David Chard, PhD, is the president of Wheelock College in Boston and chairman of the Professional Advisory Board of NCLD. He holds a PhD in special education from the University of Oregon and a BS degree in mathematics and chemistry education from Central Michigan University. He has held faculty positions at Boston University and the University of Texas at Austin, and served as inaugural dean of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University and associate dean in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. He also was a California public school teacher and a Peace Corps educator in Lesotho, Africa.
Chard’s research emphasis includes reading and mathematics strategies for early grades, learning disabilities, special education, and reading instruction for students with disabilities. A frequent presenter at education conferences, Chard has taught courses on behavior management, special education reading and writing, learning disabilities, and special education law.