Thomas Hehir to Join Harvard Graduate School of Education Faculty

Thomas Hehir, Director of Special Education at the U.S. Department of Education, will join the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in January of 2000 as a Lecturer in Education.

Hehir is an expert in the area of policies and programs for the education of disabled children. Since 1993, he has headed the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education, with primary statutory responsibility for implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which serves 6 million children with disabilities across the United States. Before that, he directed the special education programs for the Chicago (1990-1993) and Boston (1983-1987) public schools.

"Tom Hehir brings with him a wealth of knowledge about research, and wisdom about best practices, " says HGSE Dean Jerome T. Murphy. "He will make a major contribution to the School not only in preparing principals and superintendents to administer special education policies, but also teachers as they seek to educate all the students in their classes."

Hehir received his doctorate in education (Ed.D.) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in June of 1990. He is also a member of HGSE's Alumni Council.

Since its founding in 1920, the Harvard Graduate School of Education has been training professionals to create environments in which teaching can transform lives. Faculty and students at HGSE today are leading the nation in solving the most critical and visible challenges facing educators. The School's work is united by four broad goals:

• preparing leaders to teach, guide, and inspire;
• generating ideas that inform and improve educational practice;
• developing model programs that other institutions across the country emulate and adapt;
• raising the quality of public discourse about education.

Over 100 faculty members guide more than 700 students in doctoral and master's programs each year, and provide training through professional development and executive outreach programs to thousands of teachers, administrators, and educational leaders from across the nation.