Educator and theorist Gloria Ladson-Billings will serve as Towson University’s Commencement Speaker, delivering remarks during the College of Education commencement ceremony in late May.
Ladson-Billings was a faculty member on the UW-Madison campus for more than 26 years and held the Kellner Family Distinguished Chair in Urban Education. She was a professor with the departments of Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Policy Studies, and Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. She is also currently serving a four-year term as president of the National Academy of Education. Last year, the American Educational Research Association’s Division B honored Ladson-Billings with a Lifetime Achievement Award at their Annual Meeting April 13-17 in New York City.
“We are deeply honored to have a scholar with Dr. Ladson-Billings’ reputation for excellence as our University Commencement Speaker,” said Melanie Perreault, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at Towson University, in a statement. “Her work is transformative and stands as a model for all of us as we seek to make all levels of education inclusive.”
Towson is one of the largest public universities in Maryland and still produces the most teachers of any university in the state. Ladson-Billings will speak during the first of six ceremonies from May 22-24 at SECU Arena. Towson University celebrates commencement with separate ceremonies for each of the six colleges. The University Commencement Speaker title is bestowed upon one speaker each year in a rotation among the colleges.
