Dr. Peter Eden, president of Landmark College in Putney, Vermont, recently received an award from Education Update at its fourth annual conference in New York City. For 19 years, Education Update has produced and published news articles about advances in education for students who learn differently. The newspaper has 100,000 readers and four million web viewers.
Education Update publisher Dr. Pola Rosen is also a former trustee of Landmark College. Rosen explained that the awards will honor “a compelling array of great minds who have expanded our knowledge, research and programs for individuals who learn differently.”
“Dr. Peter Eden has been extraordinary in providing educational and emotional support for students who learn differently,” said Rosen. “In a short time, he has built Landmark from a two-year college into a four-year institution where students are inspired to achieve new goals and focus on the essentials.”
“I am very happy that Dr. Rosen has included me in this important event,” said Eden. “This demonstrates growing awareness that innovative educational models are needed—not just for school-age students, but also at the post-secondary level. So I am very glad to have Landmark College and my office receive such recognition.”
The day-long event included two keynote speakers, Dr. Harold Koplewicz, president of the Child Mind Institute, and Dr. Catherine Lord, founding director of the Center for Autism at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Award recipients spoke, and the stories of “four women who have triumphed over enormous odds” was also featured.
In addition to Eden, the 2015 “Distinguished Leader” recipients were Dr. John Russell, Head of Windward School, N.Y.; President George Hagerty, Beacon College, Fla.; and Brooke Neidich, Founder and Chair of Board, Child Mind Institute, N.Y.
Eden commented on the value of recognizing colleges and schools that serve neurodiverse learners. He said, “My hope is to demystify learning difficulties and the inventive educational approaches that truly work. And when the profile of LD education is raised, all learners win.”