In celebration of 100 years as a college, the LSU College of Education has named Lisa Delpit as its first Centennial Speaker.

Delpit, executive director of the Center for Urban Education & Innovation at the College of Education, Florida International University, held a discussion titled “Touched by Their Fire, Blinded by Their Brilliance: Re-imagining the Education of Urban Students,” on Thursday, April 17, at the Tiger Den Suites in Tiger Stadium from 5-7 p.m. She also lead a conversation about local education at Istrouma High School on May 5, 2008.

An award-winning writer and speaker, Delpit has published extensively on teaching and learning in urban schools and in diverse cultural settings. She has compared educational practices in the United States and in New Guinea. Her research has led to the publication of several books that question popular teaching strategies for African-American students and other minority or disadvantaged youth.

In 1993, the Harvard Graduate School of Education presented Delpit with the award for Outstanding Contribution to Education. She also has received the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the Horace Mann Humanity Award for her work on school-community relations and cross-cultural communication.

A native of Baton Rouge, Delpit is teaching classes and conducting research as a visiting scholar in the LSU College of Education during the spring semester of 2008. She is also collaborating on several community and cultural initiatives with LSU College of Education faculty and community partners. The College of Education and Advance Baton Rouge are cosponsoring Delpit as a visiting scholar.

• LSU Tiger Stadium Lecture Photo Album

• Advance Baton Rouge Istrouma Lecture Photo Album