Creation of Dr. Helen S. Faison Chair in Urban Education, First Fully Endowed Chair in Pitt's School of Education, Announced at Pitt Board of Trustees Meeting Today

PITTSBURGH-In a surprise announcement this morning, University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg told the University's Board of Trustees at its public winter meeting that Pitt alumna, emerita trustee, and trailblazing educator Helen Faison (EDUC '46, '55G, '75G) is being honored through the creation of the Dr. Helen S. Faison Chair in Urban Education, the first fully endowed chair in the 96-year history of Pitt's School of Education, where Faison earned her B.S., M.Ed., and Ph.D. degrees.

The holder of the new Faison Chair will direct the School of Education's recently established Center for Urban Education and serve as an important school liaison to the regional K-12 educational community, leading the school's initiatives in urban education research, training, and practice. The center's mission is to research and disseminate methods for improving urban education in the Pittsburgh region and nationally.

"For Helen Faison, education not only has been a career, it also has been a calling," said Nordenberg in making the announcement. "The forms of recognition she has won are many, and a number of them have come from within this University: receipt of an honorary doctorate, selection as a Legacy Laureate, and designation as a Distinguished Alumna by both the African American Alumni Council and the School of Education. Her career also includes a list of very notable 'firsts'-including the Pittsburgh Public Schools' first female and first African American high school principal and its first African American superintendent. Today, we add both to Helen's list of honors and to that impressive list of firsts.

"The creation of this chair will help advance the priorities of the school and also will better position the school to make important contributions in this community and in other urban centers," the chancellor added. "Linking Helen's name to the chair not only is a well-deserved tribute to her many unique and pioneering contributions, but also will be an inspiration to the faculty members who hold the chair over the years."

Three Pittsburgh foundations were the lead donors in creating the Faison Chair, each contributing $500,000: the Buhl Foundation, the Grable Foundation, and the Richard King Mellon Foundation. The Maurice Falk Fund stepped forward as a partner donor.

"All of us here in Pitt's School of Education are extremely grateful to the foundations that endowed the Helen Faison Chair," commented School of Education Dean Alan M. Lesgold. "By connecting us to Dr. Faison, the chair constitutes a continual reminder of everything that she represents: concern for every child, absolute integrity, courage, and selflessness. Dr. Faison is the personification of education and public service at its best.

"The chair also reminds us of the legacy of pioneering Pitt education professor E.B. Huey." Lesgold added. "Close to the time of the school's founding in 1910, he published the first body of research specifically targeted at the teaching of a particular subject-his work on how one learns to read remains a classic. Just as Huey addressed a central issue of American education then, the Faison Chair will allow us to address the central problem of American education today-how to ensure a strong educational foundation for every child, one that will truly give all an equal opportunity to achieve the American dream."

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2/24/06/jdh