Dr. G. Oliver Patterson of the
education faculty at The City College of New York (CUNY)
will present "Roadblocks to African-American Academic
Achievement: Meeting the Challenges" on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at
4 p.m. at Hope College in the Maas Center auditorium in
conjunction with Black History Month.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Patterson is professor of education at The City
College, where he has been a member of the faculty since
1972. He is a member of the Board for the Center for
Distance Education at The City College; on the Board of
Directors of CUNY's Institute on the African Diaspora in the
Americas and the Caribbean; and a member of the Board of
Review for CUNY's doctoral program in education.
Patterson is past chair of the department of
education and the department of elementary education, and
past program head for graduate reading/literacy. He is also
past chair of A. Phillip Randolph Campus High School.
He is also a member of the Board of Directors of
Christian Educators of the Reformed Church in America. He
is past president of the African-American Council of the
Reformed Church in America, and a past member of the Board
of Trustees of New Brunswick Seminary. He chairs the South
African Task Force.
Patterson has co-authored or contributed to
several books concerned with reading or literacy. He is
also co-author of "Hand in Hand: Helping Children Celebrate
Diversity."
He is currently a visiting professor in the School
of Education at New York University. His numerous other
professional honors include receiving the "Spirit of the
Community Award" in 1995 from the Community Education
Center, CCNY, for his vision in adult education and his
commitment to adult learners; and the "Community Service
Award" from the Synod of New York of the Reformed Church in
America in 1994.
Prior to coming to The City College, he held
appointments in reading instruction at Suffolk Community
College in Selden, N.Y., and the State University of New
York Urban Center in Manhattan. He was also a social
studies teacher and coordinator of reading at Decatur Junior
High School #35 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
He holds his doctorate and master's from Hofstra
University in Hempstead, N.Y., and his bachelor's from
Brooklyn College. He also holds a professional diploma in
reading education from Hofstra University.
The Maas Center is located on Columbia Avenue at
11th Street. Additional information may be obtained by
calling the college's Office of Multicultural Life at (616)
395-7867, or on the office's web site.