Deborah Vandell

University of California, Irvine

Chancellor's Professor

Deborah Lowe Vandell is Chancellor’s Professor and Founding Dean Emerita of Education at the University of California, Irvine. Prior to these appointments, she was the Sears Bascom Professor of Education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The author of more than 150 articles and three books, Professor Vandell's research focuses on the effects of developmental contexts (early child care, schools, after-school programs, families, neighborhoods) on children's social, behavioral, and academic functioning. As one of the principal investigators with the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, she has conducted an intensive study of the development of 1300 children from birth to 26 years. This work is viewed by many social scientists as one of the most comprehensive studies of the short-term and long-term effects of early care and education to date. Professor Vandell also studies the effects of after-school programs, extracurricular activities and unsupervised out-of-school settings on child and adolescent development, with a particular focus on low-income children of color. This body of work is widely cited as evidence of the academic and social benefits of afterschool programs and activities. Professor Vandell has been recognized by the Society for Research in Child Development for Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy and Practice in Child Development. She has served as President of Division 7 (Developmental Psychology) of the American Psychological Associations and as a member of the Governing Council of SRCD. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association of Psychological Science, and the American Educational Research Association.