WEB NEWS RELEASE
Steven Klees
COLLEGE PARK, MD (April 2009) - The College of Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Steven Klees (Education Leadership, Higher Education, and International Education) as the Harold R.W. Benjamin Professor of International and Comparative Education. Reserved for an eminent scholar whose work substantially advances the discipline, an endowed professorship is one of the highest honors a college can bestow
"Professor Klees' national recognition in international education, his career contribution to the knowledge base of comparative education, and his strong reputation for providing mentorship and guidance to students are indicative of the high standards he brings to the professorship," said Donna Wiseman, dean of the College.
Currently the director of his department's International Education Policy program, Klees was a two-time Fulbright Scholar at the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil. Before joining the University of Maryland, he taught at Cornell University, Stanford University, Florida State University, and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil. In addition, he worked extensively for such organizations as UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Bank, and USAID. He also collaborated with a variety of state governments and non-governmental organizations concerning education in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
"I am very honored to be named the inaugural holder of the Benjamin Professorship," said Klees. "It is a mark of the importance of international education to the College and University that this position exists. Education around the world is in difficult, and often dire, straits. The Benjamin Professorship will support and facilitate my research about the need to improve education policy and the ways in which we might do so."
Klees' research interests cover education policy and practice in the United States, as well as that in other countries. His scholarship has focused on the political economy of educational policy and social change, particularly on the nature of educational and social inequalities and what is needed to overcome them. He has published extensively on a variety of related topics, including the situation of disadvantaged children and the policies of international institutions like the World Bank.
The Benjamin Professorship is supported by the Harold R.W. Benjamin National Memorial Fund -- an endowed fund created in 1969 with gifts from individuals who were "educated, loved and inspired" by the late Harold Benjamin, who served two terms as dean of the College.
"It is appropriate that this professorship is named in honor of Dr. Benjamin, who understood the importance of an international perspective for educators, and I am extremely grateful for the donors' vision," said Dean Wiseman. "Professor Klees' appointment serves as yet another indication of the College's strong commitment to international and comparative education, which is an essential aspect of a 21st century educational approach and a key development in the College's strategic initiatives."
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For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact Halima Cherif, Assistant Director for Communications, at: hcherif@umd.edu
