Ernest L. Boyer
Encyclopedia
Ernest Leroy Boyer was an American educator who most notably served as Chancellor of the State University of New York
, United States Commissioner of Education
, and President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Boyer was recipient of numerous awards, including over 140 honorary doctorates.
, to Clarence and Ethel Boyer.
He was one of three males in his family. His father worked in the basement of their home managing a wholesale book store and running a mail-order greeting-card and office-supply. William Boyer, Ernest’s paternal grandfather, was said to be the most influential figure in his younger years. William Boyer was head of the Dayton Mission of the Brethren in Christ Church
and directed Ernest toward "a people-centered life."
Boyer attended Messiah College
where he met his future wife and the mother of his four children, Kathryn Garis Tyson; in
subsequent years, he would return to Messiah to serve as chairman and as a member of its board of trustees.
After two years at Messiah College he transferred to and graduated from Greenville College
. He began graduate studies at the Ohio State University
, but left for the University of Southern California
, where he earned his master's and doctoral degrees. He was a post-doctoral member in medical audiology at the University of Iowa Hospital
.
Boyer taught and served in administrative posts at Loyola University in Los Angeles
, Upland College and the University of California at Santa Barbara. At Upland College, he introduced the idea of a program that would give students a period in which they would not attend class during the mid-year term, and the students would take on individual projects. When he was at Upland, he decided that he wanted to devote his career to educational administration.
In 1965, he moved east to join the State University of New York
system as its first executive dean
. He became Chancellor
of the institution five years later.
In his seven-year term, he founded the Empire State College
at Saratoga Springs and four other locations as non-campus SUNY schools in which adults could study for degrees without attending classes. He also set up an experimental three-year Bachelor of Arts
program; established a new rank, Distinguished Teaching Professor, to reward faculty members of educational distinction as well as research, and established one of the first student-exchange programs with the Soviet Union
.
Dr. Boyer served on commissions to advise President Richard M. Nixon and President Gerald R. Ford. In 1977, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter
to lead the United States as Commissioner of Education
.
Toward the end of the Carter Administration, Dr. Boyer followed Alan Pifer as president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He expanded his position to go beyond the study of higher education bringing more attention to education at every level with concentration on the earliest years of a child’s education. He served the Foundation from 1979 to his death in 1995.Dr. Boyer died on December 8, 1995. During his valiant three-year struggle with cancer
, he never stopped working. He took telephone calls the day before he died.
After working on a fifteen-month study of the nation’s high schools, Boyer wrote High School: A Report on Secondary Education in America (1983). Boyer recommended adopting a "core curriculum
" for all students and tougher foreign language
and English requirements. He stressed the need for community service
before graduation and the excellence for all students and teachers.
Boyer's next report, stated how many faculty members of undergraduate institutions put more emphasis on research than on actual teaching. His report College: The Undergraduate Experience in America, was published in 1987. Boyer declared that the students were not getting the full attention of their instructors, stressing the importance of more resources into undergraduate education programs, expanding orientation and faculty mentoring for new students, and creating community service programs for students. Boyer connects teachers with students and professors in both high school and college on a more personal basis. Community service programs with high schools and college benefit all who are involved.
Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate challenged the current views of faculty priorities and the true meaning of scholarship
. Boyer classified four kinds of scholarship: discovery, integration, application, and teaching. This report has created debates around the country and has influenced many colleges and universities to evaluate their faculty differently.
In Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation (1991), Boyer makes a strong point about the importance of preparing young children for school. Education of the parents of preschoolers was essential so that they might know "all of the forces that have such a profound impact on the children's lives and shape their readiness to learn." This study led to educational television programs such as Sesame Street
, and landmark legislation such as the Ready to Learn Act of 1994.
In 1995 the Carnegie Foundation published, The Basic School: A Community for Learning. This report talked about the importance of the first years of formal learning. The main point of the report was so the public could understand that the school is a community with a vision, "teachers as leaders and parents as partners." He also wanted a "powerful voice for the arts in education." This report led to the Basic School Network. The trial program was made up of sixteen schools, public and private
. Boyer worked with school administrators and staff on the beliefs of the Basic School. This included new ways to create a curriculum, the importance of language and the arts, and the involvement of parents. The Basic School Network now has centers and affiliates around the country and is a successful in improving elementary education.
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
, United States Commissioner of Education
Commissioner of Education
The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the National Bureau of Education, a former unit within the Department of the Interior in the United States...
, and President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Boyer was recipient of numerous awards, including over 140 honorary doctorates.
Early life and education
Boyer was born on September 13, 1928 in Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, to Clarence and Ethel Boyer.
He was one of three males in his family. His father worked in the basement of their home managing a wholesale book store and running a mail-order greeting-card and office-supply. William Boyer, Ernest’s paternal grandfather, was said to be the most influential figure in his younger years. William Boyer was head of the Dayton Mission of the Brethren in Christ Church
Brethren in Christ Church
The Brethren in Christ Church is an Anabaptist Christian denomination with roots in the Mennonite church, pietism, and Wesleyan holiness. They have also been known as River Brethren and River Mennonites.-Background:...
and directed Ernest toward "a people-centered life."
Boyer attended Messiah College
Messiah College
Messiah College is a private Christian college of the liberal arts and applied arts and sciences located in Grantham, Pennsylvania, near the capital city of Harrisburg...
where he met his future wife and the mother of his four children, Kathryn Garis Tyson; in
subsequent years, he would return to Messiah to serve as chairman and as a member of its board of trustees.
After two years at Messiah College he transferred to and graduated from Greenville College
Greenville College
Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
. He began graduate studies at the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, but left for the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, where he earned his master's and doctoral degrees. He was a post-doctoral member in medical audiology at the University of Iowa Hospital
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is a 762-bed public teaching hospital and level 1 trauma center affiliated with the University of Iowa. UIHC is part of University of Iowa Health Care, a partnership that includes the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A...
.
Boyer taught and served in administrative posts at Loyola University in Los Angeles
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
, Upland College and the University of California at Santa Barbara. At Upland College, he introduced the idea of a program that would give students a period in which they would not attend class during the mid-year term, and the students would take on individual projects. When he was at Upland, he decided that he wanted to devote his career to educational administration.
In 1965, he moved east to join the State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
system as its first executive dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
. He became Chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of the institution five years later.
In his seven-year term, he founded the Empire State College
Empire State College
Empire State College, one of the thirteen arts and science colleges of the State University of New York, is a multi-site institution offering associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. It is primarily oriented towards the adult learner...
at Saratoga Springs and four other locations as non-campus SUNY schools in which adults could study for degrees without attending classes. He also set up an experimental three-year Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
program; established a new rank, Distinguished Teaching Professor, to reward faculty members of educational distinction as well as research, and established one of the first student-exchange programs with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Dr. Boyer served on commissions to advise President Richard M. Nixon and President Gerald R. Ford. In 1977, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
to lead the United States as Commissioner of Education
Commissioner of Education
The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the National Bureau of Education, a former unit within the Department of the Interior in the United States...
.
Toward the end of the Carter Administration, Dr. Boyer followed Alan Pifer as president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He expanded his position to go beyond the study of higher education bringing more attention to education at every level with concentration on the earliest years of a child’s education. He served the Foundation from 1979 to his death in 1995.Dr. Boyer died on December 8, 1995. During his valiant three-year struggle with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, he never stopped working. He took telephone calls the day before he died.
Reports
One of Boyer's major accomplishments was creating a dialogue between teachers and administrators about teaching methods and programs. He wrote many reports that changed the face of education during his time at the Carnegie Foundation. Boyer addressed issues of secondary and primary education and created discussions about issues in education reform.After working on a fifteen-month study of the nation’s high schools, Boyer wrote High School: A Report on Secondary Education in America (1983). Boyer recommended adopting a "core curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
" for all students and tougher foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
and English requirements. He stressed the need for community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
before graduation and the excellence for all students and teachers.
Boyer's next report, stated how many faculty members of undergraduate institutions put more emphasis on research than on actual teaching. His report College: The Undergraduate Experience in America, was published in 1987. Boyer declared that the students were not getting the full attention of their instructors, stressing the importance of more resources into undergraduate education programs, expanding orientation and faculty mentoring for new students, and creating community service programs for students. Boyer connects teachers with students and professors in both high school and college on a more personal basis. Community service programs with high schools and college benefit all who are involved.
Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate challenged the current views of faculty priorities and the true meaning of scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
. Boyer classified four kinds of scholarship: discovery, integration, application, and teaching. This report has created debates around the country and has influenced many colleges and universities to evaluate their faculty differently.
In Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation (1991), Boyer makes a strong point about the importance of preparing young children for school. Education of the parents of preschoolers was essential so that they might know "all of the forces that have such a profound impact on the children's lives and shape their readiness to learn." This study led to educational television programs such as Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, and landmark legislation such as the Ready to Learn Act of 1994.
In 1995 the Carnegie Foundation published, The Basic School: A Community for Learning. This report talked about the importance of the first years of formal learning. The main point of the report was so the public could understand that the school is a community with a vision, "teachers as leaders and parents as partners." He also wanted a "powerful voice for the arts in education." This report led to the Basic School Network. The trial program was made up of sixteen schools, public and private
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
. Boyer worked with school administrators and staff on the beliefs of the Basic School. This included new ways to create a curriculum, the importance of language and the arts, and the involvement of parents. The Basic School Network now has centers and affiliates around the country and is a successful in improving elementary education.
Awards
Awards and recognitions of Ernest Boyer include:- Charles Frankel Prize in the Humanities, 1994 (Presidential Award)
- James B. Conant Education Award, 1994
- President's Medal, Tel Aviv University
- Distinguished Service Medal, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Horatio Alger Award
- Educator of the Year, 1990, U.S. News & World Report
- Medalist, New York Academy of Public Education
- Friend of Education Award, National Education Association
- 1995 Education Leadership Award, Council for Advancement of Private Education
- Britannica Achievement in Life Award
- The Harold W. McGraw, Jr., Prize in Education
Works
- The Basic School: A Community for Learning. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1995
- College: The Undergraduate Experience in America. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.
- High School: A Report on Secondary Education in America. New York: Harper & Row, 1983.
- Ready to Learn: A Mandate for the Nation. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1991.
- Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1990.
- Boyer, Ernest L., Philip G. Altbach, and Mary Jean Whitelaw. The Academic Profession: An International Perspective. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1994.
- Boyer, Ernest L. and Fred M. Hechinger. Higher Learning in the Nation's Service. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1981.
- Boyer, Ernest L. and Arthur Levine. A Quest for Common Learning: The Aims of General Education. A Carnegie Foundation Essay. Washington, D.C.: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1981.
- Boyer, Ernest L. and Lee D. Mitgang. Building Community: A New Future for Architecture Education and Practice. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1996.
External links
- The Boyer Center at Messiah College