Richard Anderson

Richard C. Anderson is University Scholar and professor emeritus of education and psychology at the University of Illinois. Educated at Harvard, Anderson has been a school teacher and an assistant superintendent of schools. He has served as president of the American Educational Research Association and chaired the National Academy of Education–National Institute of Education Commission on Reading. He has published two hundred fifty books and articles, notably Becoming a Nation of Readers. Anderson’s honors include twice winning the Palmer O. Johnson Award, AERA’s annual award for an outstanding educational research paper; the Oscar O. Causey Award from the Literacy Research Association for career-long excellence in literacy research; the William S. Gray Citation of Merit, the highest honor of the International Literacy Association; the Distinguished Contribution to Educational Research Award of AERA; and the Edward Lee Thorndike Award for distinguished psychological contributions to education, presented by the American Psychological Association. Anderson is currently interested in the role of classroom discussion in children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development; learning to read alphabetic and non-alphabetic languages; and, vocabulary growth and development.