Gilliam was given the award at the 2024 Parents as Teachers International Conference
San Diego, Calif.—Walter Gilliam, the executive director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, received the 2024 Research Trailblazer Award from the international Parents as Teachers organization.
Gilliam accepted the award Oct. 14 at the organization’s annual conference in San Diego alongside Dr. Joshua Sparrow, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the executive director of Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Boston Children’s Hospital.
The two are the first-ever recipients of this award, which recognizes their significant contributions to the field of early childhood education and research. Both serve on the Parents as Teachers Research Council.
Parents as Teachers cited Gilliam’s research on improving the quality of PreK and child care services, methods for reducing classroom behavior problems and preschool expulsion, the impact of COVID-19 on the physical and mental health of early educators, and more.
Gilliam became the executive director of the Buffett Institute in 2023. He was previously a professor of child psychiatry and psychology at the Yale Child Study Center and director of Yale’s Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy.
His work and research have been covered in major national and international news outlets and he frequently provides testimony and briefings before Congress on issues related to early care and education.
Parents as Teachers, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, oversees an international network of early childhood professionals that support families and healthy development in children birth through Kindergarten. In 2022-23, the organization served more than 220,000 children through 1.76 million home visits.
The Buffett Early Childhood Institute is the University of Nebraska’s system-wide institute dedicated to the learning and development of young children. The Buffett Institute was established with a founding gift from Omaha philanthropist Susie Buffett and opened its doors in 2013.