The Jeffords Center has chosen its founding director, Associate Education Professor Dr. H.W. “Bud” Meyers. “The opportunity to develop a center of this magnitude and diversity is a challenging one, but one to which I look forward,” Meyers said.A graduate of Montclair State University and the University of Connecticut, Meyers has an extensive background in educational research. “I currently serve on the board of directors for the Association for Effective Schools, and regularly participate in activities of the American Educational Research Association and the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science,” Meyers’s online biography said.Meyers is an advocate of equity in education, involved in laws like No Child Left Behind. “I believe that assessment and accountability are only partial solutions to the problems engendered by the unequal distribution of opportunities to learn for all students,” Meyers said. Dan Harvey, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Vice President for Research, said that Meyers will reveal himself as a competent director for the research facility. “We had several outstanding candidates for the position, but in addition to excellent ?academic credentials, Dr. Meyers clearly had the experience that we wanted the founding director to have,” Harvey said.   The hiring process ended in extensive interviewing of four candidates. “It was a fair and rigorous process that involved candidates submitting dossiers thatincluded previous experience with policy research, service to the university, state and nation as well as teaching at the university level,” Meyers said. Meyers’s new role is a combination of active research and communication with UVM and other related facilities.”There are four areas that need to be developed, according to the mission of the Center.  These areas include Education Policy, Health Care Policy, Environmental Policy and Government,” Meyers said. Dr. Meyers has already begun his role as director and has started to hire employees in order to get a full staff by the end of the semester. Meyers said he welcomes students and faculty to visit his office in Farrell Hall, or to visit the Jeffords Center website for further information on opportunities.