David Gleason, Ph.D., to receive the College of Education
2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award Dec. 3

Recognition ceremony part of the University of Maryland Alumni Association Gala

COLLEGE PARK, MD (Nov. 28, 2005) - College of Education alumnus, David Gleason, Ph.D., will be honored Dec. 3 with the 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award during the Sixth Annual University of Maryland Alumni Association Gala. Gleason, a 1979 graduate from the Department of Human Development, will be among the 18 honorees recognized at the ceremony to be held at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. The theme of the evening is "Celebrating our Shining Stars."

Gleason

An advocate for early childhood education and improving the conditions for young children, Gleason is president of the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, a non-profit organization that establishes early learning centers in homeless shelters. He has been a leader in private sector, the corporate world, and in non-profits, holding position that can make strategic connections between genuine needs and corporate resources. Gleason is president of the World Forum on Early Care and Education, and is the founder Ten Thousand Villages, a non-profit company which sells crafts created by artisans from Third World countries.

During his career, Gleason has developed innovative national programs in the area of early childhood education in the corporate and non-profit sectors. He has served as executive director of the National Child Development Associate Program, which offers teacher training, assessment, and credentialing. He has been commissioner for the National Association for the Education of Young Children's accreditation program, and was chief operating Officer of CorporateFamily Solutions, which manages employer-supported child development centers, and President of the Alliance of Work/Life Professionals.

In addition to his doctoral degree from the College of Education, he also holds a master's degree from the University of Chicago in child development and a bachelor's degree from St. Michael's College in sociology and theology. He and his wife, Corinne, live in Nashville, Tenn., and are the parents of four children.

The Sixth Annual Alumni Association Awards Gala opens with a 5:30 p.m. reception; followed by the dinner and ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Attendance is by invitation only. For more information, visit: www.alumni.umd.edu.

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For more information on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact Deborah Hudson, Assistant Dean for External Relations, dmhudson@umd.edu