Commencement Speaker
2012 Speaker
Professor Emeritus Edwin Bridges
Biography
Professor Bridges joined the School of Education faculty in
1974 and retired on December 31, 1999. Prior to joining the Stanford Faculty,
he spent eight years in public education first as a high school English
teacher, then successively as a Dean of Boys, Assistant High School Principal,
and High School Principal. He pursued a Ph.D. at The University of Chicago.
Following graduation, he served a brief period at Ohio State University and
then held professorships at Washington University (St. Louis), The University
of Chicago where he also served as Chair of the Committee on Administration and
Director of the Midwest Administration Center, and finally The University of
California, Santa Barbara.
During his professional career, he has received numerous awards. While serving as high school principal, he was chosen as one of the Three Outstanding Men of Indiana for his transformation of a high school located in the northwest corner of Indiana. During his career in higher education, he served as a Vice-President of the American Educational Research Association. While at Stanford he twice received the Excellence in Teaching Award. Late in his career, he received the Roald F. Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award and a citation from his Alma Mater, the University of Missouri, for his contributions to the field of education. In 2010, the University Council for Educational Administration established an annual award in his name in recognition of his contributions to the preparation and development of school leaders.
His best known work is the creation of a model for leadership training called problem-based learning. He developed and field-tested this approach to training prospective principals while at Stanford. Along with one of his former students, Dr. Philip Hallinger, they have conducted training workshops on the use of problem-based learning in higher education for more than 700 professors from ten different disciplines and fifteen countries. A version of this approach has served as the core instructional strategy in the New York City Public Schools Leadership Academy formerly directed by one of his former students, Dr. Sandy Stein. This approach has also been used in the product design program in mechanical engineering at Stanford.
Since retiring Professor Bridges has continued to write, mentor his students, watch over his four grandchildren, and spend precious time with former colleagues. He has repotted himself and devoted his research and writing to investing and retirement planning. He also managed to publish an article on administrator preparation and co-author a third book on problem-based learning.
He lives with his wife, Marjorie, in an historical home on the Stanford Campus. They have been married nearly 58 years. At the celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary she said, “We not only love one another; we like each other.” In public and private, he refers to her as the top lottery pick in 1954.
Former Speakers
2011 Speaker
Congressman George Miller (D-CA)
Biography
Congressman George Miller is the Senior Democrat of the House Education and Workforce Committee and chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, a leadership position. George is a leading advocate in Congress on education, labor, the economy, and the environment. He has represented the 7th District of California in the East Bay of San Francisco since 1975. His district includes portions of Contra Costa and Solano counties, including Richmond, Concord, Martinez, Pittsburg, Benicia, Vallejo and Vacaville. He is a life-long Democrat and Californian. George is a member of the Democratic Leadership, serving at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's direction as chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee. In that role he helps Democrats develop and articulate a wide range of policies to benefit all Americans. His priorities in the 112th Congress are to continue to create jobs and grow the economy, reauthorize the federal k-12 education law, and ensure that the historic health care reform law that he co-wrote is fully implemented. Read more...
