Reading expert to speak

Reading expert Elfrieda Hiebert will highlight the School of Education‘s 70th anniversary celebration Saturday, May 13, during Alumni Weekend.

Related Web site: School of Education Alumni Weekend

Hiebert’s presentation, “The Reading Wars: Content and Consequences,” is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. in 204 Educational Sciences Building, 1025 W. Johnson St.

An education professor at the University of Michigan, Hiebert is a major figure in the movement to improve the teaching and learning of reading. She is one of the authors of “Becoming a Nation of Readers,” a landmark report published in the mid-1980s.

Hiebert will provide a historical look at reading education and also discuss the challenges schools face today — including the teaching of many children who live in poverty — and what these challenges mean for reading and literacy.

Following Hiebert’s talk, the school will honor outstanding alumni including Hiebert; David Berlow, a world-renowned typeface designer who was a pioneer in converting metal typefaces into computer fonts; Rod Dishman, professor of exercise science at the University of Georgia and authority on exercise adherence; and David Marsh, the Robert A. Naslund professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Southern California.

Outstanding Recent Graduate Awards will be presented to Gerhard Fischer, a state Department of Public Instruction educational consultant who has developed innovative German education programs around the state; and Tim Glenn, a talented dancer and choreographer who unites the worlds of art and technology.

Dina Weinbach, program director at the Madison Jewish Community Council, will be presented with the Lois Gadd Nemec Distinguished Elementary Education Alumni Award.

The anniversary celebration will conclude with lunch at Blackhawk Country Club. The morning program is free and open to the public. The lunch costs $20; register in advance. For more information: (608) 262-0054.