Dean to Lead National Educator Organization

Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy will be stepping down as dean on January 5, 2025, after eight and a half years as dean of the School of Education. She will be greatly missed, and the university is making plans for an interim dean of the school. Read Holcomb-McCoy’s announcement message about her transition to the role of CEO/President of American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). 

December 2024 Commencement Speakers Announced

Actor and mental health advocate Sean Astin, SPA ’24, will deliver the commencement address at the 148th AU Commencement on December 15th. SOE's Peyton Upchurch, a December graduate of the Master of Education in Education Policy and Leadership program, will be the student speaker. More than 1,400 diplomas will be conferred.

SOE Researchers Lead Major Study on Equity-Based Teaching in Higher Education

The two-year study, funded by a $1.1 million grant, examined how to scale equity-based teaching in higher education and resulted in 15 comprehensive recommendations for implementation on your campus. Pictured are primary investigators (L to R): Dr. Milagros Castillo-Montoya, Dr. Brian McGowan, Dr. Corbin M. Campbell, and Dr. Bryan Dewsbury.

SOE Hosts Chinese Educational Delegation

SOE welcomed a distinguished delegation of 52 administrators and high school principals from China. This collaborative initiative brought together educators from 11 provinces and municipalities. Some of the SOE participants are pictured (L to R): student Nikki Levee, Dr. Jody Hagen-Smith, Dr. Ocheze Joseph, Dr. William N. Thomas IV, Dr. Carolyn Parker, Jessica Cisneros, Caryn Ash, and student Paige Abbott.

SOE in the Media

Associate Professor Dr. Robert Shand published a piece on the presidential candidates’ positions and histories regarding education policy leading up to the election in The Conversation.

Dr. Shand was also quoted in the PolitiFact article "Promise Kept: Biden Rules on For-Profit Schools Are on the Books, but Delays Make Effects Unclear" on the rules for persistently underperforming for-profit colleges.

Professor Jennifer Steele was quoted in this Big News Network article about the prominence education is playing in this year's presidential election. Read about the options American voters had. 

"How Trump's Plan to Close the Department of Education Threatens Special Education," written by Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Antonio L. Ellis, in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, details reasons that closure of the Department poses a grave threat to the well-being of students with disabilities.

In “How to Help Children Recognize the Humanity in Others,” Adjunct Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Altheria Caldera spoke with BOLD about the influence of adults and false assumptions that kids won’t pick up on adults’ biases.

SOE in the Community

Assistant Professor Dr. Liana Petruzzi was awarded a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities for her project, "Improving Perinatal Mental Health among Latinas through a Culturally Adapted, Multi-Level Intervention." The $613k grant will culturally adapt two evidence-based perinatal interventions, which include health education and psychoeducation, by simultaneously addressing mental health and social needs to improve Latina perinatal outcomes.

Dr. Petruzzi also received a Loan Repayment Program Award from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities for her research on health disparities among Latinas, with a particular focus on perinatal health. This program is meant to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals and researchers, as well as support early career professionals with educational debt.

Dr. Jenni Torres, EdD ’22, was named Executive Director of WIDA, an educational services organization housed in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education.

Dr. Kenjus Watson spoke at a Penn State College of Education event “Black Possibilities as Creative Praxis Series” giving a presentation entitled “The Life, Death, and Afterlife of Apocalyptic Education.”

ADVANCE AU awarded SOE two AU Career Development Mini Grants, one to Dr. Sherita Flake and the other to Drs. Carolyn Parker, Barbara Balestra, and Dhananjaya Katju, to help advance their career development.

Dr. Ocheze Joseph represented SOE at President Alger’s new initiative, The Civic Life, which promotes civic engagement through events, activities, and learning opportunities.

Dr. Gayle Warmbrodt presented “Malleable Mindsets Improve Student Outcomes” at the 2024 College Academic Support Programs (CASP) Conference. 

Dr. Terence Steward, EdD graduate and Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, will become the president of the DC chapter of the International Dyslexia Association.

Dr. Alida Anderson presented "Choice-Based Art Education (CBAE): Engaging K-5 Grade Students in the Art Classroom" as part of the Kennedy Center’s Arts and Special Education series. It showed how CBAE provides support for art educators to design and implement authentic instruction centered on student choice and voice.

Dr. Jennifer Steele presented "So, Your Colleague Is a Chatbot: Preparing Students for AI in the Workforce” to teach faculty about implications of generative AI that students and faculty will contend with in their careers.

SOE Publications

Dr. Robert Shand co-authored a report on the financial impact of cultural conflicts in schools, such as book bans, LGBTQ+, and other issues. The study, “The Costs of Conflict--The Fiscal Impact of Culturally Divisive Conflicts on Public Schools in the United States,” examines the societal and fiscal cost of culturally divisive conflicts that have impacted schools in recent years, estimating the cost to the nation’s public schools at approximately $3.2 billion during the 2023-24 school year.

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