AERA Selects William F. Tate IV to Deliver 2020 Brown Lecture in Education Research

Newswise — Washington, August 31, 2020—William F. Tate IV, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at the University of South Carolina, and a leading expert on the intersections between education, society, and public health, has been selected by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) to present the 2020 Brown Lecture in Education Research. This public lecture will take place virtually on Thursday, October 22. 

Tate holds the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation Distinguished Professorship, with appointments in sociology and family and preventive medicine. Tate’s research has focused on human capital development in STEM fields; epidemiological models and geospatial applications with a focus on adolescent and child development and health outcomes; social development of youth in metropolitan communities; and social stratification. Tate is an AERA past president (2007–08) and an AERA Fellow. He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Education.

“Dr. Tate has contributed tremendously to advancing our understanding of how to diversify the STEM fields, adolescent development and health, and disparities in education,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “His work on opportunity and access supports the purpose of the Brown Lecture as an annual reminder of the important role of research in understanding and addressing equity and equality issues in education.”

Tate has authored and edited numerous scholarly books and journal articles, including the AERA-published book Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility (2012) (coeditor) and the centennial edition of the AERA peer-reviewed journal Review of Research in Education titled “Education Research: A Century of Discovery” (2016) (coeditor). 

He has a doctorate in education from the University of Maryland, a master’s degree in psychiatric epidemiology from Washington University in St. Louis, and a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Texas at Dallas. 

The Brown Lecture, now in its 17th year, was inaugurated by AERA in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court took scientific research into account in issuing its landmark ruling.

The 2020 Brown Lecture Selection Committee included AERA President Shaun Harper (University of Southern California); AERA Past-President Vanessa Siddle Walker (Emory University); AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine; AERA Diversity Officer George L. Wimberly; AERA Social Justice Action Committee Chair Michelle Knight-Manuel (Teachers College, Columbia University); AERA Social Justice Action Committee Member Joanna Goode (University of Oregon); and AERA Social Justice Action Committee Member Anjale Welton (University of Wisconsin–Madison).

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About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.