David Shields
Dr. David Light Shields is an
Affiliate Associate Professor in the Division of Teaching and
Learning at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
His teaching responsibilities
include courses on the philosophy of education, educational
psychology, and the historical, social, and legal foundations of
education. He also serves as the faculty coordinator for Level
I in the teacher education program.
Prior to coming to the University
of Missouri in 2004, Shields (together with Brenda Bredemeier) was
founder and co-director of the Mendelson Center for Sports,
Character & Community at the University of Notre Dame. The
mission of the Mendelson Center was to build character through
sports by producing and delivering research-based educational
programs and resources. The Center engaged in research,
theory-building, publication, community and professional outreach
programs, and a variety of service activities. At Notre Dame,
Shields was also a faculty fellow with the Institute for Educational
Initiatives. He also served on the Governor’s Task Force on
Character Education during Indiana Governor Frank O’Bannon’s term of
office.
Born in Hollywood CA in 1950,
David attended public schools in Inglewood CA. He earned his
BA degree in religious studies and psychology from California
Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks CA, and a Masters of Divinity
degree from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley CA.
He earned his Ph.D. in Theology and Education from the Graduate
Theological Union in Berkeley CA.
He taught for eight years in the
Peace and Conflict Studies Program at the University of California
at Berkeley. He has also worked in campus ministry and has
taught educational theory at several colleges, universities, and
seminaries. For several years, he also taught sport sociology
at John F. Kennedy University in Orinda CA.
In addition to publishing dozens
of research articles and book chapters, he is the lead author of Character Development and Physical Activity (Human Kinetics),
author of Growing Beyond Prejudices (Twenty-Third
Publications), and editor of The Color of Hunger (Roman &
Littlefield). In addition to academic publishing, he has
written for the popular press, including a cover-story article in Psychology Today. He has presented at dozens of
conferences, including numerous keynote addresses.
In addition to his academic
positions, he was Associate Director in charge of educational
programs at the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation in Berkeley.
In that role, he taught teens, teachers, and health professionals
effective strategies for tobacco prevention, as well as political
organizing and advocacy skills. He also served as a consultant
for the California Department of Education.
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