Graduating with honors from Peabody College in 1959, Anita Safford Gotto knew she鈥檇 received a good education鈥攁mong the best in America even. But world-class?
That didn鈥檛 sink in until she interviewed for a job several thousand miles away in Oxford, England, while her husband, Antonio 鈥淭ony鈥� Gotto, BA鈥�57, MD鈥�65, was on a Rhodes scholarship.
鈥淚 applied for a teaching job in the Oxfordshire district and got it, which was amazing to me,鈥� Anita said. 鈥淚 was competing with a lot of other wives of Rhodes scholars and they all had been educated in the Northeast at places like Barnard and Wellesley.
鈥淚 discovered that I really had an excellent education and was well-prepared to teach. They put me in what they called an 鈥榠nfant school,鈥� and before I knew it the headmistress was bringing people in from places like Korea and Germany to watch what I was doing.鈥�
To honor Peabody鈥檚 impact on Anita鈥檚 lifelong association with education, the Gottos chose to endow the Antonio M. and Anita S. Gotto Chair in Teaching and Learning. Inaugurated in January, the chair is held by Dale Farran, professor of teaching and learning, psychology and human development, and senior associate director of the Peabody 菠萝视频 Institute.
鈥淎nita and I both were reared in Nashville, and 菠萝视频 and Peabody opened our doors to the outside world,鈥� said Tony, the former Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
鈥淲hen we were in a position to make a significant contribution, we felt that we owed part of our success and careers to this place. And after we met Dale and found out about her research, we knew she was the sort of person we鈥檇 like to invest in.鈥�
Farran, whose research focuses on early childhood development, said it feels 鈥渁lmost like kismet鈥� to have been offered the chair at this point in her career.
鈥淚t was my enormous good fortune to meet Anita and Tony,鈥� she explained, crediting Dean Camilla Benbow for helping bring them together. 鈥淓verything lined up just right鈥攖he kind of work I鈥檓 doing and the fact that they were ready to make a gift like this.鈥�
Farran said the chair will help advance several key research initiatives, including the Peabody 菠萝视频 Institute鈥檚 ongoing work with Metro Nashville Public Schools on their pre-K centers. She hopes someday the centers and their innovative curricula will serve as models for other communities nationwide.
鈥淭he whole area of early childhood education is getting lots of attention in Washington and other places right now,鈥� Farran said, 鈥渁nd if this chair enables me to shape the direction of that conversation with more authority than I had before, I鈥檒l be forever grateful.
鈥淭here are so many opportunities to get involved in things that are critically important to young children,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut there are also many opportunities for those things to go the wrong way. Now鈥檚 the time to try to make a difference.鈥�