On Friday, April 17, 2020 Dr. Dorothy Salley Strickland, loving mother, educator, author and devoted grandmother, passed away at the age of 86. Dr. Strickland was born September 29, 1933 in Newark, NJ to Leroy Salley and Evelyn Salley (nee Daniels). Dr. Strickland was preceded in death by her husband, Maurice R. Strickland.
Dr. Strickland was the State of New Jersey Professor of Reading and was the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Education, Emerita, at Rutgers University. She was formerly the Arthur I. Gates Professor of Education at Teachers College Columbia University. A former classroom teacher, reading consultant and learning disabilities specialist, she was a past president of both the International Literacy Association and its Reading Hall of Fame. She was the 1998 recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English Award as Outstanding Educator in the Language Arts and the 1994 NCTE Rewey Belle Inglis Award as Outstanding Woman in the Teaching of English. She has numerous publications in the field of reading/language arts including:
* Beginning Reading and Writing (Teachers College Press 2000).
* Teaching Phonics Today (IRA 1998)
* Supporting Struggling Readers and Writers.
* Families: Poems Celebrating the African American Experience
* The Administration and Supervision of Reading Programs
* Language, Literacy and the Child
* Essential Readings on Early Literacy
* Literacy Leadership in Early Childhood
* Bridging the Literacy Achievement Gap: 4—12
* Administration and Supervision of Reading Programs
Other Honors and Awards include Distinguished Alumnus Award, New York University; Outstanding Alumnus Award, Kean University and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bank Street College.
Dr. Strickland received her B.S. from Newark State College (now Kean University), and an M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Dr. Strickland is survived by her 3 sons, Mark, Maurice (Randall) and Michael, her beloved daughters-in-law Kimberly, Cindia and Gwynnith, as well as her 8 grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be scheduled for a later date. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to support the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Chair in Education at Rutgers University. The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Chair advances issues of societal and educational equity. Rutgers Graduate School of Education’s website: https://gse.rutgers.edu/. Click on “Make a Gift”.
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