Read to retire after 35-year career

W. Charles Read, dean of the School of Education since 1995, announced Wednesday that he will retire on June 30, 2005.

“The faculty, staff and alumni of the School of Education have been extraordinarily supportive in our endeavors over the last 10 years. Because of them, the school has made substantial progress in many areas,” says Read.

“It’s not easy to leave when so many great people make the dean look good,” he says. “But [my wife] Helen and I have just become grandparents and are looking forward to the next phase of our lives.”

Thousands of teachers, principals, superintendents, counselors and other professionals across Wisconsin and beyond hold degrees from the School of Education, which has alumni in all 72 counties of the state.

“Chuck is an innovator, committed to improving classroom teaching and learning,” Chancellor John D. Wiley says. “His advocacy of meaningful changes in teacher education and his ability to strengthen the school’s connections with teachers, local school districts and state administrators exemplify the Wisconsin Idea.”

Wiley says Read has broadened gift support for the school, expanded the school’s research programs and has worked to boost its influence far beyond the campus.

“Chuck’s dedication to meeting the needs of students and communities is reflected daily in classrooms across Wisconsin,” the chancellor says.

Read, a former high school English teacher, earned a master of arts in teaching and a Ph.D. in linguistics and education from Harvard University. He joined the UW–Madison faculty in 1970 as a professor of English and linguistics. The Dubuque, Iowa, native has written three books and numerous articles, and his research on linguistics and literacy has been widely cited. At UW–Madison, he has served as chair of the Department of Linguistics and as associate dean and interim dean of the Graduate School.

“Chuck is a model of good stewardship of this university’s interests, as dean, department chair and in leading the Graduate School,” Wiley says. “I’ve come to count on him for his steadiness, wisdom and good counsel. He is a remarkable asset.”

Named as the seventh dean of UW–Madison’s School of Education in 1995, Read leads one of the most highly regarded schools of education in the nation. The school’s eight academic departments enroll more than 2,300 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students each year in a diverse range of programs, which include teacher-preparation, art, dance, occupational therapy, rehabilitation psychology, exercise science and athletic training.

The school also plays a leading national role in education research. The school’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research is one of the nation’s oldest and largest education research centers, currently housing nearly $25 million a year in research projects, most of them federally funded.

Among the school’s accomplishments under his leadership, Read cites four as especially significant:

• Revising all of the school’s teacher-preparation programs to base certification on performance.
• Strengthening key relationships beyond the campus, especially with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Madison Metropolitan School District and other Dane County school districts, school leaders across the state, and alumni and donors.
• Increasing externally funded research and public service by 91 percent, from $15.1 million in 1993-94 to $28.9 million in 2003-04.
• Bringing more research into classrooms to enhance the quality of education for UW–Madison students.

A search-and-screen committee will soon be formed to begin the task of naming Read’s successor.