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Dan Liston, In Memoriam,
Nov. 27, 1953 – Dec. 28, 2024

By Jennie Whitcomb, Ken Teitelbaum and Ken Zeichner 

We remember Daniel Patrick Liston—distinguished scholar, beloved teacher, and generous colleague — for his integrity, for the ethical stances he articulated (even when it was unpopular to do so), for his abiding appreciation of and respect for scholars and practitioners, and for his open-hearted connection to all he met. He arrived at CU Boulder in 1990, bringing a Midwestern sensibility, authenticity, and compassionate heart to all his efforts on behalf of current and prospective teachers, teacher educators, administrators and educational scholars.   

As a scholar, he contributed significantly to several fields, notably curriculum theory and teacher education. At the time that Dan became involved in teacher education, the field was dominated by attention to technical issues, and it was thought by many that ethical, cultural and contextual concerns debated in the social and cultural foundations of education should, at most, play a peripheral role in a teacher’s education. Dan, as a scholar of curriculum theory and teacher education, believed that teachers should be prepared to critically and continuously examine their teaching by exploring technical issues (such as instructional strategies, classroom management, assessment, and content selection) using moral, ethical and cultural lenses. Importantly, Dan felt strongly that teachers and teacher candidates should be presented with a full range of conceptual lenses to guide their reflections and to locate the issues they faced in broader contexts. In the book series he and Ken Zeichner edited—Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of Schooling—Dan sought to present teachers with a full range of options available and to support their own deliberations, including the critical perspectives often missing in teacher education programs. He encouraged genuine intellectual dialogue, in which individuals articulated their own stances and kept an open mind to those of others. He brought this same vision to his work as an editor of the Journal of Teacher Education, one of the top-ranked teacher education journals in the U.S. and among the highest-ranked education journals internationally. 

Another important aspect of Dan’s role in teacher education was his respect for teachers and his strong sense of civic and community responsibility as a university educator. One example of this central aspect of his work was his involvement with a community-based teacher education program in the Roaring Fork Valley that helped bring more teachers of color into Colorado schools. Dan served as co-director and then advisor to this program. Another example was his work with the Colorado Courage and Renewal program based on Parker Palmer’s book Courage to Teach. The weekend retreats were designed to help professionals in many fields reflect on and rejuvenate their professional practices through a stronger personal commitment to teaching. For several years Dan helped secure funding to bring this program to Colorado and co-facilitated weekend retreats for teachers and administrators in Denver schools.  

With classes that were always full, Dan created syllabi and conducted seminar discussions in ways that made sure everyone in the room got out onto the conversational dance floor. Dan reveled in moments when students worked out their stance and could articulate their perspective in a “pointed and pithy” way. A consummate dissertation advisor, Dan read each and every chapter draft as he supported students to find the analytical edges and empirical bases for their claims. In addition to his graduate-level teaching, Dan never shied away from a pedagogical challenge, which included the development of popular courses for undergraduates (e.g., Education in Film) and contributions to CU Boulder’s early experiments in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).  

As a friend and colleague, Dan had an open door and a ready ear. He served as a sounding board to help the newest members feel a part of the institution and to understand its tacit rules. He championed assistant professors, offering wise counsel as they delineated independent lines of research and guiding them as they navigated the tricky terrain of balancing personal life demands with those of academe. In meetings, especially those when a prickly topic was under discussion, he voiced clear principles and always argued for fairness. If tensions were mounting, he often found a way to interject his self-deprecating humor to lighten the moment. In these and other ways, including his cheerful greetings and gentle words of comfort when someone encountered difficulty, Dan sought to build an authentic community for all his colleagues.   

Dan made extraordinary, wide-ranging contributions—in print, at conferences, in service to the profession, in the classroom, and in the community—to a humanistic orientation that also asked his students and his colleagues to consider their role in the broader social, cultural and political communities in which they live. He was “critical” in the very best sense of that oft-used word among academics. His voice may be stilled, but his words will continue to inspire current and future generations of educators. And for those who knew him personally, his generosity, kindness, sense of humor, friendly manner and smiling visage are all sorely missed. 

Jennie Whitcomb is Principal at Sacred Heart Preparatory in Northern California and former Associate Dean of Teacher Education at CU Boulder. Ken Teitelbaum is a former Education Dean at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Ken Zeichner is Professor Emeritus at University of Washington Seattle and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.