James M. Kauffman, Ed. D.

James M. (Jim) Kauffman, has studied special education for emotionally disturbed children and those with other education-relevant exceptionalities for nearly all of his adult life. His objective has been to improve the field of special education, to take criticism of it seriously and seek its improvement. He wants to make the education of exceptional children better and to make them and their families happier.
Jim began his career in education in 1962 with a degree from Goshen College in Goshen, IN. He then taught emotionally disturbed children at Southard School, at that time the children’s division of the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, KS. Beginning in 1964, he taught both special and general education in public elementary schools in northeast KS. In 1966, he received a M.Ed. degree from Washburn University of Topeka in teaching in the elementary school. He completed his Ed.D. in special education at the University of Kansas in 1969.
In the years since he completed his doctoral studies, he has become a prominent figure in special education. He joined the University of Virginia faculty in 1970 as an assistant professor. At UVA, he served in such roles as Associate Dean for Research in the School of Education and as a chaired professor in its Department of Special Education. He was Chair of the Department of Special Education from 1977 to 1981 (now it’s the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education).
Jim became involved in special education because of his mentor, the late Richard J. (Dick) Whelan. Dick was not only the principal of Southard School when Jim was hired, but then built a program in special education at the University of Kansas in Lawrence (and its Medical Center in Kansas City). The program he led became the highest-rated program in the country for many years. Dick was an extraordinary mentor who persuaded Jim to give up a fellowship for a Ph.D. in philosophy of education to pursue his doctorate in special education at KU.
Although he is now retired, Jim is still active in the field of special education and especially likes working with his wife, Jeanmarie Badar, Ph.D. She is a teacher of special and general education par excellence, as well as a gifted writer. He enjoys many activities other than reading and writing, including time with his children and grandchildren, cooking, caring for dogs and cats (especially walking dogs), and outdoor fun.