Alumna Named a 2024 Gerard J. Mangone Young Scholar

By Carol Jean Tomoguchi-Perez
October 22, 2025

Anamarie Whitaker (Ph.D. ’14) has been named a 2024 Gerard J. Mangone Young Scholar by the University of Delaware’s Francis Alison Society, recognizing her pioneering research in early childhood education policy.

“Since college, I’ve been interested in supporting low-income families, specifically with policies that help reduce stress,” Whitaker said. “I quickly recognized that this can be achieved by providing support to families and whole child development through high-quality early education from birth to age five.”

An assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Whitaker studies how the nation’s complex childcare funding systems influence program quality, accessibility, and the long-term outcomes of preschool participation. Her work challenges traditional assumptions about preschool expansion, noting that “modern-day research doesn’t show the same long-term effectiveness patterns seen in decades-old studies” due to societal changes.

Whitaker recently coauthored two papers with fellow scholars that examine contemporary preschool outcomes and identify opportunities to strengthen early education programs. She is also leading a five-year study focused on access to high-quality care for children with special needs and contributing to a project exploring early literacy development.

Anamarie Whitaker

“Dr. Whitaker’s research program centers on understanding whether, how, and why participation in early care and education interventions leads to long-term positive developmental outcomes for children from diverse backgrounds,” said Jason Hustedt, research director of the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood, who nominated her for the award. “She has led or co-led studies and projects totaling more than $6.2 million.”
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Reflecting on the honor, Whitaker said, “I’m really honored to receive this award. It’s an honor to be in this network of scholars and to be at UD, where critical and groundbreaking research is happening.”

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The Mangone Young Scholars Award is named in honor of the late Gerard J. Mangone, a pioneering international legal scholar who joined the UD faculty in 1972 and spent nearly the next 40 years teaching and advising scores of UD students. He also served numerous governmental and non-profit organizations, consulting for the White House, the State Department, the United Nations, Japan, the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was the first senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and served as a visiting professor and lecturer around the world. Mangone’s contributions were instrumental to the success of UD’s marine policy program. He founded the Center for the Study of Marine Policy, the first research center at an American university to study the legal, political and economic issues facing the ocean and coast. The center was the forerunner of the Gerard J. Mangone Climate Change Science and Policy Hub. He received UD’s highest faculty honor — the Francis Alison Award — in 1983 and was an active member of the Francis Alison Society until his death in July 2011.