William E. Blanton came to the University of Miami in 2000 from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where he was professor of curriculum and instruction, and chairperson of the Department of Reading Education. 

Prior to joining the faculty at Appalachian, Blanton was a faculty member at Indiana University, as well as associate director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Coordinator of the Office for Reading and Language Studies.  He earned his Ed.D. at the University of Georgia. 

Blanton has written extensively in the area of reading, edited professional journals and co-authored basic reading programs.  His publications cover reading tests for the secondary grades, preschool reading instruction, measuring reading performance, “power reading,” and similar topics. 

Blanton has served as president of the College Reading Association, and has directed a Model Clinical Teaching Project at the University of North Carolina, and “Creating a Community of Teaching, learning and Technology,” a project funded by the BellSouth Foundation.  He is currently active in the Fifth Dimension Project, a community initiative involving the School of Education and Miami-Dade County Public Schools.  He is professor in residence at Kensington Park Elementary.