Vivian Gunn Morris is Professor of Education in the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership at the University of Memphis. She received a Ph.D. at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Alabama A & M University. She was a faculty member at Community College of Philadelphia, Montclair State University, and Alabama A & M University. Dr. Morris has also taught at the preschool, elementary, junior high, and high school levels. Her numerous publications have appeared as articles, book chapters, and books. Dr. Morris’s research, writing, and consultant interests include educating African American children, family involvement in education, urban education, professional development schools, and early childhood education. She was a recipient of the 1997 Association of Teacher Educators’ Distinguished Research Award in Teacher Education for her research on family involvement in education. A recent book she co-authored with Curtis Morris, Creating Caring and Nurturing Educational Environments for African American Children (2000), was a finalist for the 2001 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s Book Award in Teacher Education.