Leading Literacy Educator Accepts Endowed Chair at UW

July 12, 2007 -- Literacy education in Wyoming will be bolstered this fall when nationally-recognized professor James F. Baumann joins the University of Wyoming College of Education faculty.

A professor of language and literacy education at the University of Georgia, Baumann has accepted the Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chair in Literacy. The Wyoming State Legislature established an endowment that included $70 million to create at UW senior faculty positions for "highly distinguished scholars and teachers." The legislation specifies that at least four faculty positions made possible by the endowment will be in the College of Education.

"We are excited that such an established researcher and prolific author is joining our faculty," says Pat McClurg, UW College of Education dean. "Reading is central to education and to success in life, and having someone of this caliber on our faculty will be a huge asset for the university and state."

Leslie Rush, assistant professor of secondary education and a member of the search committee that selected Baumann, says he is a recognized expert in reading education. He not only will teach UW students, but will conduct inservice workshops for teachers throughout the state.

"There are divergent opinions on what is the best way to teach literacy, and Baumann has a personal knack for helping people work together," Rush says. "He provides a balanced approach to arrive at the best solution for teaching reading."

Rush adds that Baumann was a member of one of the nation's leading literacy programs at the University of Georgia, and his presence will attract top faculty and graduate students to UW.

"I look forward to joining the wonderful literacy faculty at UW and to working with them and teachers across the state to promote literacy teaching and learning in Wyoming," Baumann says.

Baumann earned a B.A. degree in psychology (1971) at the University of Notre Dame, and received his M.S. (1973) and Ph.D. (1980) degrees in curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was associate director of the National Reading Research Center for five years, was elected in 1998 as a fellow of the National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy, and was a member of the board of directors of the International Reading Association from 1995-1998.

The 2005 Excellence in Higher Education Endowment bill authorized the establishment of a state-funded trust designed to generate $105 million in interest for UW and the state community colleges to hire outstanding faculty members. UW will receive $70 million; $35 million will be apportioned among the community colleges.

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James F. Baumann has accepted the Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chair in Literacy at the University of Wyoming.

Posted on Thursday, July 12, 2007