|
|
2010 MIFLC Conference Keynote
Speaker
 Ray
Clifford received a PhD in Foreign Language Education from the University of
Minnesota where he concurrently earned K-12 teacher certification in that state.
Before moving into language program administration, Ray taught German in the
elementary grades, in high school and at the college level. He is currently
Associate Dean of the College of Humanities, and Director of the Center for
Language Studies at Brigham Young University.
In his previous assignment, he served as Chancellor of the Defense Language
Institute (DLI) in Monterey, California, where he supervised the academic
programs of the world’s largest language school, and led the Institute through
the reviews necessary to gain full college accreditation and degree granting
authority. While at DLI he coordinated a joint faculty/management initiative to
create a faculty pay system with academic ranks and higher teacher salaries,
testified in congressional hearings, and once authorizing legislation was
passed, worked out implementation procedures. By improving teacher-to-student
staffing ratios, lengthening courses, and implementing teacher-centered
initiatives that established a climate for innovation, he allowed the faculty to
focus on the teaching of individual students, and they achieved a four fold
increase in the percentage of graduates meeting their end-of-course proficiency
objectives.
He has received several national honors and awards including the Ron Walton
Award for support to the Less Commonly Taught Languages, the Nelson H. Brooks
Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Profession of Foreign Language Teaching,
and Vice President Gore’s “Hammer Award” for reinventing government, and a
Doctor of Letters, honoris causa from Middlebury College. He was recently
elected to serve on JNCL’s board of directors and is president elect of NFMLTA.
Dr. Clifford has published numerous articles on teacher development, language
proficiency assessment, curriculum design, computer assisted instruction, and
educational program administration. He is a popular speaker and has presented
more than 150 speeches and workshops on language-related topics. Most of these
presentations have been to national, regional, and state teacher organizations,
while others have been to groups as diverse as the Senate Subcommittee on
Education, Arts, and Humanities; the National Commission on Excellence in
Education; the National Press Club, and the U.S. Department of Education,
National Advisory Board for International Programs. During the last twelve
months, 15 presentations and workshops have been delivered in a variety of
venues, including ACTFL, SWCOLT, NCOLCTL, AATK, ALTA, ILR, CIBER, the National
Translation Summit, and the NATO Bureau for International Language Coordination.
|
|
