Keynote Speakers
Ron Ferguson Ph.D
Harvard University
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Senior Lecturer in Education and Public Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is also an economist and Senior Research Associate at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. He has taught at Harvard since 1983, focusing on education and economic development. His research and writing for the past decade have focused on racial achievement gaps, appearing in a variety of publications. His most recent book is Toward Excellence with Equity: An emerging vision for closing the achievement gap, published by Harvard Education Press. He is the creator of the Tripod Project for School Improvement and also the faculty co-chair and director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University. Ferguson earned an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and PhD from MIT, both in economics. He is the father of two and very happily married to Helen Mont-Ferguson. |
Ken McCluskey Ph.D
University of Winnipeg Canada
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Dr. Ken McCluskey holds his B.A. (Honours), M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in Psychology from the University of Manitoba, as well as his Clinician’s, Coordinator’s, Teacher’s, and Special Education Certificates from Manitoba Education. Before taking up his present position as Dean/Professor of Education at the University of Winnipeg more than 12 years ago, he had 25 years experience as a psychologist, special educator, and administrator in the public school system. A recipient of major program development, creativity, and publication awards from the Canadian Council for Exceptional Children, the International Centre for Innovation in Education, the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, and Reclaiming Youth International (along with his institution’s teaching, research, and community service awards), Ken is a much sought after speaker. He has more than 125 provincial, national, and international conference presentations to his credit. Three-quarters of those were invited papers, distinguished lectures, plenary sessions, or keynote addresses.
Ken is known internationally for his work in several areas, including (1) mentoring; (2) attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; (3) at-risk children and youth (where his Lost Prizes and related projects serve as models world-wide for those interested in identifying and developing the talents of marginalized young people); and (4) gifted education. In the latter domain, Ken’s Amphitheater Model – which emphasizes equity, opportunity, and enrichment – is widely used to guide programming for high-ability students. As well, as a result of his 2005 proposal, the Executive Council of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children – an organization with members from more than 70 countries across the globe – selected the University of Winnipeg as its World Headquarters. Internationally, Ken’s work has taken him to institutions throughout the United States, Mexico, Trinidad, England, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Jordan, Turkey, India, Kenya, Thailand, and Australia. Over the course of his career, Ken has secured in excess of $3 million in grants or contracts to support his research and service delivery projects. He is author or co-author of some 120 professional publications (articles, monographs, chapters, or books), more than 80 of which are peer-reviewed. His refereed contributions include articles for Gifted Child Quarterly, Gifted and Talented International, Reclaiming Children and Youth, McGill Journal of Education, Journal of Special Education, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, and Developmental Psychology. His editorially (not peer) reviewed pieces have appeared in Communiqué, Think Magazine, World Gifted, Psychology Today, Creative Learning Today, and Reading Today. Perhaps the best-known of his 20 co-authored or co-edited books are: |