Dr. Gail Paradise Kelly (1940-1991) was a pioneer in the field of comparative women's education and a noted faculty member of UB's Graduate School of Education. Kelly acquired her undergraduate degree in 1962 from the University of Chicago, and went on to obtain her master's degree in education from Indiana University in 1970. In 1975, she was awarded her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and in the same year she joined the faculty at the University at Buffalo. Starting as an Assistant Professor in the GSE, Kelly was promoted to Associate Professor in 1978, and eventually became a full professor in 1983, a position she held for the remainder of her career. Kelly also served as an adjunct professor in the Department of History. While at UB, Kelly played a major role in the development of a comparative education doctoral program, and held a notable amount of administrative and committee positions. As a scholar in comparative education, she conducted much research focusing on women's education, third-world education, and Vietnam. By the end of her career, Kelly wrote two books, five monographs, twenty-four book chapters, and twenty-three journal articles, and was the co-editor of eleven books.

1940

Born in Brooklyn, New York

1962

Graduates (A.B.) from the University of Chicago

1964

Marries David M. Kelly

1970

Masters in Education (Ms. Ed), Indiana University

1971

Daughter, Jennifer Ann Paradise Kelly, born June 19

1974

Joins faculty at University at Buffalo in the Department of Social Foundations of Education, as Assistant Professor

1975

PhD, University of Wisconsin; dissertation on Franco-Vietnamese Schools, 1918-1938

1977

Daughter, Ella Paradise Kelly, born April 14

1977

Publishes From Vietnam to America

1978

Publishes Education and Colonialism (revised in 1984)

1978

Promoted to Associate Professor

1979-89

Associate Editor, Comparative Education Review

1982

Publishes Women's Education in the Third World

1983

Promoted to Full Professor

1985

Publishes Feminism in the Disciplines: Kindling in the Groves of Academia

1986

Becomes President of the Comparative and International Education Society (CEIS)

1989-

Serves as General Secretary of the Comparative and International Education Society (CEIS)

1991

Dies, June 25, in Buffalo, NY