Peabody College will inaugurate a new distinguished lecture series and celebrate the creation of the Lloyd Dunn Chair in Psychoeducational Assessment as part of the annual Homecoming activities.

Professor of Education and Centennial Professor of Psychology John D. Bransford has accepted the invitation to be the first speaker in the new lecture series, which was created by the Peabody Alumni Board as a forum to highlight the scholarship of the school's most distinguished faculty members.

His remarks on "Learning Theory and the Future of Education: Peabody's Leadership Role" will begin at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, in the Rotunda of the Social Religious Building. There is no charge for admission, and all alumni, faculty and students are encouraged to attend.

In his address, Bransford is expected to share his views on educating students to think, invent and make wise decisions; building university, school and business partnerships; the role of technology in education and Peabody's position as a world leader in educational innovation.

An internationally renowned scholar in cognition and technology, Bransford is co-director of the Learning Technology Center at Peabody. He and his colleagues have developed award-winning innovative computer, videodisc, CD-ROM and Internet programs including the Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series in Mathematics and The Scientists in Action Series. Bransford also has been instrumental in the development of the Little Planet Literacy Series, which provides the basis for the "Great Beginnings" project in Nashville that links homes, schools and members of the broader community through innovative uses of technology.

Bransford also serves as co-chair of a National Academy of Science committee on "New Developments in the Science of Learning," which is working to bring together new research findings to create a "user friendly" theory of learning. He has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Education, whose membership is limited to the 125 persons whose accomplishments in the field of education are judged to be outstanding.

The celebration dinner is planned to honor the creation of a new chair endowed by Lloyd and Leota Dunn and their family. As Peabody's second endowed faculty position, the chair bears the name of the international researcher in the area of children with disabilities who taught at Peabody from 1953 to 1967. Dunn is widely known for the development of highly successful assessment tools including the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Peabody Individual Achievement Test, Peabody Early Language Kits and Peabody Early Experience Kits.

The Dunn Chair will serve as the anchor of a new Center on Educational Assessment, which will bring together researchers from the Department of Special Education, the Kennedy Center and the Learning Technology Center who will collaborate on the development of new assessment tools to support and improve instruction for children at risk and other children. The center will be funded jointly by the Dunn family's endowment and Peabody College.