ANN ARBOR—Susan B. Neuman, professor and director of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) at the University of Michigan School of Education, has been nominated by President Bush to serve as the new U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

“I am delighted at the prospect of working with Secretary of Education Rod Paige on issues related to improving elementary and secondary education for all children,” said Neuman. “If confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to helping work towards a goal of universal, high-quality education.”

“We are very pleased about Dr. Neuman’s nomination,” said Karen Wixson, dean of the U-M School of Education. “The nomination of Dr. Neuman for this visible role is recognition of the role that researchers and scholars play in bettering our educational system for our youngest citizens. We here at the University of Michigan take great pride in her nomination.”

CIERA’s co-directors, Steve Stahl and David Pearson, said, “Dr. Neuman will be missed; she is a first-rate researcher. Her nomination is clear evidence that her research on young children, their families, and their learning environments, as a professor in the School of Education, at CIERA and before she came to U-M, has reached Washington’s policymaking community.”

During her tenure at the School of Education and as CIERA director, Neuman, an expert in early childhood and literacy education, has worked to bring CIERA’s message to a broad range of audiences in education, government and policymaking. Neuman came to the U-M from Temple University, where she had been a professor in the Curriculum, Instruction and Technology in Education Department and the coordinator of the Reading and Language Arts Graduate Program. Her areas of focus include beginning reading and writing, family literacy, and parent involvement. Her most recent books include Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practice (NAEYC, 2000), Children Achieving: Best Practices in Early Literacy (1998, International Reading Association), Single-Subject Experimental Research: Applications for Literacy (1995), Literacy in the Television Age (Ablex, 1995), and Language and Literacy in Early Childhood (Harcourt Brace, 1993).

She is chair of the publications committee and a board member of the National Reading Conference, and president of the Literacy Development for Young Children Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association.

She is also the author of Access for All: Closing the Book Gap for Children in Early Childhood, a recent study which uncovered evidence that quality books are significantly less available to young children from low-income families in early childhood classrooms, in childcare settings, and in their homes.

Susan B. NeumanKaren WixsonLearning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate PracticeNational Reading ConferenceAccess for All: Closing the Book Gap for Children in Early Childhood