Faculty Spotlight #10

Dr. Leonard Beckum

Professor, and Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs

Leonard Beckum is PGSP’s Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. He divides his time between the Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs, and all PAU students benefit from the rich and varied experiences that mark his distinguished career. Dr. Beckum has worked as a vocational high school teacher, a criminal justice instructor, a community organizer, and a San Francisco police officer. He has been an associate lab director and principal investigator at Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development, created by Congress in 1966 to bridge the gap between educational research and practice. He has been an evaluator and technical assistance provider in the U.S. Government’s Equity Assistance Program and the 21st Century Community Centers program.

Dr. Beckum also served as Dean of the School of Education at City College of the City University of New York, and Vice President, Vice Provost, and Professor of Public Policy Studies at Duke University. Before joining PAU, he was the Director of the Center for Educational Equity and of the Region IX Equity Assistance Center—programs of WestEd, a nonprofit agency that works with education and communities across Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, to achieve equity and to improve learning for children, youth, and adults. As professor for cultural competency training at PAU, Dr. Beckum is committed to ensuring that all students understand the importance of cultural competence in their analysis and evaluation of evidence-based clinical methods.