Wayne State University to Launch New Center Studying the Academic Achievement Gap Between Black and White Children

Wayne State University in Detroit is currently raising funds to start up the Institute for the Study of African-American Children. The goal of the new research center is to study the racial gap in academic achievement of children and to find ways to eliminate it. The institute will be administered by the College of Education at Wayne State University but will be funded by contributions from private and corporate sources.

The new institute is under the directorship of Janice Ellen Hale, a professor of early child development at the university. Dr. Hale is a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, but grew up in Columbus, Ohio. She is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta. Professor Hale holds a master’s degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center and a doctorate in early childhood education from Georgia State University.