A series of public events sponsored by CDI each year brings the College community together with colleagues, experts, community partners, students at other institutions of higher education, and the public at large for lively presentations and discussions on a range of topics germane to children and childhood.
Longfellow Lecture
April 2, 2020
"The Relational Foundations of Reflection: Supporting the Development of Attachment and Symbolization in Young Children and their Caregivers" featuring Arietta Slade, Ph.D.
The Longfellow Lecture is an annual event, initiated in the first year of CDI (1987) and funded by an endowment established by friends and family of Cynthia Longfellow '72.
Thomas H. Wright Lecture
In 1996, the Leon Lowenstein Foundation gave a grant to launch a fund in child development honoring Thomas H. Wright, former member of the Sarah Lawrence College Board of Trustees. The Lowenstein Foundation provided additional funds in subsequent years. Following consultation, the decision was made to use the income from the fund to establish an annual lecture, the Thomas H. Wright Lecture. Since 1997, the lecture has been the keynote of the Empowering Teachers program.
Ensuring the "Good Childhood" in a World of Cultural and Technological Change: Expanding the Nordic-American Dialogue on Early Education
In April 2019, the Child Development Institute at Sarah Lawrence College held a Symposium in collaboration with the American-Scandinavian Foundation, the third in a series of Nordic-American symposia bringing together Scandinavian and American educators to explore issues of common interest and concern.