P. David Pearson

University of California, Berkeley

Professor Emeritus

P. David Pearson served as dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and is a faculty member in the language and literacy program. His current research focuses on issues of reading instruction and reading assessment policies and practices at all levels-local, state, and national. Prior to going to Berkeley in 2001, he was the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Education in the College of Education at Michigan State University (MSU) and a co-director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) at MSU, with faculty appointments in teacher education and educational psychology. Prior to that, he was dean of the College of Education, co-director of the Center for the Study of Reading, and professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois. He has written and co-edited several books about research and practice, the most notable being the Handbook of Reading Research, now in its third volume, and the most recent an edited volume with Barbara Taylor, Teaching Reading: Effective Schools, Accomplished Teachers. Pearson's honors include the Oscar Causey Award for outstanding contributions to reading research from the National Reading Conference and the William S. Gray Citation of Merit by the International Reading Association for his contributions to theory, research, and practice. His articles have been awarded IRA's Albert Harris Award for contributions to studies of reading difficulties and NCTE's Alan Purves Award for impact on practice. In 2006, his doctoral alma mater, the University of Minnesota, presented him with the University's Outstanding Alumnus Award.