William G. Durden, President Emeritus of Dickinson College, to Speak at Walden Academic Residency

Dr. William G. Durden

Minneapolis—June 13, 2014—Dr. William G. “Bill” Durden, president emeritus and professor of liberal arts at Dickinson College, will speak to more than 500 doctoral students at Walden University’s academic residency on June 14, 2014, at the Hilton Americas–Houston hotel in Houston, Texas. Dr. Durden has published and spoken widely on a broad range of topics in education including gifted and talented education, technology and instruction, U.S. and international education policy and theory, leadership, and student access and success. He plans to speak to Walden doctoral students about his own research journey, his personal story as a first-generation college graduate and insights from his experience in business, policy and education.

President of Dickinson College from 1999 to 2013, his previous academic experience includes serving as a member of the German department at The Johns Hopkins University and as executive director of the Center for Talented Youth for 16 years. During his tenure at Johns Hopkins, he was also a senior education consultant to the U.S. Department of State for 11 years and chaired the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth. Directly prior to coming to Dickinson College, Dr. Durden was simultaneously president of a division of Sylvan Learning Systems (today Laureate Education, Inc.) and vice president of academic affairs for the Caliber Learning Network—originally a joint venture of MCI and Sylvan. Dr. Durden currently holds a joint appointment as professor (research) in the Graduate School of Education at The Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Durden serves as chair of the advisory board of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (the senior Fulbright program) and as a member of the board of trustees of the Institute of International Education. He is a board member of Walden University and the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. He is also a trustee of Richmond—The American International University in London as well as SquashWise, an organization dedicated to helping inner-city Baltimore youth obtain advanced education.

He received his undergraduate degree from Dickinson College in German and philosophy and M.A. and PhD degrees in German Literature and Language from The Johns Hopkins University. Directly following his graduation from Dickinson, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He has also studied at the University of Freiburg and the University of Muenster, Germany.

Academic residencies at Walden, an accredited university, support students’ academic and professional goals by connecting them with individual faculty mentors, student support staff and hundreds of peers. During academic residencies, students from all doctoral and select master’s degree programs have the opportunity to conceptualize and develop research that contributes to positive social change.

Walden’s plenary sessions are an integral part of the residencies and are led by speakers from around the world who share an array of experiences and viewpoints with the hope of inspiring debate and lively conversation. These sessions are intended to provide Walden students and faculty and staff members with the opportunity to hear perspectives on a variety of topics that are meaningful and relevant to their lives as scholars and practitioners.

For more information about Walden University, visit www.WaldenU.edu.

About Walden University
For more than 40 years, Walden University has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and their communities. Today, more than 50,000 students from all 50 states and more than 150 countries are pursuing their bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees online at Walden. The university provides students with an engaging educational experience that connects them with expert faculty and peers around the world. Walden is the flagship online university in the Laureate International Universities network—a global network of more than 75 campus-based and online universities in 30 countries.

Walden offers more than 80 degree programs with more than 370 specializations and concentrations. Areas of study include health sciences, counseling, human services, management, psychology, social work, education, public health, nursing, public administration and information technology. For more information, visit www.WaldenU.edu. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, www.hlcommission.org.