The University of Rochester will ceremonially mark the renaming of its education school as the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development on Thursday, October 21, 1993 with a convocation from 5 to 6 p.m.
Among those to be specially honored at the program will be California businessman William F. Scandling and educational philosopher Maxine Greene of Columbia University's Teacher's College, who will receive an honorary doctorate from the University.
Those who will speak include Professor Greene, Mr. Scandling, and the Warner School's dean, Philip Wexler. Among those expected to attend the program are University trustees, former University presidents, presidents of some other institutions of higher education, and other educational leaders.
The convocation, which will be in the Interfaith Chapel, is open to the public.
Earlier this year Mr. Scandling made a $5.7 million gift to the Education School in memory of his late wife, Margaret Warner Scandling. Together with earlier contributions, the couple's contributions to the school total more than $7 million.
"Margaret and Bill Scandling's commitment to education is a reminder to all of us what a critical issue it is for our country," said President Dennis O'Brien. "It's fitting that our education school bear the name of the woman who took so strong an interest in its future during her life."
"This is perhaps the most important development in the history of the school since its establishment," said Philip Wexler, dean of the school. "Thanks to the generosity of the Scandling family, the school is now able to make long-range, ambitious plans for the future."
The gift is being used to:
Expand the Scandling Scholars Program, established in 1978 and currently awarded competitively to one or two first-year doctoral students from around the country each year. It's anticipated that an additional five students will be recruited as Scandling Scholars annually.
Establish a chair in order to recruit a nationally recognized senior faculty member. This is the second such chair established by the Scandlings; the first, the Frederica Warner Chair in Education, was established several years ago in honor of Mrs. Scandling's aunt, also a Rochester graduate.
Establish a "special projects" endowment fund to provide start-up funds for research-related initiatives -- for example, testing new approaches to use the latest technology to help low- achieving students, or applying scholarly research to the design of school curricula.
Support the development of space for the school which is housed on the University's River Campus, to accommodate its evolving programs and needs.
Margaret Warner Scandling, a Rochester native and member of Rochester's Class of 1944, was a lifelong supporter of the University before her death in 1990. She served on the Trustees' Council before serving on the Board of Trustees from 1985 to 1987, and also was a member of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development's Visiting Committee.
William F. Scandling is the co-founder and retired president of Saga Corporation, which grew from a tiny institutional food services business into a major national corporation. It was acquired by the Marriott Corp. in 1986.
The Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, established in 1958, is committed to creating an interaction among those who study education, those who practice it, and those who prepare the nation's teachers. The school thus intends to bridge the gap between educational research and what occurs in the real world of principals, teachers, and children.
Its programs include those in teaching and curriculum, counseling and human development, higher education, and educational administration. Its programs lead to master of arts (M.A.), master of arts in teaching (M.A.T.), doctor of education (Ed.D.), and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees.
Philip Wexler, a sociologist of education and author of numerous articles and books (most recently, Becoming Somebody: Toward a Social Psychology of School), has served as dean since 1989. He has been a Rochester professor since 1979.
The Scandling gift is one of the largest to date in the University's $375 million Campaign for the '90s, a fundraising effort involving all parts of the institution.
It is also one of the largest gifts ever made to a school of education.