Edward W. Stevens, Jr:
A Legacy of Literacy

The late Dr. Edward W. Stevens, Jr. left more than a lifetime of commitment to Ohio University and the College of Education; he left a legacy of literacy. Dr. Stevens was instrumental in establishing the Center for the Development and Study of Literacy and Language as well as the Central/Southeast ABLE Resource Center. He also published five books--four of them focusing on the historical impact of economics, ideology and American society on education and literacy—as well as many papers and articles related to the study of literacy in the United States.

Originally from Rochester, New York, Dr. Stevens and his wife, Professor Claudette Stevens, shared a devoted interest in education throughout the thirty-three years of their marriage. They met when both were English teachers at the same high school in western New York State. Dr. Stevens came to teach as a professor at the College of Education at Ohio University in 1971 and remained there for twenty-seven years until he passed away in May 1998 at the age of 59. Claudette Stevens, now the vice president of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, said that her husband was the most self-disciplined person she had ever met. "There were no shortcuts for Ed,” she said. “There was never a day when he did not write or read about his field of work.”

Colleagues remembered that Dr. Stevens was passionate and dedicated to his work at the College of Education. In a 1998 article in the Atheneum, Steve Howard, associate professor of education and director of the African Studies Program said: "He was one of the most enthusiastic promoters of the concept of developing a cultural studies program and really served as a role model; he was someone who was very willing to embrace change.” Jaylynne Hutchinson, assistant professor in cultural studies in education, remembered the respect that Dr. Stevens had for junior faculty members and his interest in their ideas.

A distinguished professor of history and philosophy of education at Ohio University, Dr. Steven’s published works reflect the interconnections between literacy and the events, policies and trends in society and how it affects the lives of individuals. In the preface to his book, Literacy, Law and Social Order published in 1988, Dr. Stevens wrote:

“A historical study of the political and economic contexts for functional literacy shows the problem to be greater than a mere technical solution would suggest. The different expectations, the great variations in context, and the plurality of uses to which literacy has been put suggest that the problem of functional literacy must be re-conceptualized before it is solved. It suggests, moreover, that policy in one sector of society cannot be divorced from policy in another, nor can ethical uses be divorced from issues of utility. The so-called problem of illiteracy is misrepresented if it is reduced to either a problem of individual attributes or one of social structure. It is both, of course, because it is fundamentally a problem of language and the representation of social and individual reality.”

In the spirit of encouraging research and scholarship about the connections of society, language and literacy Dr. Stevens helped to establish The Center for the Development and Study of Literacy and Language in 1997. “The Center hopes to initiate professional development activities and applied research projects aimed at solving problems of low-level literacy and language development.” Dr. Stevens said, in a press release. “The Center will concentrate on outreach programs for professional development and also act as a clearinghouse for the dissemination and publication of information on literacy and language development.” Steven’s hope was that The Literacy Center would enter into cooperative projects with other university departments, schools and agencies throughout the region.

Today The Literacy Center, posthumously renamed to honor its founder, strives to continue the legacy of Dr. Edward Stevens, Jr. in the spirit of partnership, research and discovery in the field of literacy.