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Former NIU literacy professor to return Sept. 27 to speak on reading, writing, ‘culture of reform’

September 13, 2011
Alfred W. Tatum

Alfred W. Tatum

Alfred W. Tatum, an NIU alum and former professor in the Department of Literacy Education, will return Tuesday, Sept. 27, as the featured speaker in the College of Education’s Fall 2011 Community Learning Series.

Tatum, who now teaches in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), will speak on “Broadening Our Lens of Literacy in a Culture of Reform: A Focus on Reading and Writing.”

The event takes place at the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center, 231 N. Annie Glidden Road.

A reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres takes place from 5 to 6 p.m. A book-signing follows from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Tatum’s presentation, with a question-and-answer session, is scheduled from 6 to  7 p.m.

Seated is limited. RSVP by Monday, Sept. 19, to Gail Hayenga at (815) 753-8370 or via email at ghayenga@niu.edu.

Tatum earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from NIU and his master’s and Ph.D. from UIC. He has been a teacher and reading specialist in the Chicago Public Schools and has served on the faculties of several colleges and universities, including NIU.

At UIC, Tatum directs the Reading Clinic and coordinates the Literacy, Language, and Culture doctoral program. For several years, he has hosted the African American Adolescent Male Summer Literacy Institute; more than 65 teens have attended, many of whom are now published authors.

He is the author of the award-winning books, “Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap” and “Reading for Their Life: (Re)Building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males.”

The event is sponsored by the NIU Alumni Association.

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