HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

Lawrence-Lightfoot, who has been a member of the foundation's board since 1991, will assume her new role in June and will be only the sixth person to hold the position since the foundation began operations in 1978.

"The board of the MacArthur Foundation plays a central role in shaping the foundation's grant making programs and we look forward to its leadership by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot in the years ahead," said Jonathan F. Fanton, president of the foundation.

Lawrence-Lightfoot has been a member of the faculty at the Graduate School of Education since 1972. She is a sociologist who examines the culture of schools, the patterns and structures of classroom life, socialization within families and communities, and the relationships between culture and learning styles. Lawrence-Lightfoot has written seven books, including "Respect" (1999), "I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation" (1993), and "The Art and Science of Portraiture" (1997), which documents her pioneering approach to social science methodology; an approach that bridges the realms of art and science.

Copyright 2002 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College