Dr. James Comer has been awarded the 2015 Mary Utne O’Brien Award for Excellence in Expanding the Evidence-based Practice of Social and Emotional Learning given by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a national organization advancing the development of academic, social, and emotional competence for school-aged children. Ellen Moir, the founder and chief executive officer of New Teacher Center (NTC), also received the award.
“Dr. Comer’s vision and practical approaches to promote children’s social, emotional, and academic development have benefitted thousands of educators and millions of children,” said Dr. Roger P. Weissberg, CASEL’s Chief Knowledge Officer and board vice chair.
“I was honored to receive the Mary Utne O’Brien Award from CASEL, and I appreciate Roger’s acknowledgement at the beginning of his award presentation about his discussions with me as a young member of the Yale Child Study Center faculty greatly informed his thinking.”
The CASEL board of directors established the award to honor the memory of Mary Utne O’Brien who joined CASEL as associate director in 1999 after many years of leading public health research studies in Chicago. CASEL honors two awardees for their work in either the field of education or the field of public policy.