Speaker biographies

Edwin J. Delattre is an adjunct scholar at AEI and an active senior member at St. John’s College’s, where he participates in the philosophy department’s deliberations and activities. He was president of St. John's College in both Annapolis and Santa Fe from 1980 to 1986; director of the National Humanities Faculty from 1976 to 1980; and professor of philosophy at the University of Toledo from 1968 to 1976. He is former vice chairman of the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a member of the Advisory Council of Heritage Foundation's Salvatori Center for Academic Leadership, and a member of the State Board of Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In addition to Character and Cops (AEI Press, 2006), Dr. Delattre has published a book titled Education and the Public Trust (Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1992). He has also published numerous articles on excellence in humanities and liberal arts education; the governance of educational institutions; and illegal narcotics, organized crime, urban gangs, and related domestic and international policy issues.

Douglas J. Besharov is the Joseph J. and Violet Jacobs Scholar in Social Welfare Studies at AEI. He is also a professor at the University of Marlyand's School of Public Policy and the project director of its Welfare Reform Academy. He teaches courses on family policy, welfare reform, evaluation, and the implementation of social policy. From 1991 to 1992, he served as the administrator of the AEI/White House Working Seminar on Integrated Services for Children and Families, a project designed to improve the delivery of services to disadvantaged children and their families. From 1975 to 1979, he was the first director of the U.S. National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Before this, he served as executive director of the New York State Assembly's Select Committee on Child Abuse. His most recent book is Rethinking WIC: An Evaluation of the Women, Infants and Children Program (AEI Press, 2001), coauthored with Peter Germanis. He is also the author of Recognizing Child Abuse: A Guide for the Concerned (The Free Press, 1990). In addition, Mr. Besharov has written over 150 articles, and contributes to the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and The American Enterprise magazine.

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