Dr. Sharon Vaughn is an international expert in educational risk prevention. Her research has been recognized with a variety of awards including the J. Lee Wiederholdt Award from the Council on Learning Disabilities and the Jeannette E. Fleischner Award from the Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Learning Disabilities, Committee on Professional Development, Ethics and Standards.  

On the basis of her professional record of excellence, she was elected the Manuel J. Justiz Chair of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Teacher Education. She is also the Executive Director of the Meadows Center for Educational Risk Prevention at the University of Texas.

She also holds the positions of principal investigator and co-investigator on several grants from the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the U.S. Department of Education. In her role at these institutions she has delved into effective intervention models for students with reading difficulties or who are English language learners.

In addition, she has served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Learning Disabilities and co-editor of Learning Disabilities Research and Practice. Both are well known as scientific journals and of first impact in the academic community. Dr. Vaughn also has more than 35 books and some 250 peer-reviewed articles to her name. She also has 65 chapters in specialized volumes addressing issues related to research and practice with learning disabilities.

One of her most cutting-edge projects in recent years has been a randomized controlled trial for children at risk for language and literacy difficulties. Through similar projects, she has been able to work nationally and internationally with educators in Japan, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Australia and Singapore.

• Executive Director at the Meadows Center for the Prevention of Educational Risk in Austin, Texas
• Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Education Sciences
• Researcher on projects at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
• Co-investigator on U.S. Department of Education initiatives
• Manuel J. Justiz Chair in Mathematics, Science, and Technology in Teacher Education
• D. at the University of Arizona