David Pearson

P. David Pearson served as dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, were he 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; most notable is a decade-long line of inquiry into to synergies between science and literacy practices. 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 fourth volume. 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. In 2009, he became an AERA Fellow, and in 2010, he was presented the AERA Distinguished Contributions to Education Award. 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. In 2012, the Literacy Research Association established the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award to honor research that has a positive and substantial impact on literacy practice.