About James
James M. Lang, Ph.D. is a Professor of Practice at the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of Notre Dame. He has authored six books, the most recent of which are Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It (Basic Books, 2020), Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning (Jossey-Bass, 2016) and Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty (Harvard University Press, 2013), and On Course: A Week-by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching (Harvard UP, 2008). He also holds the title of Emeritus Professor of English at Assumption University, where he founded and directed the university’s teaching center.
Jim writes a regular column on teaching and learning for The Chronicle of Higher Education; his work has been appearing in the Chronicle since 1999. His book reviews and public scholarship on higher education have appeared in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, including the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Time, The Conversation, Commonweal, America. He founded a popular book series on teaching and learning in higher education for West Virginia University Press, and currently co-edits a new series with Michelle Miller for Oklahoma University Press.
A dynamic and highly sought-after public speaker, he has delivered conference keynotes or conducted workshops on teaching for faculty at more than three hundred colleges, universities, and high schools in the United States and abroad. He has consulted with the United Nations on a multi-year project to develop teaching materials in ethics and integrity for high school and college faculty, and is the recipient of a a 2016 Fulbright Specialist Grant (Colombia). He has a BA in English and Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in English from St. Louis University, and a Ph.D. in English from Northwestern University.
Jim lives in Worcester, Massachusetts with his wife Anne, a long-time kindergarten teacher now serving as a reading specialist in the Worcester public schools. They have five children, ranging in age from late teens into their twenties. Jim and his wife formed and lead the Lang Family Foundation, to which he donates 10-15% of his writing and speaking income. The Foundation provides grants to non-profit organizations dedicated to the alleviation of poverty and homelessness, support for the environment and the arts, and funding for libraries and public education. Recent grant recipients include the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Worcester, a homeless shelter for families with children; the Worcester Public Library Foundation, which raises funds in support of the library; and Abby’s House, a shelter for homeless, battered, or low-income women in need of housing and support services.
A renewed sense of commitment to writing, education, and philanthropy has followed the events of late 2021 and early 2022. A case of myocarditis attacked Jim’s heart in October 2021, and essentially destroyed it over the course of a few weeks. He spent almost three months on advanced life support—during which time he contracted a life-threatening case of pneumonia and spent nine days in an induced coma—and he wasn’t expected to survive. But with the help of Tufts Medical Center, and the unwavering support of his family and friends, he survived long enough to receive a successful heart transplant in late December 2021. He suffered a stroke during the long transplant surgery, however, which left him temporarily unable to speak or write. With Anne’s constant help, and the dedication of speech and physical therapists, he has made a near-miraculous recovery, and has been able to return fully to writing, teaching, speaking about education, and supporting the work of other writers.
Jim and his family will be forever grateful to the family of the donor whose heart beats in chest. Make your wishes known to your loved ones: Donate your organs!
