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Dr. Edward J. Kame’enui has accepted a position as the nation’s first commissioner for
special education research.
Professor accepts
national post for
special education
Dr. Edward J. Kame'enui will take an indefinite
leave of absence to begin the new research position
BY BRT1TNI MCCLENAHAN
NEWS REPORTER
Dr. Edward J. Kame’enui, profes
sor of special education, will be
taking an indefinite leave of ab
sence from the University to take a
new position as the nation’s first
commissioner for special education
research. He will be leading the
National Center for Special Educa
tion Research, a newly established
office within the U.S. Department
of Education.
Kame’enui will begin his new posi
tion in Washington, D.C., on July 1.
“I’m honored,” Kame’enui said.
“It’s a great field, with great people
who are very serious, dedicated
and smart.”
Kame’enui earned a bachelor of arts
degree at Pacific University in Oregon
and a master’s and Ph.D., both in spe
cial education, at the University of Ore
gon. He began his career in special ed
ucation as a houseparent, working
with children identified with serious
emotional and behavioral problems at
a residential treatment center in Wis
consin when he was only 21 years old.
“I couldn’t find a job as an Eng
lish teacher, and that was that,”
Kame’enui said.
Before coming to Oregon in 1988,
Kame’enui taught at the University of
Montana and Purdue University. His
areas of expertise include early literacy
research, school-wide reading im
provement, and design of high-quality
educational tools and instruction.
“The reason I came to this univer
sity was the colleagues,” Kame’enui
said. “There are wonderful people
here. The faculty and students
here are great, and it’s a really
unique place.”
The National Center for Special
Education Research, one of four
centers within the education depart
ment’s Institute of Education Sci
ences, supports research on special
education and related services and
aims to provide school officials with
sufficient information regarding
children with learning disabilities.
IES Director Grover “Russ” White
hurst said in an education depart
ment press release that Kame’enui
is “uniquely qualified” to lead the
new center.
“We arc so pleased to have someone
with Ed Kame’enui’s background and
considerable skills fill this key posi
tion,” Whitehurst said.
According to the Department of Ed
ucation’s Web site, the new program is
designed to increase effectiveness in
education to students with disabilities
through the latest sciences and tech
nologies geared to understanding and
developing new techniques for stu
dents with learning disabilities.
The center came from the Individu
als with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004, which
ensures that all children with disabili
ties have access to free, appropriate
public education that emphasizes spe
cial education and related services
designed to meet their needs and pre
pare them for further education,
employment and independent living.
Under IDEA, the federal govern
ment protects the rights of children
with disabilities and ensures that ed
ucators and parents have the neces
sary tools to improve educational re
sults and to assess and ensure the
effectiveness of efforts to educate
children with disabilities.
Kame’enui said he welcomes this
opportunity and hopes to make a posi
tive impact on education.
“The more experience you have, the
wiser your decisions will be,” he said.
“Hopefully it will help make the right
decisions. You make connections with
people and learn from your successes
and mistakes.”
bmcclenahan@dailyemerald.com