Ravitch's talk will explore the "unique" role of schools of education in the 21st Century. She is scheduled to speak from 3-5 p.m. in the Grand Salon of the University Student Union on the east side of the campus off Zelzah Avenue.

"Today, as more and more states and school districts are creating alternative routes into teaching, the nation's schools of education are challenged to justify their existence," said Ravitch about her lecture topic. "Under what circumstances will districts prefer graduates of these programs rather than those who arrive without immersion in teacher education?"

Author of "The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn," Ravitch is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and a member of the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education, a team of education experts assembled by the Hoover Institution to work on education reform.

Ravitch is a research professor of education at New York University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. She is a former U.S. assistant secretary for educational research and improvement, and served as a counselor to the U.S. Department of Education.

Editor of the annual Brookings Papers on Educational Policy, Ravitch also edited "The Schools We Deserve," "Debating the Future of American Education" and "The American Reader."

She has lectured widely on democracy and civic education.