Dr. Jane Ashdown Appointed Dean of the Adelphi University Ruth S. Ammon School of Education

Garden City, NY
May 14, 2009

Dr. Jane Ashdown

Adelphi University Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Gayle D. Insler is pleased to announce, after a national search, the appointment of Dr. Jane Ashdown to the position of dean of the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education. Dr. Ashdown will start her new leadership role in the 2009-2010 academic year.

“Dean Ashdown’s impressive record as a research-based clinician, practitioner, and higher education leader will bring new leadership and insight to the accredited, first-rate Ruth S. Ammon School of Education,” said Dr. Gayle D. Insler.

Dr. Ashdown’s career in education includes both administrative and teaching experience in the United States and in the UK as a practitioner in early childhood classroom and community settings.

Prior to accepting her Adelphi appointment, Dr. Ashdown served as university dean of academic affairs for teacher education at The City University of New York (CUNY) from 2007 to present, and oversaw system-wide teacher education initiatives including the CUNY Teaching Opportunity Program and the New York City Teaching Fellows Program. She was responsible for promoting cross-campus collaborations and teacher education partnerships with public schools. She played an active role in promoting greater accountability for quality teacher education, and represented the university at the state-level, as well as supported accreditation processes.

In her career, she spent 16 years in various capacities at New York University’s (NYU) Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. In the early 90s, she was the principal investigator and director of Reading Recovery, an early literacy intervention which was implemented in public schools across New York City and the metropolitan area. In her role as director of the Ruth Horowitz Center for Teacher Development, she initiated a mentoring network for teacher education graduates in their first teaching positions. She raised considerable private foundation support and made literacy a hallmark of her career through publications and conference presentations. From 2004 to 2007, she was vice chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning, the major teacher preparation department with 56 faculty and more than 1,200 students.

“I am honored to join Adelphi’s Ruth S. Ammon School of Education to carry out the mission and promote its core values of scholarship, reflective practice, social justice, inclusive community, wellness, and creativity and the arts,” said Dr. Ashdown. “In my leadership role, I look forward to working with faculty and students to further their accomplishments and build on the School’s well-established regional partnerships and its reputation for producing highly effective professionals who positively impact the communities they serve.”

Dr. Ashdown’s expertise and current research is focused on teacher development and improving first-grade reading achievement through early literacy intervention. Her publications, conference papers, and presentations on this work were recognized and supported by more than a dozen grants. In 2003, she was a co-recipient of the Daniel Griffiths Research Award recognizing her contribution to educational research in a publication on the role of cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis in education.

She earned her Ph.D. degree in interdisciplinary studies in human development from the University of Pennsylvania; diploma in early childhood education and post-graduate certificate in primary education from Goldsmiths’ College, University of London; and B.A. degree, with honors, in modern history, economics, and politics from the University of Manchester.

To learn more about the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, visit http://education.adelphi.edu/.

Adelphi University Ruth S. Ammon School of Education: The Adelphi University Ruth S. Ammon School of Education is dedicated to providing students with the skills and techniques necessary to meet the challenges of teaching and working in a complex, multicultural society. The School’s innovative curriculum combines liberal arts and sciences with professional training and community service to provide a firm foundation for teachers and professionals in related fields. The curriculum is built upon the core values of scholarship, reflective practice, social justice, inclusive community, wellness, and creativity and the arts. The School was named in 2006 for alumna Ruth S. Ammon ’42, following a $8.5 million gift by her daughter, University Trustee Carol A. Ammon M.B. A.’79.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi University, chartered in 1896, was the first institution of higher education for the liberal arts and sciences on Long Island. Through its schools and programs—The College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, and the Schools of Business, Nursing, and Social Work—the co-educational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,500 students from 41 states and 63 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie, the University maintains a commitment to liberal studies in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.


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