James P. Comer, M.D., M.P.H.

James P. Comer, M.D., M.P.H., the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine's Child Study Center, has been a Yale medical faculty member since 1968. During these years, he has concentrated his career on promoting a focus on child development as a way of improving schools. His efforts in support of healthy development of young people are known internationally.

Dr. Comer, perhaps, is best known for the founding of the Comer School Development Program in 1968, which promotes the collaboration of parents, educators, and community to improve social, emotional, and academic outcomes for children that, in turn, helps them achieve greater school success. His concept of teamwork is improving the educational environment in more than 500 schools throughout America.

A prolific writer, Dr. Comer has authored seven books, including Beyond Black and White, 1972; Black Child Care (with Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint) 1975; paperback revision of Raising Black Children, 1992; School Power: Implications of an Intervention Project, 1980; the autobiographical Maggie's American Dream: the Life and Times of a Black Family, 1988; Rallying the Whole Village, (edited with Dr. Michael Ben-Avie, Dr. Norris M. Haynes, and Dr. Edward T. Joyner), 1996; and the newly published, Waiting for a Miracle: Why Schools Can't Solve Our Problems, And How We Can, 1997; and Child by Child (edited with Dr. Michael Ben-Avie, Dr. Norris M. Haynes, and Dr. Edward T. Joyner) 1999. Between 1978 and 1994, Dr. Comer wrote more than 150 articles for Parents magazine and more than 300 syndicated articles on children's health and development and race relations.

Since 1971, Dr. Comer has served as Director or Trustee of the following Boards: Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT (1978-1984); Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, CT (1989-2000); Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY (1999-present); the Hazen Foundation, New Haven, CT (1974-1978); the Field Foundation, New York, NY (1981-1988); the Carnegie Corporation of New York, New York, NY (1990-1994); Connecticut Savings Bank (1971-1991); the Connecticut Energy Corporation, Bridgeport, CT (1976-2000); and the National Academy Foundation, New York, NY (1993-1998).

For his work and his scholarship, Dr. Comer has been awarded 40 honorary degrees and has been recognized by many organizations. In 1996, he won both the prestigious Heinz Award in the Human Condition for his profound influence on disadvantaged children, and the Healthtrac Foundation Prize. Other honors include the Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in Education, 1991; the James Bryant Conant Award, presented by the Education Commission of the States, 1991; the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education given by McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1990; a Special Presidential Commendation from the American Psychiatric Association, 1990; the Rockefeller Public Service Award, 1980; and the John and Mary Markel Foundation Scholar Award in Academic Medicine, 1969-1974.