John H. Niemeyer
John H. Niemeyer | |
|---|---|
| 2nd President of Bank Street College of Education | |
| In office 1956–1973 | |
| Preceded by | Lucy Sprague Mitchell |
| Succeeded by | Francis J. Roberts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John H. Niemeyer |
| Died | April 19, 2004 |
| Profession | Educator, consultant, university president |
John H. Niemeyer (died April 19, 2004[1]) was the second president of Bank Street College of Education and a leading educator and consultant to the United States Office of Education. The college currently hosts the Niemeyer Series in his memory, which comprises lectures and symposia that address current issues in the education community.
Education
Niemeyer graduated in 1930 from Hamilton College (New York).[1]
Presidency
During his seventeen years in office, Niemeyer oversaw the college's 1970 move from 69 Bank Street in Greenwich Village to its current location on West 112th Street in Morningside Heights. Additionally, Bank Street's rapid growth since its 1950 genesis—before 1950, the college did not give Master of Science degrees—brought the institution to the attention of the federal government. As the Civil Rights Act of 1964 reached its final stages before enactment, the United States Commissioner of Education asked Niemeyer to work closely with southern universities to create standards for desegregation programs. Bank Street faculty were also asked to help create the national Head Start Program and to shape regulations for Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1965. Niemeyer led the college through a national workshop for Head Start administrators and directed the establishment of Bank Street's 42nd Street Early Childhood Model Head Start Training Center.
Niemeyer's presidency is widely credited with Bank Street's evolution into an influential resource in the field of the education. The 1960s saw the development of Bank Street's Research Division and the Educational Resources Center, an initiative to aid in the education of students limited by segregation and or poverty. Niemeyer administered the publishing of the Bank Street Readers, the first multiracial, topical education readers in the country. Under Niemeyer, the college also became a sponsor of Project Follow Through, helping to design its programming and to disseminate the Bank Street method to numerous United States schools.[2]
References
- ^ a b Saxon, Wolfgang (May 1, 2004). "John Harry Niemeyer, 95; Headed Bank Street College". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ Perryman, Anne (2000). A Brief History: Bank Street College of Education. Bank Street College of Education.