Dr. Louis Gomez: Named Inaugural Holder of Faison Chair @ Pitt

Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by Leshell Hatley in Faculty, I'm a Full Professor!, Research, Scholarly Celebrations

Pitt’s School of Education has announced that Louis M. Gomez, Aon Professor of Learning Sciences and Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University, will be the inaugural holder of the Dr. Helen S. Faison Chair in Urban Education at Pitt and the first director of Pitt’s Center for Urban Education. He will also serve as senior scientist in Pitt’s Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC).

Dr. Gomez is the husband of Dr. Kimberley Gomez, yesterday’s BSI feature!

Dr. Louis Gomez
Louis M. Gomez, who also serves as Learning Sciences Program coordinator at Northwestern, works with school communities to create social arrangements and curricula that support school improvement. He was a codirector of the National Science Foundation-sponsored Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS), a partnership comprising the Chicago Public Schools, the Detroit Public Schools, the University of Michigan, and Northwestern. Working with colleagues, Gomez has been dedicated to collaborative research to bring state-of-the-art computing and networking technologies into use in urban schools. Along with several colleagues, he was a founding member of the MacArthur Network on Teaching and Learning, which sought to understand and explore the relationship between research and practice in education. His ultimate goal is to transform instruction in urban schools while supporting the formation of communities within schools. He has worked extensively in Chicago-area schools for more than a decade.

Gomez is currently a board member of CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology), which has earned international recognition for its development of innovative, technology-based educational resources. He just completed two terms as a trustee of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He also has served as a member of the advisory board of the National Research Council’s Center for Education and as chair of the Educational Testing Service’s Visiting Panel of Research. He is a recipient of the Spencer Foundation Mentorship Award.

Prior to joining the Northwestern faculty, Gomez was director of Human-Computer Systems Research at Bellcore (now Telcordia) in Morristown, N.J. At Bellcore, he pursued research programs to investigate techniques that improve human use of information-retrieval systems and techniques that aid in acquiring complex computer-based skills.

Publications
Gomez’ publications include “Reading for Learning: Literacy Supports for 21st Century Work” with Kimberley Gomez, Phi Delta Kappan (2007); “Creating Social Relationships: The Role of Technology in Pre-Service Teacher Preparation” with Meriam Sherin and others, Journal of Teacher Education (2008); “Exploring Coherence as an Organizational Resource for Carrying Out Reform Initiatives” with Christine Madda and Richard Halverson, Teachers College Record (2007); “Preparing Young Learners for the 21st Century: Reading and Writing to Learn in Science” with K. Gomez, Invitational Paper Series of the Minority Student Achievement Network, (2007), Evanston, Ill.; “Integrating Text in Content-Area Classes: Better Supports for Teachers and Students” with K. Gomez and P. Herman, Voices in Urban Education (2007); and, in press, “Supporting Reading-to-Learn in Science: The Application of Summarization Technology in Multicultural Urban High School Classrooms” to appear in Research in Technology Use in Multicultural Settings, R. Bloymeyer, T. Ganesh, and H. Waxman (Eds.).

Education
Gomez received the BA degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1974 and the PhD degree in cognitive psychology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1979.

The Faison Chair
The Faison Chair was established in 2006 to honor Pitt alumnus and emeritus trustee Faison (right), a trailblazing educator who earned all her degrees in Pitt’s School of Education—the BS degree in 1946, the MEd degree in 1955, and the PhD degree in 1975.

Dr. Helen S. Faison

Faison’s storied career includes serving as Pittsburgh Public Schools’ first female and first African American high school principal and its first African American superintendent. She has earned a number of accolades from the University, including an honorary doctorate as well as recognition as a Legacy Laureate—a designation that honors Pitt alumni for their outstanding personal and professional accomplishments. She also was named a Distinguished Alumna by both Pitt’s African American Alumni Council and the Pitt School of Education.

“Those of us who are familiar with the two institutions—the University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Public Schools—view the appointment of Dr. Gomez to be of mutual benefit,” said Faison, Distinguished Professor and director of the Pittsburgh Teachers Institute at Chatham University. “Together, the School of Education, in its preparation of teachers and administrators for the schools, and the Pittsburgh Public Schools, in its delivery of educational services, can expect to achieve the district’s goal of ‘Education For All.’”

“We at the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) are thrilled that Louis Gomez will be a partner in our work and congratulate the University of Pittsburgh for bringing a nationally respected scholar to our city,” said Mark Roosevelt, PPS superintendent. “What most impresses us about Dr. Gomez is that he makes working with urban students and educators his priority. He is no ‘ivory tower’ professor, and we look forward to working closely with him and Kimberley Gomez as we move forward with the University Partnership School at Milliones.

“Helen Faison is a remarkable figure in the history of the Pittsburgh schools, and we will all best honor her by bringing scholarship and practical knowledge to bear in the interests of better educating our students,” Roosevelt added.

The first fully endowed chair in the 98-year history of the School of Education, the Faison Chair was funded through gifts from the Buhl Foundation, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, and the Grable Foundation, with additional support from the Falk Foundation.

More Related posts:

1. Dr. Kimberley Gomez: Learning Sciences Researcher & Professor @ Pitt
2. Louis W. Sullivan, M.D.: Founding Dean and 1st President of Morehouse School of Medicine
3. Dr. Brian Blake named Associate Dean at Notre Dame
4. Eric Holder: 1st African-American Attorney General
5. MarK Dean: Holder of 3 of 9 Patents for Personal Computer

Tags: 1st African American superintendent, 1st female and 1st African American high school principal, and Nation in Early 19th Century Black America, Aon Professor of Learning Sciences, Associate Dean, Association of American Medical Colleges, Bellcore, Beryl Bailey: Africanist Woman Linguist in New York State, Black + Power ? Obama, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), Chairman of the board of the National Health Museum, Civil War, Clarence Thomas, Dr. Helen S. Faison Chair in Urban Education, Dr. Kimberley Gomez, Dr. Louis Gomez, Educational Testing Service, Edward Alexander Bouchet, Harvard University Institute for Educational Management, Head of the UCLA Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program, Human-Computer Systems Research, Institute for the Study of Social Change, Institute of the study of Globalization and Education in Metropolitan Settings (IGEMS), Journal of Teacher Education, Kylie A. Peppler, Lorenzo Dow Turner: Father of Gullah Studies, MacArthur Network on Teaching and Learning, MacArthur Network on the Family and the Economy, Madame C. J. Walker, Marva Louis, Milton P. Webster, Minority Student Achievement Network, National Research Council's Center for Education, National Science Foundation-sponsored Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS), Northwestern University, NSBE, Peanuts, Phi Delta Kappan, Pitt's Center for Urban Education, Richard A. Long, Society of Women Engineers, Spencer Foundation Mentorship Award, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Teachers College Record, Telcordia, The Emperor of Ocean Park, the Man Who Could Float Like a Butterfly and Sting Like a Bee (2002), The Organization Us, Timeline, University of California at Berkeley, University of Pittsburgh, Voices in Urban Education