By Jennifer Kiilerich
In Germany, a Festschrift-literally "festival writing"-is an academic tribute that honors a scholar through collected works and new research from peers. On April 16-17, Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development hosted a unique event based around this tradition.
The gathering honored the late Lynn Fuchs, Dunn Family Professor of Psychoeducational Assessment, Emerita. A preeminent figure in special education and the psychological sciences, Fuchs was widely recognized for her work in mathematical and reading disabilities. Forbes once named her one of 14 "revolutionary educators," and her research has been cited more than 88,000 times.
Speakers included Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development; Marcia Barnes, Dunn Family Professor of Psychoeducational Assessment and interim chair of the Department of Special Education; Doug Fuchs, Nicholas Hobbs Chair of Special Education and Human Development, Emeritus, and research professor of special education; and leading scholars from around the nation. They reflected on Fuchs's remarkable contributions, shared anecdotes and discussed the new research she continues to inspire. The presentations will be compiled in a special volume of The Journal of Learning Disabilities.
A field redefined
Along with her husband Doug Fuchs, Lynn helped establish Data-Based Individualization, an approach to special education intervention regarded by many as the gold standard for serious learning disabilities. Her prolific work includes more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, 90 chapters, and numerous awards and appointments.
"It's not hyperbole to say she was a scholar who redefined a field."
"It's not hyperbole to say she was a scholar who redefined a field," said Sharon Vaughn, executive director of the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at the University of Texas at Austin. Like many in attendance, she was deeply influenced by Fuchs.
It is not only Fuchs's findings that leave a legacy, but also the way she worked. As scholars spoke, three traits emerged: She was collaborative, fearless and rigorous.
Collaboration
When she was in second grade, recalled Doug Fuchs, Lynn Fuchs was already teaching neighborhood kids to read. Later, as a student at Johns Hopkins University, she met Doug Fuchs, and the pair began a Saturday School for children in her working-class neighborhood. They enlisted physics, chemistry and English majors to teach, eventually expanding it to a summer camp. Though they didn't view it as a runaway success, the experience marked the beginning of a partnership that would transform the education field.
As a parent, her guidance continued. Doug Fuchs shared remarks from their son, Matt, who remembered how she tutored him through middle school math: "Despite how hard I sometimes made it, I never felt that she was on the verge of giving up on me. She saw the best in people before they saw it in themselves."
Many shared how Fuchs helped them launch their careers. Joseph Wehby, associate professor of special education, for example, found himself under the guidance of Fuchs in crafting a successful proposal to gain more funding for his graduate dissertation.
Don Compton, now a professor at Florida State University, worked at Peabody for 15 years with Lynn and Doug Fuchs. He reflected on how they advocated for him as he sought a role at Peabody. They ultimately entrusted him-a junior researcher at the time-with leadership of the screening and early risk arm of a major reading disabilities grant.
Paul Yoder, professor of special education, emeritus, experienced Fuchs's generosity when he arrived at Vanderbilt as a non-tenure-track faculty member. He had never secured a large grant, let alone one from the Institute of Education Sciences. "Lynn was generous enough to loan me her successful grant application," he recalled. "I used it as a guide for format and style." The application was funded on the first round of reviews, "the first time, and the only time, that I ever had that happen," Yoder said.
And Sharon Vaughn remembered a research meeting early in her career where she found herself in a small group with Lynn Fuchs. Vaughn described a study she was conducting on social skills interventions for students with learning disabilities. In her characteristically quiet way, Lynn asked: "Why would you also not look at academic outcomes?" The question was gentle, well-intentioned-and relevant. "I immediately changed the study and added measures," Vaughn said. "As we've all done many times."
Fearlessness
"Lynn was not afraid in her science," Marcia Barnes told guests. "She was not afraid to work in this messy, overlapping space of comorbidities." While some researchers prefer to focus on a single topic, Fuchs leaned into the reality that many students have difficulties in both mathematics and reading that could impact learning.
In a panel discussion, colleague, friend and former project officer Renee Bradley shared a T.S. Eliot quote to summarize Fuchs's approach: "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
Those risks were always calculated and evidence based. Fuchs loved multi-arm studies (comparing several groups simultaneously), an approach that can challenge researchers but with which she thrived. These study designs allowed her to address important questions about which components of interventions were having the most impact on student outcomes. She wanted to improve outcomes not only for learners with serious disabilities but also for students not at risk, often folding all these elements into one ambitious study. "For Lynn, it was critically important for her to test whether interventions were successful at closing achievement gaps between children with and without learning disabilities," said Barnes.
Rigor
Those who worked with Lynn and Doug referred to "The Fuchs Way," a meticulous approach to data quality that became legendary. Don Compton recalled the exacting standards: "Making sure data is checked, double-entering, checking reliability-all these things. I am amazed when I talk to colleagues and hear what they do, and I think-they need to go work with Lynn for a little while."
The rigor extended to all hours. "Never put off until 9 a.m. what you can do at 3 a.m." seemed to be her ethos, Compton laughed. Doctoral students would submit work and receive feedback at 2 a.m. The joke among mentees was that if you wanted to sleep, don't send Lynn a draft before bed.
Joan McLaughlin, former commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research, noted that Fuchs tackled what few researchers wanted to: measurement work. The process quantifies, operationalizes and analyzes skills, behaviors and learning outcomes in meaningful ways. "It's really hard work to do," she added. Fuchs also frequently conducted replication studies, another way to ensure findings were as accurate as possible.
Continuing the legacy
The gathering showcased how Fuchs's work is shaping new research. Kristen McMaster, PhD'02, Guy Bond Chair in Reading at the University of Minnesota, explained how she's extending Fuchs's data-based instruction approach to support children with early writing needs. Nancy Jordan of the University of Delaware discussed how Fuchs shaped her research on mathematics learning difficulties, while Sarah Powell from the University of Texas at Austin detailed Fuchs's impact on her work in mathematical word-problem solving.
Paul Cirino from the University of Houston highlighted what many considered central to Fuchs's approach: her appreciation for the overlap between reading and math, and her willingness to embrace comorbidity rather than avoid it. Daniel Espinas of George Mason University spoke about Fuchs's most recent work-developing interventions for children facing co-occurring math and reading challenges. It was precisely the kind of real-world, but challenging research space, that Fuchs never shied away from, and that continues to inspire researchers to confront education's most complex problems.
"I believe her greatest legacy is the people she has touched," said McLaughlin. It's evident that the work of Lynn Fuchs is not over. It will live on through the scholars she has impacted and among children in classrooms around the world.
This event was organized by Pamela Seethaler, Marcia Barnes, Joe Wehby and Kim Paulsen.
