P. David Pearson, eleventh Dean of the College of Education, passed away on August 30.
Pearson served as Dean from 1989-1995. During his tenure, he also served as Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Reading and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction from 1978-1995.
A prolific scholar of reading research, Pearson wrote and co-edited several books about research and practice, most notably the Handbook of Reading Research, now in its fourth volume. He served multiple terms as editor of 3 major research publications-Reading Research Quarterly, NRC Yearbook, and Review of Research in Education. His 300+ books, articles, and chapters, written with over 200 co-authors, appear in a range of outlets for a wide range of audiences—teachers, scholars, and policy makers.
He served as an advisor to the National Academy of Sciences, the Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop), the National Assessment of Educational Progress, myriad school districts and state agencies, and many public and private educational institutions.
Pearson's honors include the 1989 Oscar Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research from the NRC and the 1990 William S.Gray Citation of Merit. He received the Alan Purves Award from the National Council of Teachers of English, and in 2005, the Albert J. Harris Award from the International Reading Association for scholarship on reading difficulties.
In 2003, he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Education, and in 2009, he was named an AERA Fellow. Earlier this year, Pearson was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In 2010, he received the AERA Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award. The Literacy Research Association (formerly the NRC) created the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award in 2012 to honor scholarship that impacts literacy practice.
In addition to Illinois, Pearson served on the faculty at the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
