Barbara Bowman: Excellence in Early Education

Barbara T. Bowman

Barbara Bowman is one of three faculty founders of Erikson Institute, the nation's premier graduate school in child development, and served as president of the institute from 1994 to 2001. She is the Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development.

She is an authority on early education, a national advocate for improved and expanded training for practitioners who teach and care for young children, and a pioneer in building knowledge and understanding of the issues of access and equity for minority children.

Bowman is chief early childhood education officer for the Chicago Public Schools. She is past president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and has served on numerous boards, including the High Scope Educational Foundation, the Institute for Psychoanalysis, Business People in the Public Interest, the Great Books Foundation, the Chicago Public Library Foundation, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Among the honors she has received are the Voices for Illinois' Children Start Early Award; Chicago Association for the Education of Young Children Outstanding Service to Children Award; Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education; and the National Black Child Development Institute Leadership Award. She has been awarded honorary degrees from Bank Street College, Roosevelt University, Wheelock College, Dominican University, Governor's State University, and Lewis University.