In Memoriam: Dale P. Scannell
Former AACTE Board member Dale Paul Scannell died at the age of 90 on February 14 at Abington Hospital near his home in Flourtown, PA. Dr. Scannell made many contributions to the field of education preparation, including the development of the country‘s first integrated five-year program in education at the University of Kansas in 1981. He received the AACTE Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education in 1989.
Dr. Scannell earned his B.A., Masters and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Iowa. Rising quickly in the education field, he was appointed dean of Education at the University of Kansas in 1969 and continued in that role for 16 years. He then served for six years as dean of education at the University of Maryland in College Park, followed by posts at the University of South Carolina and at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). Throughout his tenure, he mentored many faculty, both men and women, and he created a special program at the University of Maryland to encourage women to enter administrative roles in the College of Education. He ended his professional career at age 70 after serving for 10 years as a consultant to the United Arab Emirates University, College of Education.
In addition to his board membership with AACTE, Dr. Scannell served as president of the Association of Colleges and Schools of Education in State University and Land Grant Colleges (ACSESULGC) and in many capacities at the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). At NCATE, he successfully led a multi-year collaborative effort to design a new approach for the accreditation of teacher preparation programs. In Indiana, he worked with the Indiana Professional Standards Board (IPSB) to develop and pilot an innovative approach to state approval of teacher preparation programs, which served as a national model.
He was nationally known for his teaching, writing and scholarly work in the field of educational measurement and statistics. In 1964, he became the lead author of the Tests of Academic Progress (TAP) for the Houghton Mifflin Company, which later became known as the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency, a role which he continued until 1995. He was awarded a prestigious Fulbright-Hays Scholarship grant in 1966 to do research in Stockholm, Sweden, and he authored or co-authored five textbooks in the areas of educational measurement and educational psychology.
A Celebration of Life reception for family and friends will be held at the Blue Bell Country Club, Blue Bell, PA on April 4, 2020. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are preferred in honor of Dr. Scannell and his father, Paul Andrew Scannell. It was his wish to establish a memorial fund in honor of his father, who couldn’t afford to finish his final year of law school at the University of Iowa, after he was forced to drop out to support his family. Memorial contributions can be made online to the University of Iowa, Center for Advancement to the “Paul Scannell Family Scholarship,” or to the “College of Education Student Aid Fund” as a memorial gift (please note that it is in memory of the “Paul Scannell Family Scholarship”).
Tags: AACTE governance, membership
