Judith Lanier (Gallagher) received her B.A. from Western Michigan University, her Ph.D. from Michigan State University, and Distinguished Alumni Awards from both. She was a founding co-director of MSU’s National Institute for Research on Teaching (IRT)—supporting interdisciplinary research on the problems of teaching practice, teacher collaboration in research, and inquiry leading to better knowledge about effective teaching and teacher education. She directed MSU’s School of Teacher Education and served as dean of the College of Education for a decade. She was a founding member of the Holmes Group and the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, and served on numerous boards working to improve education—including the George Lucas Foundation, Education Testing Service, and American Association of Higher Education. In 1991, she received the nationally renowned McGraw Prize in Education and was elected to the National Academy of Education.