Professor Samuel Henry selected for State Board of Education

The PSU Graduate School of Education announced today that associate professor, Samuel D. Henry, EdD, has been named by Oregon Governor Kulongoski to a two-year term on the State Board of Education. Dr. Henry’s appointment was approved on September 23, 2010, by the Oregon Legislature. The State Board of Education is comprised of seven members and determines educational policies and standards for Oregon’s 198 public school districts, 17 community college districts, and 20 educational service districts.

“Dr. Henry’s involvement with the State Board of Education is in keeping with PSU’s strong commitment to serving the community,” says GSE Dean Randy Hitz. “With his vast experience in the field of education, I am sure that he will be a great asset to the board.”

Dr. Henry has been a faculty member at PSU since 1992, and has served the GSE as Curriculum and Instruction Department chair and also as the doctoral program coordinator. Dr. Henry previously held roles at San Jose State University as a university assistant vice president, associate dean, and program director. Prior to that, he served as director of the school desegregation assistance center for federal region 2 (New York, New Jersey, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico), as well as in a number of civic and political roles.

Dr. Henry has long been active in educational and social justice issues in the Portland metro area and the state of Oregon. From 2003 to 2009, he served as chairman of the Oregon Commission on Children and Families. He was an original member of the Children’s Investment Fund for the City of Portland, and has served on the Multnomah County Commission on Children and Families and Communities.

In addition to his work in education, Dr. Henry has taught in urban affairs, business, and the social sciences. His latest paper, The Education of Gulen Movement Young Men: A Case Study of Significant Educative Themes that Affect Social Justice, was presented at the East and West Encounters conference (2009). It focuses on emerging education patterns in a civic and educational cross-cultural and cross-religious group in Turkey and the United States.

This summer Dr. Henry received a PSU faculty grant for field research in a black community in northern Venezuela. He has had lifetime culture contact research and personal interests in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Eastern Mediterranean areas.

Dr. Henry’s term on the State Board of Education will begin October 2010.