June Fox Lecture | Lesley University

Over 20 Years of Inspirational Lectures

The annual June Fox Lecture continues Lesley's history of commitment to equity in education by honoring Professor Emerita June T. Fox, a distinguished former member of the Lesley faculty and dean of the Division of Education and Special Education, now the Graduate School of Education.

Typically held in April, the series has presented a distinctive lineup of educators, authors, and others with an understanding of various facets of education, particularly the role of teachers and their impact on children's lives.

June Fox Lecture audience members smiling and clapping — Front row: June Fox family members

June Fox Lectures 1997-present

Lecturers and Topics
1997 - Theodore Sizer, author, educator, dean of Harvard GSE: Teacher Education and the Future of Schools

1998 - Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot sociologist, educator, author: I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation

1999 - Vito Perrone, educator, author: The Intellectual and Moral Dimensions of Teaching

2000 - Tom Snyder, education technology producer: Technology for Teachers Who Love to Teach

2001 - Jeffrey P. Howard, founder and president, Efficacy Institute, Inc.: Proficiency for All Children: After the 21st Century...Can They Do It?

2002 - William Ayers, founder and director, Center for Youth and Society: Teachers Today Teaching for Tomorrow

2003 - Vera B. Williams, children's author and illustrator: Children's books

2004 - Thelma Davidson Adair, educator and activist: Early Childhood Education: Lessons from Harlem 1940 - 2004

2005 - Erik Weihenmayer, inspirational speaker and athlete: Touching the Top

2006 - Linda Darling-Hammond, educator and author: Education and Social Change: Dare We Create a New Social Order?

2007 - Vivian Gussin Paley, Early childhood educator and author: A Common Meeting Place: How Children Invent Community Through Story and Play

2008 - Carol R. Johnson, superintendent, Boston Public Schools: Equity and Excellence: Can We Achieve Both?

2009 - Lella Gandini, U.S Liaison for Dissemination of the Reggio Emilia Approach: Teaching by Listening: Stories from the City of Reggio Emilia, Italy and the United States

2010 - Eleanor Duckworth, professor, researcher: What We Learned

2011 - Eric Schwarz, co-founder and CEO of Citizen Schools: Calling All Citizens

2012 - Douglas Biklen, dean of the School of Education, Syracuse University: Abandoning Intellectual Disability: The Case for Presuming Competence

2013 - Brian Collier, children's author and illustrator: "It Takes a Seed..."

2014 - Mariana Souto-Manning, professor of early childhood education, Columbia: Good Teaching for All: Critical Pedagogy and Multicultural Education with Our Youngest Students.

2015 - Dan Losen, director, Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA: Closing the School Discipline Gap

2016 - Kimberley Gilles, award-Winning high school educator: One Head + Three Hats: The Teacher as Scholar, Artist, and Advocate

2017 - Marilyn Cochran Smith, Professor of Teacher Education, Boston College: Teacher Education & Education Reform: The Policy Paradigm Reshaping Teacher Preparation in the United States

2018 - Kevin Kumashiro, author and former dean of the University of San Francisco School of Education. Naming the Moment, Building the Movement: Education, Democracy and Justice in Troubling Times

2019 - Arnetha Ball, educator, researcher, and professor emerita of Stanford University. Preparing Teachers Who Are Agents of Change: The Role of Generativity in Creating Great Teachers

2021 - Drs. Nettrice Gaskins, Grace Enriquez, and Laura Schall-Leckrone, Lesley University. Inquiry in Educational Equity: Graduate School of Education Faculty Share Their Work.

2022 - Donaldo Macedo, professor emeritus and distinguished professor of Liberal Arts and Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Teaching Under Siege: The Post-Pandemic New Normal.

The June Fox lecture series began in 1997 to recognize Dr. Fox's rigorous commitment to teacher preparation. Dr. Fox stressed the importance of education in a democratic society. Her encouragement of faculty teaching and research led to the success of numerous large-scale school initiatives, including the Collaborative Internship program (teacher residencies with partner schools), the Technology in Education program, the Cambridge/Lesley Literacy Project, the Center for Reading Recovery & Literacy Collaborative, the Multicultural Institute for Change, and the Say Yes to Education project.

Each year's event includes the presentation of the June Fox Scholarship Award, given to a student in one of Lesley's teacher residency programs, and two book awards that honor former deans William Dandridge and Mario Borunda. Donate to the June Fox Scholarship.

June Fox once said that one of her major goals was to "create great teachers," the kind who can "help save a nation." She believed teachers—especially Lesley teachers—can make a big difference for children.