George Mason University Provost and Executive Vice President Mark Ginsberg has been elected to serve as chair of the Board of Directors for Parents as Teachers (PAT), an organization dedicated to promoting the optimal early development of children by supporting and engaging parents and caregivers.
Ginsberg, with decades of experience as a professor, psychologist and university administrator, has published extensively in the areas of education, psychology, human development and human services.
"I am honored to have been elected as the chair of the Parents as Teachers Board of Directors,” said Ginsberg. “As a leading international nonprofit organization with a portfolio of consequential programs supporting young children and their families, Parents as Teachers is an exemplar for promoting the development and learning of young children, their health and the nurturing of relationships within families.”
The PAT board of directors sets the organization's strategic planning and policies to ensure responsiveness to both economic changes and demographic shifts of families and their young children. PAT promotes early detection of children’s developmental delays and health issues, along with education to help parents understand their role in encouraging their child's development.
Ginsberg joined the PAT board in 2013 and most recently served as its vice chair. Ginsberg succeeds Patricia Kempthorne, former First Lady of Idaho.
“Serving as chair will provide me with an opportunity to continue having a consequential impact on child development and family life as the organization’s reach is wide and impact deep,” said Ginsberg. “I am thrilled that this leadership role with Parents as Teachers complements my work at Mason and is consistent with my career-long focus.”
Ginsberg, whose career has focused on family relationships, is an internationally recognized leader in the early childhood field. Ginsberg joined Mason, the largest public research university in Virginia, in 2010 as the dean of the College of Education and Human Development.