Donald J. Leu, the John and Maria Neag Endowed Chair in Literacy and Technology at the University of Connecticut, will be speaking on “The Future of Reading and Reading Instruction” Thursday, March 24, at 11 a.m. in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center Assembly Hall for the David O. McKay School of Education’s annual Benjamin Cluff Jr. Lecture.
The presentation of the Benjamin Cluff Jr. Excellence in Education Awards will directly follow the lecture from noon to 12:30 p.m. The awards will honor four BYU-Public School Partnership educators for their distinguished work in their field: Robert V. Bullough Jr., professor in the McKay School’s Center for the Improvement of Teacher Education and Schooling; Blair Bateman, professor in the BYU Department of Spanish and Portuguese; Gary E. Seastrand, assistant superintendent for educational services and schools of the Alpine School District; and C. Ray Graham, professor in the McKay School’s Department of Teacher Education.
Leu directs the New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut and is an international authority on the new forms of reading comprehension required by the Internet and on ways of preparing students for reading and learning in an age of online information. He is a member of the board of directors of the International Reading Association and has been elected to the Reading Hall of Fame. He is also former president of the National Reading Conference, the largest organization devoted solely to reading research.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, a master’s degree from Harvard and a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.
The lecture and awards are presented in honor of Benjamin Cluff Jr., the first president of BYU, who was an academic innovator during his 12-year administration. His legacy included a tradition of inviting renowned scholars to make presentations to faculty and students. The McKay School of Education celebrates this tradition through the annual Benjamin Cluff Jr. Lecture.
For more information, visit education.byu.edu or contact Roxanna Johnson at (801) 422-1922 or e-mail roxanna_johnson@byu.edu.
Writer: Mel Gardner
