamkeepers” was updated with a second edition in 2009 and continues to be used in teacher education programs around the country.

As Ladson-Billings describes her work, culturally relevant pedagogy is premised on three pillars: a laser-like focus on student learning; an attempt to develop cultural competence in all students; and sociopolitical consciousness.

During her years on campus, Ladson-Billings became the first black woman to become a tenured professor in the School of Education in 1995. She received the Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in Urban Education post in 2004, was president of AERA for 2005-06 and chaired the nation’s No. 1-ranked Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW–Madison from 2008-11. Indeed, she is a key reason that department has held the No. 1 ranking every year since 2001.

Ask Ladson-Billings about the highlights — or about what she is most proud of during her many years at UW–Madison — and the Philadelphia native and former Philadelphia public school teacher and administrator centers her responses around her students.

At the end of 2018, Ladson-Billings had been a doctoral advisor for 53 Ph.D. students, including 17 African American women. Over the years, there have been significantly more master’s and undergraduate students who have mentored under her.

“There are lots of great scholars out there,” Ladson-Billing said at the time of her retirement. “But who are your students? Your legacy can’t just be you.”

For additional details, visit this event web page.