Dr. William E. Moore, the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at SUBR, first introduced the idea of establishing this program in 1992, and it is now expected to start no later than Fall 1998, contingent upon approval by the Board of Regents.
Emphasis is on systemic educational reforms from kindergarten through graduate school.
The program is essentially interdisciplinary, involving these academic departments and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. The graduate faculty, the academic and research standard determining entity, is composed of representatives from each of these six departments. A National Advisory Committee, still being constituted, will guide the program, expand its avenues of collaboration with other universities and research organizations, and possibly expand its base for competitive research funding. Special attention is to be paid to action research, in collaboration with teachers and faculty members in the classroom, in addition to other research projects. It is an explicit goal of this program to attract minority and non-minority students alike.