Harvard's acting education dean elevated to post permanently

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. --Kathleen McCartney, who has served as acting dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education since last July, was named Tuesday to the leadership post on a permanent basis.

The 50-year-old scholar in early childhood education replaces Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, who spent three years as dean and is now on a yearlong sabbatical. When she stepped down, Lagemann indictated she planned to return to teaching at Harvard.

McCartney's immediate appointment to the post on a permanent basis was announced by Harvard President Lawrence Summers, who is scheduled to end his five-year tenure at the end of June.

"Kathleen McCartney is an outstanding scholar and researcher who has emerged this year as a highly effective leader with bold ambitions for the school," Summers said.

McCartney, a Medford native, has been a member of the Graduate School of Education's faculty since 2000, and served as academic dean during the 2004-2005 academic year.

McCartney received her bachelor's degree from Tufts University, and her master's and doctoral degrees in psychology from Yale University. From 1982 to 1987, she served as an assistant professor in the psychology department of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She later joined the faculty of the University of New Hampshire, where she directed the Child Study & Development Center.

Her research focuses on the interplay among child care, parenting and poverty.