James M. Patton passed away
Yet another well-respected special education professional has died.
James M. Patton, long-standing contributor to special education and formerly on the faculties of Virginia State University, Hampton University, and the College of William and Mary, passed away 17 June 2023.
Professor Patton took degrees from Kentucky State University, the University of Louisville, and Indiana University. In addition to academic work about issues related to cultural differences and competence, including concerns about both students and teachers, Professor Patton dedicated a lot of effort to the betterment of the profession. He helped guide organizations such as Council for Exceptional Children and served in leadership position at his universities.
Dr. Patton focused on issues.related to diversity. He contributed extensively to the literature in special education. ResearchGate.net assembled a partial catalog of his publications, including abstracts for them. It is available here.
From Professor Patton’s self-provided brief bio:
James M. Patton is a Professor of Leadership and Special Education at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He was formerly Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Director of Project Mandala, a federally funded research and development project aimed at identifying and serving selected students and their families who exhibit at-risk and at-promise characteristics. Prior to these positions at the College, he directed professional development, teacher education and evaluation programs for the Commonwealth of Virginia for three years. He has served also as Dean of the School of Education and Chairperson of the Department of Special Education at Virginia State University and Chair of The Special Education Department at Hampton University. Dr. Patton has taught special education in the public schools of Louisville, Kentucky, where he also directed the Career Opportunities Program, a federally funded effort to increase the number of indigenous inner-city teachers in the Louisville Public Schools. Dr. Patton has also served extensively as an evaluator employing both quantitative and qualitative methodology in his evaluation efforts. He has served as an evaluator of 15 major programs with total funding of $11.5 million dollars.
Formerly a member of the Executive Committee, the Board of Governors and Board of Directors of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Dr. Patton also is a Senior Scholar in the Shaklee Institute, a special education think tank. He also currently serves as a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Disability Policy Studies and is a member of the Board of Directors of the An Achievable Dream Program, which is a public/private partnership, designed to transform the lives of African-Americans and low-income students in Newport News, Virginia. Dr. Patton has authored or co-authored over 37 articles in referred publications and two books. His major research interests include the educational and psychosocial development of African-Americans, particularly those with gifts and talents, the holistic development of African-American males, the social, political and economic correlates of mild disabilities, curriculum and pedagogical issues around multi-cultural education, cultural competency development, and analysis of policies that affect people of color and those from low socioeconomic circumstances. His funded grants approximate $4.7 million. His grant development mentoring approaches $9.0 million.
There was a wake held 28 June 2023 at the funeral home and there was be a funeral mass Thursday in Newport News, VA (see here). That obituary also provides additional information about survivors and Professor Patton’s personal life.
This human being deserved all the praises that were sung for him…and more.