Research Training at the John F.

Kennedy Center
Author(s): William E. MacLean, Jr. and Steven F. Warren
Source: Peabody Journal of Education , 1996, Vol. 71, No. 4, The John F. Kennedy
Center at 30: Searching for Solutions to Problems of Human Development (1996), pp. 45-
56
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.

Stable URL: [Link]

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PEABODY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 71(4), 45-56
Copyright ? 1996, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Research Training at the

John F. Kennedy Center

William E. MacLean, Jr. and Steven F. Warren

The John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development at

Peabody College has had a primary mission of high-quality research on
mental retardation and related aspects of human development for the past
30 years. As a part of this research enterprise there has been a parallel
commitment to research training for undergraduate, master's, doctoral, and
postdoctoral trainees. Training has typically been provided in the context
of ongoing funded research with the support of institutional research
training grants, foundation grant awards, and strong academic programs.
The purpose of this article is to review this outstanding record of research
training in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Center
for Research on Human Development. The history of research training at
the Kennedy Center actually begins 12 years before its creation. Its most
obvious roots emerge from the Mental Retardation Research Training
Program-a revolutionary program created in the mid-1950s. In fact some

WILLIAM E. MAcLEAN, JR. is Research Training Director of the John F. Kennedy Center and
Associate Professor of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN.

STEVEN F. WARREN is Deputy Director of the John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Human
Development and Professor in the Departments of Special Education, Psychology, and Human
Development, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Steven F. Warren, Department of Special Education,
Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Box 328, Nashville, TN 37203.

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W. E. MacLean, Jr. and S. F. Warren

might even assert that the success of the Mental Retardation Research
Training Program actually led to the Kennedy Center's presence at
Peabody.

Mental Retardation Research Training Program

The Mental Retardation Research Training Program at Peabody College

was founded by Lloyd Dunn and the late Nicholas Hobbs in 1954. It was
developed in response to the relative lack of scientific interest in mental
retardation and the realization that the field held rich, previously untapped
research possibilities. At the same time it was apparent that Peabody
College was uniquely situated, given its nearly exclusive focus on educa-
tion, to lead the field in mental retardation research. The program was
funded in 1955 by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and was,
accordingly, the first nationally funded program of its kind.
An interesting historical note regarding the program emerges from a
story about President Kennedy's inquiry into mental retardation research
training sponsored by NIMH in 1962. Apparently, President Kennedy
asked the NIMH Director about such programs and the Director had
difficulty providing an immediate response. The Director asked an assistant
to consult the NIMH staff and to report back. Some time later, the assistant
provided information about an NIMH-funded program in Nashville, Ten-
nessee, at George Peabody College for Teachers. President Kennedy said
that it was a good beginning, but that NIMH was going to have to do a lot
more than that. It was not very long before similar programs were funded
at the University of Alabama, the University of Kansas, the University of
Illinois, the University of Indiana, and the University of Wisconsin. Further-
more, President Kennedy created two new organizational structures of
critical importance to the field-the President's Commission on Mental
Retardation and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Devel-
opment (NICHD). With the creation of the NICHD, the Mental Retardation
Research Training Program grant was transferred from NIMH to NICHD
(HD 00043).

Training Philosophy

Since its inception, the program has been characterized by excellence in

academic training in one's discipline with an overlay of specific knowledge
of mental retardation. This notion may be traced back to Nicholas Hobbs,
who believed that excellence in training psychologists was the primary

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 Research Training

objective. Many of the early trainees were psychologists who majored in

either clinical or experimental psychology and obtained a minor in special
education. Norman R. Ellis served as major professor for those trainees in
experimental psychology, and Rue D. Cromwell served as major professor
for clinical psychology students. Dunn served as the minor professor in
special education. With the departure of Rue Cromwell in 1963, responsi-
bility for the clinical track was given to H. Carl Haywood, a recent faculty
recruit from the University of Illinois. One unique aspect of the training
program was its reliance on internships as a part of the training experience.
Trainees in clinical or experimental psychology were required to complete
a year-long research internship. Students in clinical psychology completed
a second year-long clinical internship to fulfill American Psychological
Association requirements. The research internship was deemed a great
strength of the early program and undoubtedly played a significant role in
its success in populating the research world with graduates. However, it
was the close collegial relations between the training program and the
academic programs within the Division of Human Development that made
the program so effective.
From the beginning, there has been an emphasis on the importance of
an interdisciplinary perspective in the understanding of the behavioral
aspects of mental retardation. The program emerged from the Peabody
College Division of Human Development-an academic unit that spon-
sored academic programs in psychology and special education. This col-
laboration continues to the present day through involvement of the Depart-
ment of Psychology and Human Development and the Department of
Special Education-each department sharing equally in the available
NICHD predoctoral traineeships. Since the early years, the program has
relied heavily on the resources of the Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine to support understanding of the biomedical aspects of mental
retardation.

Current Program

The current program continues the tradition of interdisciplinary training

within the context of the broad Kennedy Center research environment.
Trainees complete formal coursework on conceptual issues in mental retar-
dation research and research foundations of prevention and intervention
in mental retardation. They also participate in a continuing proseminar and
a diverse colloquium program sponsored in part by the Kennedy Center.
However, it is the research apprenticeship that serves as the crucial element
of the training program. Predoctoral trainees participate in ongoing collabo-

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W. E. MacLean, Jr. and S. F. Warren

rative research under the mentorship of research scientists, investigating a

range of problems relevant to mental retardation and developmental dis-
abilities.

Program Leadership

The Mental Retardation Research Training Program has been directed

by several prominent faculty over the years: Dunn was director from
1954-1968, H. Carl Haywood served as director from 1968-1970, William
A. Bricker was director from 1970-1974, Penelope H. Brooks directed the
program from 1974-1988, and Steven F. Warren and William E. MacLean,
Jr. have served as co-directors since 1988. Perhaps even more valuable has
been the extraordinary contribution of administrative staff to the program.
In this regard, Linda Dupre (formerly Linda Maggart) has served since 1974
with enthusiasm and effectiveness in helping achieve the program's mis-
sion. Her contribution deserves recognition in the context of this anniver-
sary celebration.

Impact of the Program

There is evidence that the Peabody College program faculty and students
have influenced the field of mental retardation research in greater depth
and scope than any other educational institution in the United States. In
1973, the American Association on Mental Deficiency honored the program
by making Peabody College the only institution ever to receive the Ameri-
can Association on Mental Deficiency's education award (all other recipi-
ents have been individuals). The award recognized the accomplishments
of Hobbs and Dunn in establishing the nation's first doctoral training
program for behavioral scientists in the field of mental retardation. The
citation reads: "Peabody College supported their [Hobbs and Dunn's]
efforts, and a training program emerged that combined thorough academic
education in psychology and special education with research and research
training in mental retardation."
In 1976, NICHD conducted a survey to determine the extent to which
training programs funded by the Institute successfully carried out their
categorical objectives. Peabody College received the highest ranking
given-a 10.9 on a weighted 12-point scale. Similarly, a 1987 National
Institutes of Health (NIH) analysis of Science Citations Index entries of
psychologists studying mental retardation found that 19% of the citations
were attributed to Peabody faculty and graduates.

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 Research Training

This tradition continues as evidenced by an analysis of our recent pro-

gram graduates. Of the 31 students who completed their doctorates be-
tween 1985-1995, 23 (74%) either hold faculty positions in research univer-
sities or are full-time researchers pursuing work relevant to mental
retardation and other developmental disabilities. The vast majority of our
14 postdoctoral trainees over the past 15 years are presently pursuing
systematic programs of research relevant to mental retardation and devel-
opmental disabilities. Seven of these young scientists have received re-
search support (as either principal investigator [PI] or co-PI) from NIH to
date.
The most recent renewal application (reviewed in 1993) was very favor-
ably reviewed, receiving a priority score of 103 (on a scale of 100 to 500, on
which 100 is considered a perfect score). The reviewers were complimen-
tary regarding the program faculty, training model, and training record.
Specifically, they commented that the program faculty "includes a cadre of
talented and committed researchers experienced as mentors of pre- and
postdoctoral students who themselves are in the forefront of research in
developmental disabilities" (F. de la Cruz, personal communication, Au-
gust 26, 1993). Furthermore, the faculty "provide a choice of training in the
behavioral sciences matched by few institutions" (F. de la Cruz, personal
communication, August 26, 1993). In reviewing the predoctoral program,
the reviewers said "this immersion training is an excellent program feature
with many research skills acquired through active participation" (F. de la
Cruz, personal communication, August 26, 1993).
Program graduates have become recognized leaders in behavioral re-
search, holding prominent positions in academic departments of psychol-
ogy, special education, and education, as well as various medical school
clinical departments such as pediatrics. Similarly, graduates have also held
positions of responsibility in the national Mental Retardation Research
Centers and in the university-affiliated programs. Program graduates have
also assumed positions in various levels of government. A comprehensive
listing of the more than 130 program graduates is presented in the Appen-
dix.

Postdoctoral Research Training in Mental Retardation

Research training at the postdoctoral level also predated the creation of

the Kennedy Center. One very successful program was funded by the
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation. This program funded Kennedy Foun-
dation Visiting Professorships. The funds were obtained by Hobbs, who
then turned over program responsibility to H. Carl Haywood. These funds

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W. E. MacLean, Jr. and S. F. Warren

made it possible to bring to the Peabody campus each year several scholars
who had completed their formal training for the doctorate and who, in the
first few years after the doctorate, had demonstrated high promise as
productive, career investigators. They were given an opportunity to spend
1 year studying the problem of mental retardation with a view toward
developing a research career in the field. While learning about mental
retardation, the visitors offered seminars in their own field of specialization,
thus strengthening the Peabody College doctoral programs. Recipients of
these Foundation Professorships included J. P. Das, PhD; William W.
Lynch, Jr., PhD; Leonard E. Ross, PhD; Langdon E. Longstreth, PhD; James
W. Barnard, PhD; and George Paulson, MD. After several highly successful
years, the program was altered to provide funds for Kennedy Foundation
Professors at Peabody College. Recipients of these awards included William
Bricker, PhD; H. Carl Haywood, PhD; William Chasey, PhD; and Richard
Gorsuch, PhD, among others.
Since the inception of the Kennedy Center, there has been an emphasis
on training postdoctoral students in the context of various Kennedy Center
research programs, such as the Institute on Mental Retardation and Intel-
lectual Development, the Demonstration and Research Center on Early
Education, and so forth. These emerging investigators typically filled re-
search associate positions on various externally funded grants, but also
were supported by hard Peabody College dollars for many years, in recog-
nition of the importance of research training. Indeed, there were many
examples of research associates obtaining grant funding while at Peabody
College who then left campus and obtained academic appointments at
other prominent research universities. Some viewed such occasions as
losses, but others among us applauded such outcomes as successes-con-
crete examples of an exemplary research training enterprise.
In 1980, the Mental Retardation Research Training Program expanded
from its historical emphasis on predoctoral training by adding postdoctoral
training. These trainees come from a range of doctoral programs. Some have
had previous training in areas related to mental retardation, and some are
making their way into the field. Also, supported by the NICHD institutional
training grant, 14 postdoctoral fellows have completed training. The pro-
gram includes coursework in mental retardation, participation in an ongo-
ing research proseminar, and research mentoring by program faculty. It is
our goal that postdoctoral trainees write and submit an NIH FIRST award
application before completing their 2 years on the training grant. As pre-
viously stated, nearly all of these trainees hold academic positions in
research universities, and half of them currently hold research funding on
research relevant to mental retardation and other developmental disabili-
ties. The postdoctoral trainees include David Weatherford, Leonard

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 Research Training

Abbeduto, Jean Hutchinson, Paul Yoder, Jim Van Haneghan, Jennifer

Makin, Stephen Oross, Linda Jones, Pamela Zanthos, Deborah Mauk, Chris-
topher Lonigan, Maureen Smith, Beth Joseph, and William Frea.

John Merck Scholars II Program

In 1996, the Kennedy Center was awarded a 5-year John Merck Scholars
II Program grant funded by the John Merck Fund of Boston, Massachusetts.
This grant provides funding for predoctoral researchers interested in the
dual occurrence of mental retardation and emotional disturbance. Funds
are provided specifically for dissertation research, an aspect of training that
is typically not covered by institutional training grants such as the one that
we have from NICHD. These funds will be awarded to three doctoral
candidates at a time for up to 1 year to develop a dissertation project
for up to 1 year to carry out the proposed work. Funds are also availab
support the implementation of the research project (small equipm
reliability observers) and to travel to national research conferences. W
this recent program development, we can fund students throughout t
predoctoral training and provide much needed researchers in the field
mental retardation and emotional disturbance.

Research Training in Related Aspects of

Human Development

Two other NIH-supported research training programs have been affili

ated with the Kennedy Center over the past 10 years. The Behavior
Pediatrics Research Training Program was funded by NICHD from
1986-1992. This program proceeded from the fundamental assumption th
understanding child health problems is best achieved through a conver
gence of medical and psychological perspectives. The program provided
interdisciplinary training for pediatricians and psychologists to enhan
collaborative research in behavioral pediatrics. The program provid
fellowships for three fully trained pediatricians and three postdoctora
psychologists to engage in coursework, clinical activities related to beha
ioral pediatrics, and a research apprenticeship. Three of the trainees cu
rently hold academic positions in medical schools and are active in behav
ioral pediatrics research. The program co-directors included William A
Altemeier, MD; William E. MacLean, Jr., PhD; and Mark L. Wolraich, M
The Developmental Psychopathology Training Program has been
funded by NIMH since 1989. Its overall objectives are to prepare traine

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W. E. MacLean, Jr. and S. F. Warren

to become leading research scientists in the emerging interdisciplinary

fields of developmental psychopathology and prevention science, to en-
hance the quality of research being conducted in these fields, and to provide
a national forum for the maturation and evolution of these fields. The
program is unique in that it combines faculty and trainees from the f
of developmental psychology, clinical psychology, and psychiatry in
diversity of theories and methods of the growing field of developme
psychopathology. This field is characterized by an attempt to relate ph
genic and psychogenic causes of behavioral maladaptation throug
understanding of normal and abnormal developmental processes.
focus on mental disorders also emphasizes empirically based prevent
interventions.

Research training proceeds from an apprenticeship model in whic

trainees work closely with at least one program faculty member. At th
same time, trainees are exposed to multiple research laboratories through
an ongoing proseminar attended by core faculty and trainees. This prosem
nar highlights faculty and trainee research and includes periodic visits b
scholars from other universities. The program includes advanced predoc
toral trainees in psychology, postdoctoral trainees in psychology, an
psychiatry research fellows. The success of the program is evident in the
fact that all of the trainees that have been funded by the program are
currently active in research. A competing continuation application was
recently funded by NIMH, thus providing 5 more years of training support.
The overall program director is Kenneth Dodge, PhD. Michael Ebert, MD
Judy Garber, PhD; and Steve Hollon, PhD, serve as co-directors for the
program. The program is affiliated with the Kennedy Center's Institute o
Development and Psychopathology.

Conclusion

The research training tradition established more than 40 years a

continues today. This enterprise has evolved over the years to refl
changes within Peabody College and Vanderbilt University, as well
changes within the larger field of research on human development. Refl
ing this evolution, Kennedy Center research training has achieved grea
breadth in recent years and greater integration into the larger worlds
education, psychology, and the behavioral and social sciences in genera
The various research training programs will continue to change, but wit
the conservative context of the scientific approach. The current portfo
reflects the present faculty's strengths while ensuring that current a
future trainees develop the array of conceptual and methodological sk

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 Research Training

combined with the ethical values necessary to contribute successfully in the

future to our scientific knowledge of mental retardation and related condi-
tions. A fundamental tenet of the training approach is that first-rate research
training can be conducted only in the presence of first-rate science and
scholarship. Thus, the relevance and success of the training program will
necessarily reflect the relevance and success of the broader Kennedy Center
research program.

APPENDIX

Mental Retardation Research Training Program Graduate

1955 1962

James G. Foshee Benjamin H. Allen

Dorothy Shipe
1957 Donald J. Stedman
Wolf Wolfensberger
Gerald J. Bensberg
Rick Heber 1963

1958 Earl C. Butterfield

William Gardner 1964

James W. Moss
Daniel Ringelheim William Hawkins
Robert MacIntyre
1959
1965
Charles D. Barett
Gershon Berkson Thomas R. McConnell
Joseph E. Spradlin
1966
1960
Donald J. Dickerson
Irv Bialer Mary Headrick
Frederic L. Girardeau Mary M. Mehl
John M. Throne S. Joseph Weaver

1961 1968

Alfred A. Baumeister John T. Johnson, Jr.

Martin B. Miller Theodore D. Wachs

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W. E. MacLean, Jr. and S. F. Warren

1969 John Filler

Joel S. Ray
Robert F. Behrens
Linda Bilsky 1975
William A. Blount
Robert P. Cantrell Richard P. Brinker
Thomas D. Gardner Gerald Mahoney
Robert Gropper Sharon Spritzer-Griffith
William A. Hayes Roger Smith
Paul A. Kral Zolinda Stoneman
Catherine Terrell Jerry Treadway
Lisbeth J. Vincent
1970
1976
Lawrence A. Larsen
William Lucker Tom Carr
Anne K. Criticos
1971 John B. Merbler
Peggy Rogers Parks
Richard Mankinen
Rune Simeonsson 1977
Alexander J. Tymchuk
Michael Ward Susan Crawley
Robert DeVellis
1972 Maria I. Iacobbo

John E. Gordon 1978

Cordelia Robinson
Brenda DeVellis
1973 Helen Doane
Thomas Freck
Richard Call
Martha Foster
Dee Graham 1979
Robert D. Isett
Catherine Mates Drew Arnold
J. Gregory Olley Carl Dunst
Cheryl Lewis Green
1974 Gail Petersen
Steven Veit
Joseph A. Buckhalt Carolyn Weil

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 Research Training

1980 David Guth

Charles Lowitzer
Deborah Davies
Howard Goldstein 1987
Marsali Hansen
Willard Johnson William Bryson-Brockmann
Mark Lewis Joan Littlefield
William E. MacLean, Jr. Mary Ann Mulcahey
Howard Schneider
Bonnie Shelley 1988
Donna Thompson
Laura Thompson Terry Hancock
Teresa Villani Eva Horn

1981 1989

William McCuller Robert E. Arendt

Anthony Brown
1982 Holly N. Galbreath
Leslie Halper
Edward Merrill Vicki Tepper

1983
1990
M. Susan Burns
Victor Delclos Lynne Daurelle
Tony Hecimovic David Ellis
Richard A. Laine Ann Fullerton

1984 1991

Walter Wagor Bonnie B. Haynes (Beck)

Pamela Doxsey West Mary Louise Hemmeter
Susan Vaught
1985
1992
William H. Brown
Michael Carlin
1986 Kristine Derer
Pamela Fernstrom
Harriet Able Boone Hazel Jones
Maureen Conroy Patricia Mathes

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W. E. MacLean, Jr. and S. F. Warren

1993

Karen Byrne

1994

Gail Gazdag
David Shapiro
Marlene White

1995

Luann Klindworth

1996

Kerry Harwood
Jill Howard
Rebecca McCather
Craig Steinberg
Frank Symons

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Formal and Functional Definitions of the Kennedy Center: An Introduction
Author(s): Ann P. Kaiser
Source: Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 71, No. 4, The John F. Kennedy Center at 30:
Searching for Solutions to Problems of Human Development (1996), pp. 3-15
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: [Link]
Accessed: 01-02-2024 13:38 +00:00

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Peabody Journal of Education

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PEABODY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 71(4), 3-15
Copyright ? 1996, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Formal and Functional Definitions of

the Kennedy Center: An Introduction
Ann P. Kaiser

A center, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the English

Language (Morris, 1969) has several meanings:

1. A point around which something revolves, an axis;

2. A part of an object that is surrounded by the rest, a core;
3. A place of concentrated activity or influence. (p. 217)

To center (an intransitive verb) suggests other meanings:

1. To be concentrated, clustered
2. To have a central theme. (p. 217)

All of these meanings derive from the Greek kentron, the sharp point of a
compass.
The John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development was
established in 1965 as the principal research arm of George Peabody College
for Teachers and as one of the 12 national mental retardation research

ANN P. KAISER is Professor and Chair of Special Education, and Director of the Institute f
Prevention, Early Intervention, and Families of the John F. Kennedy Center, Peabody College
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Ann P. Kaiser, Department of Special Educatio
Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Box 328, Nashville, TN 37203.

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A. P. Kaiser

centers. These centers were coordinated and funded by the National Insti-
tute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the 1963
Mental Retardation Facilities and Mental Health Centers Construction Act
(Public Law 88-164). Funding for research and administrative activities was
complemented by funds from the NICHD, the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
Foundation, and Peabody College for the construction of two buildings: the
Laboratory for Human Development and the Mental Retardation Labora-
tory.
The research and training foundations for the Kennedy Center were
established well before funding for the NICHD centers became available.
Since the early 1950s, Peabody College had provided doctoral training for
behavioral scientists in the field of mental retardation, supported by Grant
HD00125 from the National Institute of Mental Health. This program was
the first training program of its kind. In 1962, the Kennedy Foundation
provided a grant to support a Visiting Professor Program to provide
postdoctoral training and experience in mental retardation research. A
multiple project grant from NICHD (HD15051) in 1964 established the
Institute on Mental Retardation and Intellectual Development and began a
30-year period of continuous support for behavioral research in the Ken-
nedy Center. The funding of the Kennedy Center as 1 of 12 NICHD centers
on mental retardation in 1965 defined it as the central point in Peabody
College, the Nashville community, and eventually in the nation, around
which research activities related to mental retardation and problems of
human development would revolve for 3 decades.
The original objective of the Kennedy Center, as articulated in 1964, was
to conduct both basic research on human development and applied re-
search on the characteristics, development, behavior, education, and habili-
tation of persons with mental retardation. That original objective has been
broadened to reflect advances in scientific method, a more integrative view
of the processes of human development, and contemporary social values.
The current mission of the Kennedy Center is to conduct and support
collaborative research, training, and information dissemination on behav-
ioral, intellectual, and brain development. Its aims are to better understand
human development, to prevent and solve developmental problems, and
to enable people with developmental disabilities to lead fuller lives in the
community. Although the Kennedy Center was initially conceived as hav-
ing an almost exclusive focus on behavioral and social sciences, the prox-
imity of the Vanderbilt Medical school, other colleges and universities in
the Nashville area, and the interests of faculty members broadened the
scope of the Kennedy Center to include biobehavioral research almost from
its inception. Currently, the Kennedy Center is organized around five
institutes, three of which include both behavioral and biological sciences.

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 Introduction

The history of the Kennedy Center has been marked by a set of enduring
characteristics: thematic research programs involving investigators from
diverse disciplines, systematic attention to scientific methods as well as
research outcomes, a dual emphasis on basic and applied research, the
translation of research into practice in the local and national community,
linkages with other research centers, provision of a context for the devel-
opment of researchers in mental retardation and human development,
provision of a forum for the discussion of cutting edge research and
conceptual advances, a focus on ethics and values in research and practice,
and responsibility to children and families. These themes continue to
functionally define the Kennedy Center through its activities.

Thematic Research Programs

From its beginning, the Kennedy Center has been organized into mis-
sion-oriented research groups. Research during the early years of the
Kennedy Center was organized around seven institutes: mental retardation
and intellectual development, early education, school learning and individ-
ual differences, normal child development, behavior disorders in children,
sensory motor disorders, and community studies. These institutes were led
by faculty researchers including Lloyd Dunn, Susan Gray, Raymond Nor-
ris, Wilbert Lewis, and J. R. Newbrough. Thirty years later, the Kennedy
Center is organized into five institutes that focus on developmental neuro-
science; development and psychopathology; biobehavioral development
and genetics; prevention, early intervention, and families; and education
and learning. Although there have been many transitions and reformula-
tions of research programs to reflect faculty expertise and emergent knowl-
edge, clusters of researchers working on related problems have been a
hallmark of the Kennedy Center. From its earliest days, the center included
researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Today, the Kennedy
Center includes 65 investigators from 16 academic departments and four
schools on the Vanderbilt campus. A listing of those investigators is pro-
vided in Appendix A.

Spanning the Continua of Basic and Applied Research,

Method and Outcome, and Academe and Community

A second hallmark of the Kennedy Center has been its purposeful

intention to be inclusive in its scientific efforts. Systematic studies of learn-
ing; animal behavior; and, more recently, brain development and plasticity

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A. P. Kaiser

have been conducted concurrently with examinations of the effects of early

intervention and studies of school-wide educational and mental health
interventions. With the establishment of the Institute on Developmen
Neurosciences in 1991, the Kennedy Center reaffirmed its commitment
basic biological research related to problems of human development. N
research initiatives have developed that span the biological and behavior
aspects of development. The current structure of the Kennedy Ce
ter-with three institutes including researchers from biological and beh
ioral disciplines-reflects the outcome of the longstanding effort towa
developing biobehavioral perspectives on human development and men
retardation.
Science and critical scientific findings are built on the development of
methods for observation, analysis, and interpretation of data. The contri-
butions of the Kennedy Center to advances in research methodology have
occured concurrent with the publication of research findings. Three recent
methodological contributions illustrate this theme. The development of
coordinated videotape and computer-entered data coding systems (Tapp
& Walden, 1993) has allowed researchers in language and social develop-
ment to rapidly enter discreet units of behavior for sequential and episodic
analyses. Advances in statistical methods have evolved from studies con-
ducted by Kennedy Center researchers (Bates & Appelbaum, 1994). Re-
searchers in Jon Kaas's lab have developed a multiunit recording method
for mapping cortical activity in animals (Nicolelis, Lin, Woodward, &
Chapin, 1993). Historically, testing materials for assessment of learners,
observational descriptions of environments, and evaluation instruments to
assess implementation and outcomes of a range of interventions have
influenced educational practices as well as research.
Spanning the continuum of science and practice in community context
is perhaps the most enduring theme of the Kennedy Center. One of the
foundational projects of the center, Project Re-Ed, predated the estab-
lishment of the Kennedy Center. Because Kennedy Center researchers have
been focused on the problems of human development in the contexts of
everyday living, research and demonstration projects for families and
children in Nashville and surrounding communities have historically been
an integral part of the center's activities. In addition to the now famous
Demonstration and Research Center on Early Education (DARCEE) project
directed by Susan Gray, demonstrations of integrated preschool education,
infant intervention, family support, social skills development, and numer-
ous educational interventions in public and private schools have provided
state-of-the-art services to students concurrent with empirical examination
of the effects of these interventions. Clinic-based assessment and interven-
tion services for children with delayed motor development, significant

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 Introduction

behavior problems, reading difficulties, delayed communication develop-

ment, visual disabilities, autism, and Prader-Willi syndrome have been
offered in collaboration with research programs of Kennedy Center inves-
tigators. The current portfolio of community-based research includes the
Early Childhood Institute on Inclusion, directed by Sam Odom; multiple
school-based research projects on classroom teaching procedures for chil-
dren with diverse learning characteristics, directed by Doug Fuchs and
Lynn Fuchs; Ken Dodge's national collaborative research project on pre-
vention of conduct disorders in school-age children; research on transition
and peer-tutoring for students with severe disabilities, directed by Carolyn
Hughes, MOOSES reference; and PROCODER and school-based mental
health services research being conducted by Tom Catron and Bahr Weiss.
Throughout the Kennedy Center's 30-year history, public support for
persons with disabilities and their families has been part of the mission. In
addition to research and demonstration projects that have bridged the
Kennedy Center and the community, there have been very specific efforts
to communicate research findings, provide a forum for the discussion of
policy and practice issues with community members, and invite commu-
nity members to share in the activities of the Kennedy Center. In recent
years, the Kennedy Center has sponsored conversation hours on topics of
shared academic and community interest and invited Vanderbilt faculty,
Kennedy Center researchers, and community leaders to dialogue around
such diverse topics as the future of early intervention, appropriate curricula
for high schools, and advances in neuroimaging. A series on practical
parenting reflects the Kennedy Center's commitment to supporting fami-
lies. These activities, and the many similar activities promoted by the
Kennedy Center over the last 3 decades, chart a continued effort to span
research to practice and to the everyday lives of members of the surround-
ing community.

Providing a Context for the Development Researchers

Research training occurs at many levels: in the classroom, in the labora-

tory, in the conduct of research, in consultation with experts, in colloquia
and presentations of research methods and findings, in the collaboration
among groups of researchers sharing an interest in a specific issue, and even
in the preparation and defense of research proposals. A third hallmark of
the Kennedy Center has been the provision of a context for the development
of researchers. In partnership with academic programs in special education
and psychology, the Kennedy Center has sponsored the Mental Retardation

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A. P. Kaiser

Research Training Program (see MacLean & Warren, 1996/this issue). In

addition, the presence of the Kennedy Center and its strong research faculty
has been a support for the development of research training programs in
early childhood special education, behavior disorders, developmental psy-
chopathology, developmental neuroscience, mental health, and visual dis-
abilities. The projects conducted under the auspices of the Kennedy Center
offer an opportunity for students at all levels of academic training to engage
in research.
Opportunities for faculty and other postdoctoral researchers to expand
their training, to learn new research methods, and to collaborate with more
senior researchers have been integral to the Kennedy Center throughout its
history. Colloquia sponsored by the Kennedy Center, expert consultations
supported by the Kennedy Center and by individual projects, and the
opportunities for professional development resulting from the Kennedy
Center's close affiliation with NICHD and the other mental retardation
centers ensure that new research methods, findings, and conceptual ad
vances will be available to Kennedy Center associates. Training of scientis
in fields related to the study of human development and development
disabilities continues to be a central activity of the Kennedy Center. T
offer of opportunities for scientists to apply their skills to problems
human development and mental retardation has drawn researchers fro
varied disciplinary backgrounds to the Kennedy Center. Finally, the stab
ity of the Kennedy Center has provided a context for the development
programs of research and a level of expertise in specific content and method
that can be exceedingly difficult for academic researchers in contexts th
do not offer such support. Linkages to researchers in the national netwo
of mental retardation centers and collaborative efforts with NICHD have
enriched the professional development of many Kennedy Center re-
searchers. The list of associates of the Kennedy Center is an impressive on
(see Appendix B). Many of the Kennedy Center's affiliates began as research
trainees or young investigators and then continued on to have productive
careers in research, policy, and public service.

Ethics, Values, and Public Responsibility

Nicholas Hobbs's (Hobbs et al., 1984) leadership in articulating the

ethical and value-based aspects of individual and community responsibil-
ity to children and families provided an enduring foundation for the
Kennedy Center. At the beginning of its 4th decade, the Kennedy Center
implicitly and explicitly continues to act in concert with Hobbs's vision. The

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 Introduction

articulated mission statement of the Kennedy Center, the foci of individual

research projects, the Kennedy Center's continued connection to the com-
munity, and its leadership in public policy and advocacy are the implicit
manifestations of Hobbs's vision. Involvement of Kennedy Center re-
searchers in projects on the ethics of caring, ethical decision making in
medical contexts, and the critique of the ethics of contemporary behavioral
research explicitly follow the Hobbs tradition. Throughout its history, the
Kennedy Center has sponsored conferences and its members have contrib-
uted to publications that have advanced thinking about the roles of values
and ethics of research and practice.

Summary

The enduring activities of the Kennedy Center suggest that it has met the
functional criteria as well as the literary definition of center. From its earliest
years, the Kennedy Center has provided a stable point around which
research, demonstration, training, service, and public policymaking have
revolved. It has served as a place of concentrated activity, reflecting the-
matic clusters of research projects. Although these themes have shifted and
evolved, the central focus on behavioral and biological research on mental
retardation and human development has been a constant.

Overview of This Issue

This issue portrays the Kennedy Center in retrospect and in prospec

The first set of preface articles contributed by Tom Burish, Eunice Kennedy
Shriver, and Duane Alexander provide perspectives on the historical con
tributions of the Kennedy Center from observers outside its immediat
domain. The authors of the five articles in the second section describe the
roots and development of the Kennedy Center by individuals who have
been integrally involved in its leadership. Finally, the last half of this issue
contains a representative sample of the ongoing research in the Kennedy
Center. In the third section, authors describe research in communication,
social behavior, and intervention. In the fourth section, biobehavioral re-
search is presented. This special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education
celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Kennedy Center and its entry into its
4th decade of research and public leadership in mental retardation and
human development.

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A. P. Kaiser

References

Bates, E., & Appelbaum, M. I. (1994). Methods of studying small samples: Issues and examples.
In S. Broman & J. Grafman (Eds.), Atypical cognitive defects in developmental disorders (pp.
245-283). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Hobbs, N., Dokecki, P. R., Hoover-Dempsey, K., Moroney, R. M., Shayne, M. W., & Weeks, K.
H. (1984). Strengtheningfamilies. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of
1963, Pub. L. No. 88-164, ? 77, Stat. 282 (October 31,1963).
Morris, W. (Ed.). (1969). The American heritage dictionary of the English language. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin.
Nicolelis, M., Lin, R. C. S., Woodward, D. J., & Chapin, J. K. (1993). Induction of immediate
spatio-temporal changes in thalamic networks by peripheral block of ascending cutaneous
information. Nature, 361, 533-536.
Tapp, J., & Walden, T. (1993). PROCODER: A professional tape control, coding, and analysis
system for behavioral research using video tape. Behavioral Research Methods, Instruments,
and Computers, 25(1), 53-56.

APPENDIX A
Kennedy Center Investigators

Peabody College

Mark Appelbaum, PhD, Professor of Psychology

Janice Baker, PhD, Assistant Professor of Special Education
Alfred Baumeister, PhD, Professor of Psychology
Penelope Brooks, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
Anne Corn, EdD, Professor of Special Education
Dawn Delaney, PhD, Investigator at the John F. Kennedy Center
Kenneth Dodge, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
Douglas Fuchs, PhD, Professor of Special Education
Lynn Fuchs, PhD, Professor of Special Education
Judy Garber, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and Assistan
Professor of Psychiatry
Eva Horn, PhD, Assistant Professor of Special Education
Carolyn Hughes, PhD, Assistant Professor of Special Education
Linda Jones, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Psychology
Ann Kaiser, PhD, Professor and Chair of Special Education and Pr
of Psychology
William MacLean, Jr., PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and
Pediatrics
Joseph Murphy, PhD, Professor of Educational Leadership
Samuel Odom, PhD, Professor of Special Education

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 Introduction

Ellen Pinderhughes, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology

John Rieser, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Chair of Psychology and
Human Development
Herbert Rieth, PhD, Professor of Special Education
Craig Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Travis Thompson, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Special Education, and
Psychiatry
Tedra Walden, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology
Steven Warren, PhD, Professor of Special Education and Psychology
Joseph Wehby, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Special Education
Bahr Weiss, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology
Paul Yoder, PhD, Research Associate Professor of Special Education

School of Medicine

Daniel Ashmead, PhD, Associate Professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences

and Psychology
Fred H. Bess, PhD, Professor of Hearing and Speech Sciences, and Director
and Professor of Otolaryngology
Raymond Burk, MD, Professor of Medicine
Merlin Butler, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology
Stephen Camarata, PhD, Associate Professor of Hearing and Speech
Sciences
Michael Carlson, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine
Vivien Casagrande, PhD, Professor of Cell Biology and Psychology
Thomas Catron, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Michael Ebert, MD, Professor and Chair of Psychiatry and Professor of
Pharmacology
Frances Glascoe, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics
David Lovinger, PhD, Associate Professor of Molecular Physiology and
Biophysics, and Pharmacology
Peter Martin, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, and Director
of the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse
James McKanna, PhD, Associate Professor of Cell Biology
Ronald Price, PhD, Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, and
Associate Professor of Physics
Elaine Sanders-Bush, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Psychiatry
Charles Singleton, PhD, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology
Wendy Stone, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Todd A. Verdoom, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Lynn Walker, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology

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A. P. Kaiser

William Whetsell, MD, Professor of Pathology, Psychiatry, and Cell Biology

Mark Wolraich, MD, Professor of Pediatrics

College of Arts & Science

Jo-Anne Bachorowski, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Randolph Blake, PhD, Professor and Chair of Psychology
John Bransford, PhD, Centennial Professor of Psychology and Professor of
Education
William Caul, PhD, Professor of Psychology
Ford Ebner, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Cell Biology
Sherre Florence, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Psychology
Robert Fox, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Biomedical Engineering
Steven Hollon, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Associate Professor o
Psychiatry
Carl Johnson, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology
Jon Kaas, PhD, Centennial Professor of Psychology and Professor of Cell
Biology
Maureen Powers, PhD, Professor of Psychology
Jeffrey Schall, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology
Leslie Smith, PhD, Research Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer of
Psychology
Andrew Tomarken, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology

School of Nursing

Kenneth Wallston, PhD, Professor of Psychology of Nursing and

Psychology

Kennedy Center Scholars

Peabody College

Paul Dokecki, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Special Education

Carl Haywood, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Emeritus
Irving Lazar, PhD, Research Professor of Special Education
J. R. Newbrough, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Education, and Special
Education

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 Introduction

School of Medicine

Robert Fisher, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

Barry Nurcombe, MD, Professor of Psychiatry
Sydney Spector, PhD, Research Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology
Ann Geddes Stahlman, PhD, Professor of Medical Ethics, Professor of
Philosophy, and Professor of Medical Ethics
Richard Zaner, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Philosophy)

Kennedy Center Associates

Peabody College

Gedeon Deak, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Susan De La Paz, PhD, Assistant Professor of Special Education
Sherman Dom, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Special Education
Mark Egli, PhD, Research Associate, John F. Kennedy Center
Terry Hancock, PhD, Research Associate in Special Education
Peggy Hester, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Special Education
Joseph McLaughlin, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychology and
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Prisca Moore, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Special Education

School of Medicine

Linda Ashford, PhD, Instructor of Pediatrics

Randy Barrett, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Lisa Craft, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Larry Gaines, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Vicki Harris, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Mary Piggott, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and Kennedy
Center Research Associate
Dennis Schmidt, PhD, Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Bettie Ann Spector, EdS, Associate in Psychiatry
Ming Sun, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Rema Velayudhan, PhD, Research Instructor in Pharmacology, Kenned
Center Senior Research Associate

School of Nursing

Jana Pressler, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor of Nursing

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A. P. Kaiser

APPENDIX B
Former Affiliates of the Kennedy Center

Leonard J. Abbeduto Jeffery J. Franks

Jack Aiello Steven Friedman
Cathy L. Alpert Edward C. Frierson
William Altemeier Harris Gabel
Ruth Arbitman-Smith Susan R. Goldman
Samuel C. Ashcroft Richard L. Gorsuch
Verne R. Bacharach Susan W. Gray
Sid P. Bacon Stephen Greenspan
Robert J. Barrett William J. Griffin
Otto C. Bassler Marianne Haenlein
Jerold P. Bauch Randall K. Harley
Leonard Bickman Vera Hart
Richard L. Blanton Ted S. Hasselbring
A. B. Bonds Willis Hawley
Stanley Bourgeault Laird W. Heal
Diane D. Bricker Robert Heiny
William A. Bricker Gerald B. Hickson
William H. Brown Everett E. Hill, Jr.
Norman A. Buktenica Richard H. Hinze
Peter J. Campbell Nicholas Hobbs
James Carter Brigid L. M. Hogan
William Chasey James H. Hogge
Roger Christenfeld Bonnie Holaday
Keith N. Clayton Bertha Holliday
R. Wilbur Clouse Kathleen H. Dunlop Hoover-
Rue L. Cromwell Dempsey
Joseph Cunningham George Howe
Catherine Cusick Susan C. Hupp
Earl E. Davis Dale Irwin
William W. Dawson Carroll Izard
C. William Deckner Dan Jackson
H. Floyd Dennis Rupert A. Klaus
Mathew E. Diamond Thomas M. Klee
Michael C. Dixon Joseph S. Lappin
Rebecca F. DuBose William B. Lawson
Lloyd M. Dunn Nancy Leith
Joseph M. Erwin James R. Lent
George B. Flamer Sidney Levy
James J. Fox Wilbert W. Lewis

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 Introduction

John C. Masters Marilyn Rousseau

Patricia Mathes Charles L. Salzberg
Roy J. Mathew Howard M. Sandler
Charley M. McCauley Phil Schoggen
Mary McEvoy Jules Seeman
James McLean Kathryn B. Sherrod
Gilbert Meier Richard E. Shores
Charles V. Mercer Deborah C. Simmons
Edward C. Merrill Monte D. Smith
M. David Merrill Salvatore A. Soraci, Jr.
Jack W. Miller Richard D. Sperber
James O. Miller James W. Stack
Cecil Morgan Donald J. Stedman
Corinne Mumbauer Joseph H. Stevens
Pardo Mustillo Joseph J. Stowitschek
Donald D. Neville Phillip S. Strain
Frank C. Noble Harvey Switzky
Raymond C. Norris James S. Terwilliger
Laura R. Novick Lisa Turner
Barry Nurcombe Cheryl R. Utley
Susan O'Connor Thomas Vandever
John P. Ora, Jr. Linda J. VanEldik
Robert Orlando Peter Vietze
Stephen Oross, III John Wall
Terry L. Page Barbara S. Wallston
Bobby E. Palk Abraham Wandersman
Roy Pangle Joseph W. Weaver
George W. Paulson Laura Weinstein
James W. Pellegrino Pam West
Ellen C. Perrin Bruce Wetherby
H. Philip Pfost Joanne Whitmore
Judith Phillips Ronald Wiegerink
Richard H. Porter Hardy C. Wilcoxon
Claire Poulson Bill Willis
J. Bradley Powers John Wilson
Oakley Ray Martin Wong
Paul Redelheim Richard W. Woodcock
Victoria J. Risko Lawrence S. Wrightsman
Sheldon Rosenberg

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