Overview: Education, Research, and Training
The Norris and Dorothy Haring Center for Applied Research and Training in Education houses three individual units: the Experimental Education Unit (EEU), the Applied Research Unit, and the Professional Development Unit.
Directed by Dr. Ilene Schwartz, the Norris and Dorothy Haring Center staff is composed of administrative, professional, and support staffers who work together on research, training and service activities.The Norris and Dorothy Haring Center for Applied Research and Training in Education is located at the University of Washington south campus and is linked organizationally to the College of Education and the Center for Human Development and Disability.
Norris & Dorothy Haring
Professor Norris Haring was the first director of the Experimental Education Unit. He is a pioneer in the field of special education and his work has influence educators, parents, legislators, and policymakers around the country. 
Much of his work focused on the importance of early intervention to future student learning and tailoring instruction methods to individual student needs. His most prominent research included the application of behavior principles, precision measurement, and database instructional decision. For more than 25 years he studied the effectiveness of instructional precision with students with severe disabilities including autism and deaf blindness. He received his Ed.D. in 1956 from Syracuse University and he retired with distinction from the University of Washington College of Education in 1996.
Dorothy Haring earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Washington College of Education. After raising her family, she spent more than 20 years teaching and working in a variety of capacities in the Bellevue School District, often focusing on children with special needs. She was honored with an outstanding service award upon her retirement from the Bellevue School District in 1993.Tom Haring, the son of Norris and Dorothy, earned a doctorate in special education from the University of California at Berkeley and spent 10 years at the University of California Santa Barbara, where he conducted research and taught, in addition to developing and directing a training program for teachers of students with severe disabilities. Before Tom Haring’s life was cut short by brain cancer in 1993, his teacher training program had prepared nearly 100 students for work in K-12 schools and his doctoral students went on to assume faculty positions in universities around the nation.
Kathryn Haring, one of two daughters of Norris and Dorothy, earned a doctorate in special education from the University of New Mexico. She developed a program in early intervention and child development at the University of Oklahoma.
Martha Haring Groeshell completed her master’s degree in counseling at the University of Washington and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Argosy University.
History
Created in 2009, the Norris and Dorothy Haring Center for Applied Research and Training in Education grew out of 40 years of groundbreaking work in special education at the Experimental Education Unit. At the Haring Center, families, researchers, and students work closely on their shared mission of providing inclusive educational services for children with and without disabilities. The Haring Center is proud to be a leader in developing, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating strategies to help all students succeed, all teachers be effective, and all parents feel confident and competent.
The Experimental Education Unit continues to be a national and international leader in educating children with developmental disabilities. A model for inclusive education for children with developmental disabilities, the unit continues to serve as a school for children from infancy through kindergarten.
The Professional Development Unit provides professional training to graduate students in the College of Education’s special education department, which is highly ranked by the U.S. News and World Report, and to thousands of visitors from across the globe. Trainees have continued on to become leaders in their fields.
The Applied Research Unit houses numerous research projects aimed at improving learning among children with special needs. It is here that researchers develop curriculum and assessment materials, promote research to improve classroom instructional methods, and train professionals to become leaders in their field.
