OAKLAND, CA, July 28, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Rodney Joseph Reed, PhD, has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
An expert in educational administration, Dr. Reed has been a dedicated professor and advocate for more than 50 years. To prepare for his career, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Clark College in 1951 and a Master of Music from the University of Michigan in 1956. Prior to embarking upon his professional career, he served honorably in the United States Army. During this time, Dr. Reed was assigned to a special services unit at Fort Jackson, South Carolina providing his musical ability from 1953 until his honorable discharge in 1955.
Following his military service and educational accomplishments, Dr. Reed began his career as an assistant professor of instrumental music and associate conductor of concert and marching bands at the Southern University and A&M College School of Music. In 1961, he became the head of the department of music for the Oakland, California Unified School District at Havenscourt Junior High School. He subsequently accepted a leadership role as the vice principal at Oakland's King Estates Junior High School in 1968. To expand upon his expertise in this field, Dr. Reed earned a Doctor of Philosophy in educational policy, planning and administration from the University of California, Berkeley in 1970.
After obtaining his doctorate, Dr. Reed was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Education, Policy Planning and Administration in the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Education. He was also appointed as an Assistant Research Educator at the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley and to its Program in International Education Finance in 1973. During his tenure at the University of California, Berkeley he served as a co-chairman of the University Academic Senate Committee on the Status of Women and Ethnic Minorities and for its Committee on Special Scholarships. In 1980, he was appointed as Faculty Assistant for Academic Affirmative Action to the Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley. He has also served as faculty chairman of the Administrative Services Credential Program at the Berkeley Graduate School of Education and was the founder and director of the Annual Institute for School Administrators, a program to benefit the professional development of school administrators. He was also elected as chairman of the Berkeley Graduate School of Education faculty.
Dr. Reed continued his career at the University of California, Berkeley in professorial leadership roles for several years, and after relinquishing his professorial position he was bestowed with the distinguished title of professor emeritus in 1994. Taking a leave of absence from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1990, he was appointed as dean of the College of Education and Pennsylvania professor of education at the Pennsylvania State University. Most notably, he was the first Black senior academic administrator at Pennsylvania State University and, in 1998, was named as Pennsylvania State University College of Education dean and professor emeritus.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Reed has contributed to the body of research and practice in the fields of music and education. He authored "Peer-tutoring programs for the academically deficient student in higher education" for the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education in 1973 and "A Grand Journey: The History of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity 1904–2010" for the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, in 2014. He also has served on the editorial boards of several peer-reviewed journals, including the Educational Administrative Quarterly, the Journal of School Leadership, Education and Urban Studies, and the Journal of African-American Male Studies. Additionally, he was interviewed by The HistoryMakers in 2011 and was featured for his work in BlackPast.org, in 2021.
Related to his background in music Dr. Reed formed "The Ambassadors," a dance and performance orchestra, that was active in the San Francisco Bay Area for a number of years. He was also the co-developer of the music section and a reviewer of museum content narratives and films for the original conceptualization of the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. Additionally, Dr. Reed was host for "Touching the Future," a television broadcast by WPSX-TV in State College, Pennsylvania, where he interviewed key people in education and discussed such topics as the role of the government in education and methods for motivating students.
Throughout the course of his professional journey, Dr. Reed has been recognized numerous times for his expertise and dedicated work. He was the recipient of the Alumnus of the Year Award from the Black Alumni Club of the California Alumni Association in 1992 and has been recognized as an Honorary member of Golden Key National Honor Society and a member of Omicron Tau Theta National Honorary Professional Graduate Society in Vocational Education. He has also received resolutions from the California State Assembly and Senate for his contributions to education and community service in California and was awarded a commendatory plaque by California Assembly Speaker Willie J. Brown Jr. for his service to the California educational system in the interest of educational equity and excellence. He has also received awards from the Sigma Iota Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., including its Man of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Awards. In 2010, he was elected as the international president of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. The Rodney J. and Vernell A. Reed scholarship in urban education has also been established at the Pennsylvania State University in his honor.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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