Dr. Camilla P. Benbow

Biography

Camilla Persson Benbow is Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, a position she has held since 1998. Benbow received her Ed.D., with distinction, from Johns Hopkins University (1981), from which she also received her B.A. (1977) and M.A. (1978) in psychology and her M.S. in education (1980).

Benbow's scholarly work focuses on gifted children and the development of mathematical talent. She co-directs, with David Lubinski, the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY), a longitudinal study examining the developmental trajectories of over 5,000 individuals throughout the life-span. The study has been continuously funded since 1981. She is particularly interested in identifying the educational experiences and interventions most conducive to developing intellectual talent and excellence in careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Benbow began her academic career at Johns Hopkins University in 1981 as an associate research scientist. In 1986, Iowa State University appointed her associate professor of psychology. She was promoted to full professor in 1990, became department chair in 1992, and in 1995, was named distinguished professor. She was appointed interim dean of education at Iowa State in 1996. While at Iowa State she also directed pre-collegiate programs for gifted and talented students.

Benbow has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles and 35 chapters. She is the editor, with David Lubinski, of Intellectual Talent: Psychometric and Social Issues (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), and with Julian Stanley, of Academic Precocity: Aspects of its Development (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983).

In May 2006, Benbow was appointed by then Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings as vice-chair of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. From 2006-2008 , she also served as a commissioner of the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative, an initiative of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. Benbow is a member of the board of the American Psychological Foundation, and she co-founded and co-chairs the committee of AAU College of Education Deans.

A fellow of the American Psychological Association Divisions 3 and 15, and of the American Psychological Society, she has received a Distinguished Scholar award from the National Association for Gifted Children and has been inducted into Johns Hopkins' Society of Scholars. In 2004, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the MENSA Education and Research Foundation. In 2008, Johns Hopkins honored her with its Distinguished Alumna Award.

She was appointed to the National Science Board in 2006.

February 2009