Purdue marks 50th anniversary of the Coleman Report, access to educational opportunity

Purdue celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Coleman Report and its contributions to access to equal educational opportunity and academic achievement with a series of events on Wednesday (Oct. 19). (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons) Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Coleman Report and its contributions to access to equal educational opportunity and academic achievement with a series of events on Wednesday (Oct. 19).

As part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Purdue alumnus James S. Coleman studied variables in academic achievement by looking at more than 600,000 students and teachers from 3,000 schools. Coleman graduated from Purdue in 1949 with a degree in chemical engineering, his study was published in 1966, and he died in 1995.

"Coleman's research demonstrated the potential value of social science research for pressing public policy questions including those tied to the education experience," said David A. Reingold, Justin S. Morrill Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. "His work developed and popularized the term 'social capital' in assessing the equality of access to educational opportunity. We will hear from national educational leaders about how the findings from the Coleman Report reshaped national education policy as well as its impact in classrooms today."

The celebration included a keynote panel on "Toward Equality of Educational Opportunity: Lessons of the Coleman Report at 50" in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The featured speakers were Rod Paige, former U.S. Secretary of Education from 2001-05; David Steiner, director of Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and former New York State Chief School Officer; and John C. White, Superintendent of Education from Louisiana. Purdue President Mitch Daniels will moderate the panel.

The keynote panel was one of three panels highlighting the effects from the Coleman report and challenges in education today. The events were organized by the College of Liberal Arts.

The panel on "Significance of the Coleman Report Today" featured Chester E. Finn Jr., Distinguished Senior Fellow and president emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation; Wade Horn, managing director of Deloitte Consulting LLP; and Mary Cathryn Ricker, executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers. The moderator is Leslie Lenkowsky, professor emeritus in public affairs and philanthropy from Indiana University.

The "Equalizing Educational Opportunity: What Should Be Done?" panel featured Adam Gamoran, president of William T. Grant Foundation; David Harris, founder and CEO of The Mind Trust; and Anna J. Egalite, an assistant professor of Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development at North Carolina State University. The moderator was Linda Renzulli, professor and head of Purdue’s Department of Sociology. 

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

News Service contact: Howard Hewitt, hhewitt@purdue.edu 

Sources: Lori Sparger, Chief Operating Officer, 765-494-9314, lsparger@purdue.edu

David Reingold, 765-494-3661, reingold@purdue.edu