Professor Lee Shulman, who passed away this week at 86, was president emeritus of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and was the first Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education and Professor (by courtesy) of Psychology at Stanford University. Prior to that, he was Professor of Educational Psychology and Medical Education at Michigan State University, serving as a member of that faculty from 1963 to 1982. He was also the founding co-director of the Institute for Research on Teaching (IRT) at Michigan State from 1976.
Professor Shulman was a president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and was a member of the National Academy of Education, having served as both vice president and president of that organization. In 2002 he was elected a Fellow of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research and writings dealt with the study of teaching and teacher education; the assessment of teaching; medical education; the psychology of instruction in science, mathematics, and medicine; and the quality of teaching in higher education. His research helped strengthen teaching as a profession and significantly contributed to establishing the prestige of the teaching profession.
For decades, Professor Shulman served as a trusted advisor to the management and faculty of the Mandel Foundation–Israel and was a member of the Foundation’s Academic Advisory Committee. He shared his extensive knowledge with fellows and graduates of the Foundation and contributed his experience and expertise to generations of educators who were trained by the Mandel leadership programs. In recent years, Professor Shulman made a special contribution to the development of the Mandel Program for Academic Leadership in Teacher Education, and the underlying concept of the program is based in large part on his research philosophy.
Professor Lee Shulman will be remembered as a distinguished teacher and generous person who never ceased to innovate and develop, and who maintained a special connection with the graduates of the Mandel Foundation–Israel, who continued to see him as an advisor and teacher long after they completed their studies.