Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University Celebrates 50 Years
Anniversary Festivities Include Awards Ceremony Honoring Sesame Street on Oct. 25
On Saturday, October 25, 2014, the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University, one of the oldest departments of child development in the United States, will kick off its 50th anniversary celebration with the Eliot-Pearson Awards for Excellence in Children’s Media, honoring the television show Sesame Street.
The awards ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 12-1p.m. in the Asean Auditorium in the Cabot Intercultural Center on Tufts University’s Medford/Somerville campus. Sesame Street, currently in its 45th season, has been introducing generations of children to letters and numbers, as well as a wide-range of life lessons from health and nutrition to cooperation, friendship and diversity – all with the help of Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird and the rest of the beloved Muppets. The series has more than 90 million “graduates” and been awarded more Emmy Awards than any other children’s television show.
Sesame Workshop’s Vice President of Research and Evaluation, Dr. Jennifer Kotler Clarke, will be at Tufts to receive the award. This award is given to organizations, individuals or companies that have made important inroads in the world of children’s media. Previous award recipients include actor and bestselling author Bill Cosby and actor and entertainer LeVar Burton. Members of the news media who would like to attend and reserve a seat and media credentials should contact Katie Cinnamond Benoit at 617-627-4703.
The 50th anniversary celebration will also include faculty-led workshops on topics as varied as robotics in education, serving children with reading challenges and positive youth development.
Harvard University Professor Howard Gardner , internationally known developmental psychologist and director of Project Zero and co-director of the Good Works Project at Harvard, will give the keynote address at 6 p.m. in Asean Auditorium.
For full details on the anniversary celebrations go to: http://ase.tufts.edu/epcshd/documents/event2014oct25.pdf.
About Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development
Eliot-Pearson’s history is rooted in Abigail Eliot’s pioneering work establishing one of the nation’s first early childhood teacher preparation programs. In 1964, Eliot-Pearson became the Department of Child Study and grew into a major interdisciplinary community focused on the study of children and the education of undergraduates and master’s students. The department provides a vibrant, interdisciplinary community dedicated to applied research and preparing students for a variety of careers. It now offers a B.A. in Child Development, a master’s program (M.A. and M.A.T.) offering both research and professional development opportunities, and one of the nation’s leading Ph.D. programs in applied developmental science.
– Information from Tufts University