Dr. Margaret Mary Kimmel, professor emerita at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Information Sciences, has been named the newest Fellow of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College. Dr. Kimmel has begun a project to publish a paper on the foundational principles of Fred Rogers’ work, his significant con tributions to child development and children’s media, and new directions for building upon his legacy. The publication will be completed in June 2008.

Dr. Kimmel states, “The purpose of this paper is to review the work of Fred Rogers, and his impact on several generations of children, their families, caregivers and educators. In this review I hope to analyze his dedication to understanding and respecting the early years of childhood, complementing his deep faith in God and sense of humor.”

She will focus on children’s television, using story as an emotional context for communication. The piece will address the design of the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood program, elements of strength in the work of Fred Rogers and comments from those who collaborated with him. “This analysis should help to set an agenda for continuing his work with children and their families through efforts of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media,” Dr. Kimmel said. “Over the years, I worked with staff developing a project to provide access to the program for researchers, and co-edited a book about Fred Rogers’ work. I grew to know, respect, and have great affection for the man and his work.”

According to William Isler, Executive Director of the Fred Rogers Center, “Dr. Kimmel worked with Fred for many years and continues to work with his production company, Family Communications. She knew Fred and observed the rapport he had with children. Her work as a Fred Rogers Center Fellow will describe how Fred drew from his many talents and characteristics such as treating each child as an individual, using music on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, his spirituality and more to serve children and families.”

Dr. Kimmel earned her bachelor’s degree in history and master’s degree in library science from Dominican University (Rosary College) in River Forest, Illinois. In 1980, she was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kimmel has taught a variety of graduate courses related to children, literature and the provision of library services. She was the chairperson of her department for nine years.

She has lectured extensively in the United States, presenting workshops and programs for teachers, librarians and parents. Dr. Kimmel spent two years as a visiting professor at the College of Librarianship Wales, which provided her with the opportunity to visit libraries and library education programs throughout Europe.

Dr. Kimmel worked with Fred Rogers as an advisor to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, analyzing and indexing the video work for research access. She also appeared as a storyteller on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. She co-edited, with Mark Collins, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Children Television, and Fred Rogers, which was published in 1996-1997 by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and for more than 10 years she wrote a quarterly bibliography for caregivers in the “Around the Neighborhood” newsletter. Dr. Kimmel’s writing includes For Reading Out Loud with Elizabeth Segel, and she is the editor for a series of children’s books, the Golden Triangle Books, set in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.

In Pittsburgh, Dr. Kimmel has served on a number of boards. She has been a member of the Advisory Board of Beginning with Books, a literacy project providing books to parents through well-baby clinics and other social service agencies, and she served as the board’s first chair. Currently, Dr. Kimmel is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Canterbury Place, an active residence for senior citizens, and she is also on the board of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). She serves on the Board of Senior Living, a division of UPMC, and she chairs the Advisory Council for UPMC’s Disability Resource Center. Dr. Kimmel served on the board of directors for the Heartwood Institute, which has developed an ethics curriculum used in many school districts, and was one of the first 12 term trustees elected to the Board of Trustees for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kimmel is currently a member of the FISA Foundation Board.

In addition, Dr. Kimmel is active in a number of national professional activities and associations including assignments and offices within the American Library Association, the United States national section of the International Board on Books for Young People, and the Association for Library and Information Science Education. She has an honorary degree from Seton Hill College, was named a Woman of Spirit by Carlow University, and selected as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania.

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