The University of Virginia Establishes the Center on Race and Public Education in the South

The University of Virginia has announced the establishment of the Center on Race and Public Education in the South. The new center is being led by Derrick Alridge, a professor in the Curry School of Education at the university. Professor Alridge also is the director of “Teachers in the Movement,” an oral history project that explores the ideas and pedagogy of teachers during the civil rights movement.

The new center aims to bring researchers and the local community together to examine the intersection of race, education and schooling in the South, with the ultimate goal of influencing education policy.

In announcing his plans for the new center. Dr. Alridge stated that “we plan to sponsor lectures, offer a series of community discussions with educators in the area and host grant-writing sessions, among other activities. In fall 2018, we’ll host a two-day symposium that will explore pertinent issues in the education of African-Americans and the educational experiences of immigrants and refugee populations.”

“I intend for our center to initiate and support empirical research projects and engage in collaborative interdisciplinary research,” Dr. Alridge added. “While the center will develop and promote the research of affiliated faculty, we also anticipate research projects with organizations in the community.”

Professor Alridge joined the faculty at the University of Virginia in 2001 after teaching for many years at the University of Georgia. He is the author of The Educational Thought of W.E.B. Du Bois: An Intellectual History (Teachers College Press, 2008).

Dr. Alridge holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in social sciences and history from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He earned a Ph.D. in the history of education from Pennsylvania State University.

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27 COMMENTS

  1. Congratulations on yet another achievement. Can’t imagined a better person to take our conversations to another level. Miss you
    Warm regards
    Louis

  2. I am so proud of you! I told you when you were an undergrad student at Winthrop College that you were exceptional and that you would greatly impact the world. Again, the world needs you to continue to share your knowledge, skills, and your passion for education.

  3. Outstanding achievement, keep it up we need you to continue to develop and share your academic thoughts. Proud to call you the Bros.

  4. A great center at the University now has a great leader to guide and direct it. Now lets see if we can connect it to not only viable outcomes in policy but also the politics of the South that shape public education,

  5. Lucky UVA to have Dr. Alridge at the helm of such a critical project; warmest wishes to a brave and brilliant colleague in this new endeavor.

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