Faculty/Staff listing

Faculty

Twila Liggett, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
email
212-774-4852

Degrees
B.S., Union College, Lincoln, NE
M.A., University of Nebraska
Ph.D., University of Nebraska

Dr. Twila C. Liggett is the Founder of the outstanding PBS Children's TV series, Reading Rainbow which premiered on PBS in 1983. She also served as Executive Producer of the Emmy award winning series, Reading Rainbow, from its inception through the Fall of 2006. Her knowledge and experience continue to provide the vital links between the parallel worlds of education and television that have made Reading Rainbow successful. Under her leadership, the series has won over 160 awards including the Prix Juenesse (1992) a prestigious international award, the Peabody (1993), and 26 national Emmys, ten of which are in the Outstanding Children's Series category.

As an educator and author, Dr. Liggett has published widely on issues ranging from literacy to human potential. In 1979 she received an American Educational Research Association award for a work she co-authored, The Whole Person Book. Toward Self-Discovery and Life Options. She also co-authored the Reading Rainbow Guide To Children's Books: The 101 Best Titles, (Citadel Press, Revised 1996). Author of a chapter, The Family Literacy Alliance: Using Public Television Book-based Series to Motivate At-Risk Populations in Family Literacy: Connections In Schools and Communities published by the International Reading Association (1995), Dr. Liggett also wrote entries for A Handbook for Literacy Educators: Research on Teaching the Communicative and Visual Arts "Voices from the Field," (Macmillan, 1998) and The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature (K.S. Giniger Company, Inc., 2001). From 1997-2000, Dr. Liggett held a secondary role as a Senior Vice President at JuniorNet, an online service for kids. She has also held appointments as an adjunct professor at Marymount Manhattan College (1999-2000) and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2001-2002).

Dr. Liggett holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction and Administration, a MA in Elementary Education (both from the University of Nebraska) and a BS in Secondary and Music Education (Union College, Nebraska). Dr. Liggett was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Marymount Manhattan College (New York City) in 2001.

Dr. Liggett joined the faculty of Marymount (Fall 2006) as an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education with a specialty of Literacy. In addition to her classes, she is hard at work on new book for parents, tentatively titled "Just Read Anything – How to Raise Intelligent, Literate Kids."

Recent Presentations/Productions:

Radio Interview with Dallas Anioce, Senior Editor. Kidcaster Radio: United Media Company. Regarding the importance of quality children’s media. March 30, 2009.

“One Voice Institute of Elemental Ethics and Education.” North Eastern Regional Conference and Forum. Presenter on the chilling impact of “No Child Left Behind” on learning. November 16, 2008.