Our faculty offers deep experience, a passion for sharing their knowledge and extensive experience with online learning.
Chair Dr. Andrew Ryder |
rydera@uncw.edu | 910-962-7318 |
Administrative Associate Phyllis Pierce |
piercep@uncw.edu | 910-962-3040 |
Ed.D., Seton Hall University
Assistant Professor
Dr. Ligia Alberto earned her Doctorate in Education Leadership Policy and Management from Seton Hall University, an M.S. in School Counseling from Mercy College, and a B.A. in Spanish Education from the City University of New York/Lehman College. With over two decades of dedicated experience in K-12 education, Dr. Alberto has excelled in leadership, school counseling, and teaching roles. She has also significantly contributed to higher education as an Assistant Professor and Program Director of Education Leadership at Felician University.
Dr. Alberto's research is focused on advancing school leadership practices, particularly by studying mentoring relationships and self-efficacy in educational leadership roles. Her insights have been widely shared at numerous state, national, and international conferences, where she continues to influence the discourse on effective educational leadership.
Since 2019, Dr. Alberto has served as a commissioner for the Middle States Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools, playing a pivotal role in shaping educational policies and accreditation standards. Dr. Alberto is passionate about mentoring and inspiring students to pursue leadership positions within the educational field, guiding them toward impactful careers in education.
Business Doctorate in Management, University of Phoenix
Associate Professor
Dr. Marsha L. Carr, an award-winning educator, is a former superintendent, director of curriculum, principal and reading specialist. In 1993, Carr designed a 20-book emergent level reading series named StoryMakers, which became an international success and was published in two languages. She was bestowed Teacher of the Year Award while in Maryland and was recognized by the Maryland House of Delegates as well as received the Maryland Governor's Citation for her work in and out of the classroom. In 1994, Carr was honored with the Milken National Educator Award, the most coveted educator award, and joined a prestigious family of outstanding educators around the nation as well as serves as a Fulbright Specialist. At UNCW, Carr was awarded the 2015 Start-Up Award in faculty entrepreneurship for her work in self-mentoring, a concept she developed and owns a registered trademark, and was honored by North Carolina as the 2016 Coastal Entrepreneur of the Year in professional development (self-mentoring). She is the author of Self-Mentoring: The Invisible Leader (also available in Spanish), Self-Mentoring: The Invisible Leader Manual, Educational Leadership: From Hostile Takeover to a Sustainable Successful System and a co-author of The School Improvement Planning Handbook Focusing on Transition to Turnaround.
Carr's areas of research include Organizational Management, School Culture, Coaching, Mentoring, and Self-Mentoring which includes teacher/administrator leadership and self-efficacy in leadership.
She earned a B.A. in Art and M.A. in Reading from West Virginia University (WV), M.A. in Administration from Frostburg State University (MD) and a business doctorate in Management from the University of Phoenix; Phoenix, Arizona.
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Associate Professor
Donna obtained her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Her passion for creating socially just learning designs that are technology-mediated and youth-driven fueled her work with youth in informal learning environments in the US and abroad for the past 10 years. During this time, she developed an innovative pedagogical model that simultaneously addresses the digital divide, culturally responsive learning, and social justice education. After being perpetually inspired by the ways that the pedagogical model not only unleashes youth voice & agency, but also opens spaces for young people to envision and create their own futures she was motivated to start Unlocking Silent Histories, a non-profit that sparks the potential of indigenous youth to critically analyze how they are represented in the media and creatively express their worlds through documentary film making.
Ph.D., University of Tennessee Knoxville
Professor
Dr. DeVita is on full-time appointment in Academic Affairs as Director of High Impact Practices.
Dr. James M. DeVita earned both his doctorate in Higher Education Administration and M.S. in College Student Personnel from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where his dissertation included three research projects on the experiences and development of gay male college students. His research is focused on examining the educational experiences of marginalized and targeted populations in higher education, particularly related to issues of identity development, as well as issues of access and success during college and the transition from secondary to post-secondary institutions. Current research projects include a mixed-methods study on the educational experiences of LGBTQ-identified youth, and a qualitative project that examines ally identities.
Dr. DeVita has presented at numerous national and international conferences, including the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). He has also published several book chapters and research articles in journals such as the Journal of African American Studies and NASAP Journal
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Assistant Professor
Dr. Dighe earned her Ph.D. in Evaluation Studies from the University of Minnesota. She has also completed a Masters in Public Health from the University of Minnesota and a Masters in Development Studies from the University of Glasgow, UK. Dr. Dighe has fifteen-plus years of experience in program evaluation and applied research. Before joining academia, Dr. Dighe worked with various global institutions in India, Laos, and Ethiopia in child health and education.
As an evaluator and evaluation researcher, Dr. Dighe's interests lie in the area of evaluation capacity building at the grassroots level. She is primarily involved in helping field-based organizations implement and use program evaluation to improve their programs and articulate the significance of their work. Dr. Dighe's research also focuses on equity and diversity in evaluation practice by exploring various dimensions of participatory, culturally responsive, and community-owned evaluation practice. At UNCW, Dr. Dighe is engaged with multiple program evaluation initiatives, such as designing an evaluation framework for the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, building the evaluation capacity of various UNCW centers, and supporting assessment processes.
Dr. Dighe has taught in-person and virtual classes on program evaluation and assessment for diverse students and audiences. As a teacher, she believes in the pedagogy of care—providing meaningful and empathic support to students to ensure their success. Outside the work hours, Dr. Dighe enjoys traveling, baking, miniature gardening, and spending time with friends and family.
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Professor
Dr. Amy Garrett Dikkers earned a Ph.D. in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota in 2006, an M.Ed. in Secondary English Education from Wake Forest University in 1996, and a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1995. Before her doctoral study, she taught secondary school English domestically and abroad. The focus of her doctoral study was international development education, specifically the education of children in difficult circumstances, such as street children, ethnic minority children, refugee and immigrant children, and other groups often not served effectively in formal school settings around the world.
She has taught face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in educational reform, school technology leadership and vision, comparative education, human rights education, research design, and the foundations of education. Her professional interests include the preparation of educational leaders and the use of technology-enhanced and online learning in higher education. Her current research centers on reflective practice, maximizing online learning, incorporating community professionals into courses through technology, and the use of video to provide authentic voice in the classroom.
Ph.D., New Mexico State University
Dr. Denise Henning has a career in higher education that has spanned 23 years in both the United States and Canada, as well as working as graduate faculty in New Zealand. Denise has served as president and CEO at Medicine Hat College, president and CEO of Northwest Community College, president and vice-chancellor for University College of the North and Vice-President of Academic and Research at First Nations University of Canada. Denise is a proud Cherokee/Choctaw/British woman, born in Creek County in Oklahoma.
Most recently, Dr. Henning developed and now serves as CEO of the collaborative of Kiona – Oxendine & Associates, LLC which works with women who aspire to be tenured faculty and administrators in both higher education and K-12 school districts. Dr. Henning serves as the Director and Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina Wilmington in the Higher Education Leadership – Community College Leadership graduate program.
Dr. Henning believes in the principles of Appreciative Inquiry, asking the right questions and being part of the solution. She has earned a reputation for cultivating and sustaining positive relationships, building collaborative teams and energizing people in ways that foster their innovative spirit through an appreciative environment.
Her approach to leadership is valued by those who have had the good fortune to work with her. Graduates from the National Education Leadership Institute for potential Vice-Presidents (VPNeli) and the CHERD Women’s Leadership Institute, value her authentic and “REAL” approach. Her passion for employee wellness, and strong focus on the needs and inclusivity of students, communities, economic and social development has earned Dr. Henning a reputation for being a wholistic and visionary leader.
Denise lives in Carolina Beach, North Carolina and continues to work on initiatives for higher education in both the US and Canada.
Ed.D., George Washington University
Assistant Professor
Kim Jamison earned her MA in Educational Leadership and Administration and Ed.D. in Administration and Policy Studies from George Washington University. Her research interests include bridging the theory-to-practice gap in educational leadership through internship experiences, administrative intern and mentor partnership dynamics, university and school district partnerships, the preparation and leadership practices of equity and justice-oriented administrators, perceived passion exploitation in educational leadership, and supporting minoritized doctoral candidates to persist to complete the dissertation in social science fields of study. Her work has been published in various peer-reviewed publications, and she was the 2015 recipient of the Kottkamp Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) for her dissertation on the experiences of administrative interns using a developmental concerns framework. Dr. Jamison currently serves as the Program Chair-Elect for the Accreditation, Assessment, and Program Evaluation in Educator Preparation SIG with AERA.
As a practitioner, Dr. Jamison has served as a teacher and English as a Second Language Specialist at the elementary and secondary levels, an Instructional Coach for secondary schools, an elementary school administrator, and a central office administrator in various school districts in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Prior to her faculty appointment with the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Watson College of Education, she served as an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Program Director at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University.
Ed.D., University of North Carolina Wilmington
Visiting Assistant Professor
Julia Lynch earned her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of North Carolina Wilmington, MAEd in Reading Education, and her BS in Elementary Education from East Carolina University. As a Black public educator, Julia’s tenure was focused primarily in under-resourced rural schools that served Black and brown communities. There, she was able to become a teacher leader in her district, building critical communities around conversations of culturally sustaining practices for the advancement of Black and brown student success.
Julia’s interests are guided by a focus on the identity of the Black women teachers, students, and their lived experiences across their educational experiences. Generally speaking, her scholarship explores teacher identity and pedagogical practices within rural education contexts. She operates primarily from a Black feminist epistemology with a critical sociocultural framework to engage in critical qualitative research that promotes equity and social justice in rural education teaching and learning. Using culturally sustaining pedagogy as a foundation, Julia’s teaching/scholarship allows students to begin to construct, perform and assess their own knowledge as they engage in critical reflection that challenges them to (re)imagine equitable teaching that may counter their cultural identity and interrogate race and racism. Reconciled cultural identity creates a more liberatory teaching practice that is inclusive of academic freedom for teacher and student.
A Black poet scholar, she engages in critical qualitative research that attempts to center the lives and experiences of other Black scholars while also disrupting normative research that doesn’t honor the authenticity of the researcher or culturally sustains the community of participants.
Julia enjoys spending lots of time with her family, traveling, writing, and singing!
Ph.D., Michigan State University
Associate Professor
Dr. Yan Liu is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr. Liu earned her dual-degree Ph.D. in K-12 Educational Administraton and Educational Policy, with a certified specialization in Urban Education from Michigan State University. Prior to her doctoral study, Dr. Liu was a national English curriculum and instruction training officer, a school administrator, and a teacher in China. She then worked as a data team member for a federal grant-supported school intervention initative, international exchange program coordinator, and research assistant at Michigan State University. Dr. Liu held a position as an Assistant Professor at Central Connecticut State University before joining UNCW.
Dr. Liu's research agenda primarly focuses on school leadership and school effectiveness using the quantitative approach, woth particular interests in understanding the intersectionality of school leaders' credential, practices, and effectiveness within different national, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts. Dr. Liu is specialized in advanced statistical modeling and large-scale, complex data analysis. She has served as Principal Investigator on several grant-sponsored research projects. Her research has been published in prestigious journals, including Educational Administration Quartley, Journal of Education Administration, Educational Management, Administration, and Leadership, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, and others.
As an instructor, Yan believes all students can succeed as is strongly committed to offering the best experience for each adult learner. She constantly develops her curriculum and teachers by incorporating her students' needs, experiences, and learning styles. She has taught courses in research methodology, dissertation proposal development, program evaluation, school leadership and organizational theory, and education finance at both doctoral and master's levels.
Ed.D., Eastern Michigan University
Lecturer
Dar Mayweather is a full-time Lecturer in the Leadership Studies Minor in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. His pronouns are he, him, and his. Dar is a first-generation college student, with a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice, Masters in Education with a focus on College Student Affairs Leadership both from Grand Valley State University, while currently pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Eastern Michigan University. Dar's work focuses on Black student protest, meaning-making in the leadership process, and inclusion in higher education. Dar has over 10 years of professional experience developing co-curricular classrooms and diversity trainings in higher education. He credits a lot of his professional growth to the Social Justice Training Institute and the Intergroup Relations Department at the University of Michigan. He received the King Chavez Parks Future Faculty Fellow Award from the State of Michigan, the Student Engagement and Success Award from Eastern Michigan University, the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Pan African Network Sawubona Award, multiple Residence Life Hall Council Advisor awards, and many other nominations. A father and husband, you'll often find him watching superhero shows with his son and reality TV with his wife.
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
Associate Professor
Dr. Kevin R. McClure coordinates the higher education M.Ed. Program. Dr. McClure earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. in International Education Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. He earned his B.A. in History and Spanish from the University of Richmond. Prior to joining the department, Dr. McClure held various professional positions in academic affairs and international programs at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is active and in several professional organizations, including the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), and American Educational Research Association (AERA).
Dr. McClure is an expert in higher education finance, administration, and management. His research can be found in print or forthcoming in the Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, Journal of Student Financial Aid, Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, Philanthropy & Education, Innovative Higher Education, Policy Futures in Education, Academe, International Journal of Educational Development, and Compare: A Journal of International and Comparative Education. A regular blogger, he has authored opinion and advice pieces for popular outlets like The Chronicle of Higher Education. Recent research projects include a study of patterns in giving by philanthropic foundations to higher education institutions, which won the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education’s 2016 John Grenzebach Award for Outstanding Research in Philanthropy for Educational Advancement. He is also principal investigator for a grant-funded study examining the role of public comprehensive universities in college access and affordability.
Ph.D., UNC Greensboro
Associate Professor
Symphony Oxendine, Cherokee/Choctaw, is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership. Symphony worked in Student Affairs for 6 years before pursuing her doctorate. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Studies with a concentration in Higher Education and a doctoral minor in Educational Research Methodology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she also received her M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration. She received her B.A. from Oklahoma State University in Applied Sociology.
Her research interests include critical awareness of the social and institutional issues that affect the educational performance and institutional support of American Indians and other underrepresented groups, graduate preparation programs, cultural identity development, Historically Native American Fraternities and Sororities, student involvement and its impact on retention, leadership development, policy, and political processes within post-secondary education institutions. Her concentration on these research areas will help shape the direction and development of higher education professionals by assisting in the understanding of various institutional, psychosocial, and political processes as a means to support development for underrepresented students.
Ph.D., University of Virginia
Professor
Dr. Michele A. Parker is a Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Her doctorate is in Research, Statistics, and Evaluation from the University of Virginia. She teaches an instructional technology course for prospective teachers and research courses for graduate students. Her research interests include the use of technology in K-12 and higher education as well as methodological issues in conducting research.
Dr. Parker has experience with several large-scale research projects. Currently, she is the Lead Analyst for two HillRAP evaluation contracts in Carteret County and Brunswick County Schools in North Carolina. Also, she is collaborating with staff from Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky to examine how neural network analysis can be applied to educational settings and how sampling stratification can be used to increase parent survey response rates.
Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University
Associate Professor
Dr. Kerry Robinson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership in the Watson College of Education. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, her administrative licensure from Virginia State University, her M. A. in special education from Kean University, and a B.A. in English literature from Michigan State University. Prior to her appointment at UNCW, Dr. Robinson was an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee. Previously, she worked in K-12 schools for 17 years in New Jersey and Virginia as a teacher, building-level administrator, and district-level administrator. Dr. Robinson’s primary areas of research include women in leadership, the superintendency and leadership preparation. A current research project is exploring the topic of stress and health in the superintendency. Dr. Robinson is also very active with a number of special interest groups (SIGs) for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) including Leadership for Social Justice, Stress, Coping & Resilience, and Research on Superintendency for which she is the current chair-elect.
Ph.D., Iowa State University
Associate Professor
Dr. Ryder is on full-time appointment in the Watson College of Education as Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership.
Andrew J. Ryder earned both his Ph.D. and Master of Science degrees in higher education from Iowa State University and has over 20 years of professional experience in leadership roles in student and academic affairs. Andy's research and scholarly interests include the role of higher education in a democratic society, the history and practice of student affairs, and community college completion. He teaches courses related to assessment, legal and policy issues in higher education, and foundations of higher education and has published chapters in the New Directions sourcebooks for higher education and institutional research, the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, and the College Student Affairs Journal.
Ph.D., Boston College
Assistant Professor
Dr. Shawn S. Savage is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction for Equity in the Department of Educational Leadership within the Watson College of Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr. Savage has over 10 years of experience in K-12 and Higher Education— both as an academic and student affairs professional.
A diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice scholar-practitoner, Dr. Savage's research investigates issues of access, equity, and justice in K-12, teacher education, and higher education. He especially studies the experiences of racially minoritized males across their educational and professional lives—with a specific focus on Black males—using justice-centered qualitative research approaches. Importantly, his work is undergirded by Afrocentricity and explores the experiences of, and supports the well-being of Black and other people who are minoritized.
Nationally, he was one of the University of Texas at Austin's 2020-2021 Project MALES Scholars, and is an inagural 2021-2023 Emerging Research Fellow for Educator Diversity with the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity. He currently serves on the board of Eskolta School Research & Design as the Director of Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI). Dr. Savage is also actively involved in various special interest groups and professional organizations, including R.A.C.E. Mentoring and the American Educational Research Association, where he serves as the Special Events Coordinator for the Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in Education special interest group. He is also connected with several practitioner communities, inclusing the Coalitition of Schools Educating Boys of Color and the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.
Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington
Assistant Professor
Samantha Silberstein earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education with a minor in Inquiry Methodology from Indiana University, Bloomington and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from William & Mary. Prior to puruing graduate studies, Samantha worked in education and nonprofit management. She earned her B.S. in Natural resources Recreation and Tourism from Colorado State University.
Her scholarship broadly explores students' co-curricular and non-curricular learning, recognizing that the student learning experience is not isolated to the classroom but exists holistically. Samantha's research agenda seeks to answer three questions: (1) How have co-curricular and noncurricular learning environments been shaped by systems of oppression?; (2) What is the role of student affairs pedagogy in student learning and development?; And (3) In what ways can methodology serve as a source of learning and liberation for participants? This research agenda translates to employing critical and innovative methodologies to uplift the voives and expertise of participants while simultaneously critiquing the dominate learning environments through a critical whiteness and feminist lens.
Outside of academic, Samantha enjoys hiking, collaging, and is a Trap-Neuter-Return volunteer and advocate.
Ph.D., University of Georgia
Visiting Assistant Professor
Carlton Smith is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership. Carlton served as a practitioner in both Higher Education and Student Affairs for nearly 10 years before joining the department. He received his Ph.D. in College Student Affairs Administration from the University of Georgia. He received his B.A. in Government from the College of William & Mary where he also received his M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration with a concentration in Multicultural Affairs.
His research interests focus on the development of sense of belonging in various student populations, virtual campus environments, and the impacts of technology on the student experience. Through these interests, he hopes to better understand the students of today while providing resources and guidance for practitioners to best support the next generation of students.
Outside of his academic interests, Carlton enjoys coffee, cooking, video games, and reading detective fiction.
Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Associate Professor
Dr. Stachowiak is on full-time appointment in the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts as Director of Gender Studies and Research Center.
Dana M. Stachowiak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and is Director of the UNCW Gender Studies and Research Center. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Studies and Cultural Foundations from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Before coming to UNCW, Dr. Stachowiak was an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a teacher and curriculum specialist in North Carolina. She teaches, researches, and consults internationally about inclusive and equitable curriculum, social justice in education, trans/gender topics in education, and healing-centered engagement. Dr. Stachowiak publishes and speaks extensively in these areas as well.
Ph.D., Utah State University
Professor
Dr. Walser has worked in the field of evaluation for more than 20 years. Her purpose and passion is evaluation capacity building and advocacy. While at UNCW, she has served as Director of Assessment and Evaluation for the Watson College of Education, Interim Chair of the Educational Leadership Department, and Graduate Coordinator of the Educational Leadership Ed.D. program. Prior to coming to UNCW, Dr. Walser worked in non-profit and for-profit organizations as an evaluator, and as an Assistant Professor at Washington State University. She has taught courses in program evaluation, assessment, research methods, statistics, and academic writing; and has served as Principal Investigator, Co-Principal Investigator, Project Manager, Lead Evaluator, and as an Advisory Group member on numerous grants and contracts focused on evaluation. She has authored/co-authored journal articles, guidebooks, and resources on evaluation, including co-authoring the book, Evaluability Assessment: Improving Evaluation Quality and Use and maintaining her website/blog, Route One Evaluation. She is currently under contract with SAGE Publications to co-author another evaluation text. Dr. Walser has presented on evaluation topics nationally and internationally and is a former President of the North Carolina Association for Research in Education, a state affiliate of the American Educational Research Association. She obtained her Ph.D. in Research and Evaluation (2000) and her M.S. in Instructional Design and Development (1996) from Utah State University; she earned a B.A. in French (1989) from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and began her professional career as a French teacher.
Ed.D., UNC Chapel Hill
Professor Emeriti
Dr. Tyndall is currently a professor in the Doctoral Educational Leadership Program in the Watson College of Education and an Executive-in-Residence in the Cameron School of Business. Dr. Tyndall has spent forty years serving education. He earned undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and did advanced graduate studies at the University of California at Los Angeles.
In addition to his current roles, Dr. Tyndall has served in a wide range of leadership positions in public schools, including principal of three schools and Deputy and Associate Superintendent in Durham City and Durham County and Superintendent of Schools in Moore County. While serving in educational leadership positions in public schools, he also taught at North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University as a Resident Scholar, Adjunct Professor, and Visiting Executive Scholar, respectively. For three years Dr. Tyndall served as Special Advisor to the President of Duke University and Executive Director of the Research Triangle Education Consortium. Since arriving at UNCW in 1989 he has served as UNCW's Special Advisor to the Provost, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology Systems and Associate Provost, Dean of the Watson College of Education, Associate Dean for Outreach and Partnerships, and Chair of the Department of Design and Management.
While serving as Dean of the Watson College of Education, Dr. Tyndall founded and served as the Executive Director of the Consortium for Advancement of Public Education (CAPE), comprising 14 school districts, 7 community colleges and 10 businesses; created the national award-winning Professional Development System (PDS); and founded the Razor Walker Awards. He is credited, along with Chancellor Leutze, with leading the effort that resulted in the construction of the new Watson College of Education which he refers to as "a powerful tribute to the profession of teaching."
Ed.D., NC State University
Professor Emerita
Dr. Karen S. Wetherill is a Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership. She served as the Associate Dean for Outreach Alliances for 11 years prior to assuming a two-year administrative role as Interim Dean of the Watson College of Education. In that capacity, Dr. Wetherill was a co-founding leader for the development of the University-School Professional Development System Partnership. She has worked extensively with university-school partnerships since 1992 both at the university and the state level, providing leadership to move partnerships to higher, more meaningful standards and to address student-learning outcomes. She created the Learning-Centered Supervision model used across the partnership for intern supervision, designed the two foundational Supervision courses for graduate programs, and developed mentoring/coaching modules for use with other audiences.
Administrative Associate