[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7377]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO EDWARD ZIGLER, PH.D.

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
outstanding public servant, and a wonderful friend and colleague, Dr. 
Edward Zigler, who has recently retired after 40 years as a professor 
of psychology at Yale University.
  Dr. Zigler has been a tireless advocate for children for many years, 
and has successfully been able to take his scientific research and 
apply it to society's greatest problems. Because of his expertise and 
his commitment to our Nation's children, he has been asked to assist 
every Presidential administration since the time of President Lyndon 
Johnson. From 1970 to 1972, Dr. Zigler was the first director of the 
U.S. Office of Child Development (now the Administration on Children, 
Youth, and Families) and Chief of the U.S. Children's Bureau.
  He is a true visionary leader who has transformed national and State 
policies in early childhood development.
  Edward Zigler is a Sterling Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, head 
of the psychology section of Yale's Child Study Center at the School of 
Medicine, and director of Yale's Center in Child Development and Social 
Policy. He is the author, co-author, and editor of hundreds of 
scholarly publications and has conducted extensive studies on topics 
related to normal child development, child psychopathology, and mental 
retardation. He is the founder of the School of the 21st Century, which 
has been adopted by more than 1300 schools nationwide.
  Ed Zigler is a true pioneer in the effort to promote childhood 
development. He is the father of Head Start and has been deeply 
involved with every twist and turn the program has taken over the last 
38 years. He recently completed work with policymakers and the 
administration to revise the Head Start Program Performance Standards, 
establish Early Head Start for very young children and their families, 
and design a research agenda. He is now working with Head Start 
leadership to develop assessment measures and to expand comprehensive 
early childhood services geared toward the development of the whole 
child to all children not yet enrolled in school.
  In his ongoing role as an advisor on the Head Start Program, he has 
worked with several Secretaries of: Education; Health and Human 
Services, Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW); and Labor, including 
Secretary Bennett in the Reagan administration and Secretary Riley in 
the Clinton administration. Currently, he is on Secretary Tommy 
Thompson's Head Start Research Committee. The fact that his counsel has 
been sought consistently by both parties through the years service 
serves as a testament to maintain his nonpartisan focus on what 
research indicates is best for children.
  Dr. Zigler has transformed State policies for children as well as 
national policies. He has worked with the State of Connecticut for 
decades and played a critical role in the establishment of Connecticut 
quality school readiness programs for low-income children. He and his 
colleagues have repeatedly surveyed child care standards in the states 
as well as preschool programs to raise awareness of the importance of 
quality and to guide policy makers in establishing better programs.
  Dr. Zigler regularly testified as an expert witness before 
congressional committees and has served as a consultant to a number of 
Cabinet-rank officers. In February of 2002, he testified as an expert 
witness before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension 
in a hearing examining the science and practice of early childhood 
development and related policies. He was a member of the Advisory 
Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion and of the planning 
committee for the Early Head Start program for families and children 
ages zero to three. Dr. Zigler is currently serving as the Honorary 
Chair of the National Advisory Panel for the Head Start 2010 Project.
  Dr. Zigler's many honors include awards from the American 
Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the 
Society for Research in Child Development, the American Academy of 
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy on Mental 
Retardation, the American Orthopsychiatric Association, the National 
Head Start Association, the Heinz Foundation, and Teachers College, 
Columbia University. He has also received honorary degrees from Park 
University in Missouri and McGill University in Canada.
  Throughout his career, Dr. Zigler has successfully combined his 
commitment to scholarly research and his commitment to public service. 
Throughout the decades, Dr. Zigler has never lost sight of what he 
believed was his true calling: improving the lives of all children, 
particularly poor children. His greatest passion has always been 
helping the most underprivileged among us.
  I am pleased to honor him this day and to express my gratitude for 
all he has done and continues to do on behalf of our Nation's most 
vulnerable citizens.

                          ____________________