• Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Innovation Corbin M. Campbell was named a Top Scholar by ScholarGPS. Her publication record, the impact of her work, and the quality of her scholarly contributions placed her in the top 0.5% of all scholars worldwide according to the 2024 rankings. [May 22, 2025]

• Interim Dean Rodney Hopson was featured on the "Evening WURDs" podcast with Dr. James Peterson where he was interviewed about his research in education and related federal grants. WURD Radio is the only African-American owned and operated talk radio station in Pennsylvania, and one of only three remaining in the US. [May 22, 2025]

• Laura Meckler, national education writer at The Washington Post, joined in conversation with Danielle Sodaniaround the challenges facing American education today including President Trump's attempt to close the Department of Education, the ramifications if he succeeds, and the administration's effort to press its priorities on race, gender, and antisemitism onto American universities and school districts. [May 22, 2025]

• Dr. Reuben Jacobson, Dr. kecia hayes, and Dr. Robert Shand were awarded an additional $44,350 on their grant with the United Way of the National Capital Area. [May 22, 2025]

• Dr. Terence Ngwa co-authored “Representation Matters: Prioritizing Curriculum that Meets the Lived Experiences of African Students,” in RenewED, the education and leadership journal by the Ghana Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). [May 22, 2025]

• Dr. Amaarah DeCuir authored "A Critical Decolonial Discourse Analysis of Secular Education Leadership Practices Impacting a Local Muslim Community," in the Journal of Educational Administration and History, and co-authored "Cross-Sections of Positionality and Educational Research: The Experiences of Muslim Women  in Academia," in the Journal of Education in Muslim Societies. [May 22, 2025]

• Dr. Bridget Trogden's work was featured in a companion podcast/webcast about the project she authored in the science education journal The Cuvette titled “Lessons Learned from the Development and Implementation of Teaching Postsecondary STEM Through E-Learning." [May 22, 2025]

• Dr. Brian McGowan published "Black Photovoice: (Re)Claiming Blackness Through a Critical Conversation on Space, Place, and the Embodiment of Photovoice," in Departures in Critical Qualitative Research. He explores how scholars in fields both inside and outside of higher education employed visual methodologies to examine various phenomena. [May 22, 2025]

• Dr. Antonio L. Ellis authored the study, "Commemorating 45 Years of Music Education: How Linard H. McCloud Transformed Lives Through High School Band Participation" in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. The study explores the transformative impact of a high school band director at Burke High School in Charleston, South Carolina, examining how McCloud’s mentorship promoted personal growth, self-esteem, and social-emotional development in his students. [May 22, 2025]

• SOE had significant representation from faculty, staff, and students at the American Educational Research Association's 2025 Annual Meeting. [May 22, 2025]

• Dr. Terence Ngwa co-authored (pdf) “Representation Matters: Prioritizing Curriculum that Meets the Lived Experiences of African Students” in RenewED, the education and leadership journal by Ghana ASCD. [April 23, 2025]
• Assistant Professor Dr. Robert Shand was chosen as an Outstanding Reviewer for 2024 for Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, a journal of educational policy analysis, evaluation and decision making. [April 16, 2025]
• “The Influence of Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices on Students’ Literacy Motivation” is an investigative study on the influence of a high intensity reading tutoring intervention program combining culturally responsive literacy and science-of-reading practices on students’ motivation to read. The authors include Dr. Alida Anderson, Dr. Danielle Gervais Sodani, Dr. Sarah Irvine Belson, and Madelyn Dawn Smith (BA ’22, MEd ’24), among others, and it was published in Sage Open. [April 16, 2025]
• Dr. Sarah Irvine Belson was awarded the Outstanding Community Engagement Award at the University Faculty Awards. [April 16, 2025]
• Dr. Kenjus Watson co-hosts the "Apocalyptic Education" podcast, which featured Cassandra Edwards, EdD '25, who discusses her recently defended dissertation on Black mothering, grief, and activism through the lens of losing her son to suicide in 2017. The "Apocalyptic Education" podcast was recently named the 2024 "Best Health and Wellness Podcast" by Black Podcast Awards. [April 16, 2025]
• Dr. Antonio L. Ellis co-edited a book that will receive an Outstanding Book Award (Honorable Mention) by the Society of Professors of Education for "Critical Literacy and Its Impact on Black Boys' Reading Readiness." Watch him accept the award if you are in Denver at the AERA annual meeting. [April 16, 2025]
• Dr. Danielle Sodani was a panelist at "The Translating Research into Action Center (TRAC)" as part of President Alger’s inauguration weekend. The SOAR Symposium showcased innovative presentations and discussions focused on assessing the societal and economic impacts of research. [April 16, 2025]
• Jazzmyne Townsend, the 2025 DC Teacher of the Year and an instructional coach for grades K-5 in English language arts at Stanton Elementary School, visited the EDU 205 class “Schools in Society”of Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Amaarah DeCuir. This is the fifth Teacher of the Year visit to her class. [March 21, 2025]

• Presentations at the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST) included Dr. Carolyn Parker and graduating senior Nicole (Nikki) LeVee's results from the National Foundation-funded project on "Problem-Based Learning in a Non-Majors’ Environmental Science Class. Is it Science?" Dr. Lauren M. Shea presented "Exploring the Potential STEM Media Read-Alouds." Jess Edwards, EdD '25, will present research from the NSF-funded grant, Racial Equity: Examining Blackness in Postsecondary STEM Education, with the Black epiSTEMologies AU site.  [March 21, 2025]

• Dr. Carolyn Parker presented at the International Consortium of Science and Mathematics Education in Valladolid, Mexico. [March 21, 2025]

• SOE’s Institute for Innovation in Education (IIE) and District of Columbia Public Schools leaders from Chisholm and Mann Elementary Schools came together at a workshop series on explicit and systematic writing instruction. [March 21, 2025]

• Director of Education Policy and Leadership program Dr. Reuben Jacobson was on a panel at the State of DC Schools, 2023-2024 event, focusing on the evolving role of school. [March 21, 2025]

• Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Samantha Cohen was selected as a Sine Civic Life Faculty Fellow who will collaborate with Civic Life Student Fellows to design and lead community seminars to engage members of the AU community in dialogue and productive disagreement. [March 21, 2025]

• SOE’s Institute for Innovation in Education team members Annie Karabell, Dr. Jasmine Rogers (EdD '23), Dr. Sarah Irvine Belson, and Dr. Clare Berke (EdD '24) designed the adolescent literacy professional development program which was released by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. [March 21, 2025]

• Co-authored by Professor Dr. Brian McGowan, Dean Rodney Hopson, Lia Epperson, and Morgan Leopold (MEd ’24), “Navigating the Backlash and Reimagining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in a Changing Sociopolitical and Legal Landscape” was featured in the Journal of College and Character's special issue on Ethical Higher Education in the Anti-DEI Legislative Climate. [March 21, 2025]

• Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Innovation Corbin M. Campbell’s project, “Establishing Measures for an Institutional Designation for Teaching Excellence Colleges and Universities,” was selected to be a part of AU’s Signature Research Initiatives Research Informed Civic Engagement. She also spoke on a plenary panel at the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERA), part of a coalition working with national initiatives to help research universities bring equitable and effective teaching practices to scale. [February 17, 2025]
• Dr. Ocheze Joseph was awarded a $99k contract through DC Public Schools to continue the Future Teacher Tutors program at Langley Elementary School in Northeast DC. [February 17, 2025]
• Danielle Gervais Sodani coauthored the article "Teachers Learning: Understanding Continuous Professional Development in Panama” in Professional Development in Education about AU's Panama Teach project.[February 17, 2025]
• Dr. Kenjus Watson gave the talk “Towards Apocalyptic Education: Addressing Racialized Stress and Community Healing” at Stanislaus State in California. Watch this video about his visit. [February 17, 2025]

• Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Amaarah DeCuir published an essay in Education Week titled “What Educators Need to Know About Countering Islamophobia.” [February 17, 2025]

• Dr. Sherita Flake co-authored “Proto-Narrative: A Critical Exploration of the Cultural Identities Held by Black Women in STEM” in the Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Studies.” [February 17, 2025]

• Professor Jennifer Steele was interviewed by CGTN about the Trump administration slashing millions from the Department of Education's research spending, and its impact on tracking student achievement. She was quoted in the Las Vegas Journal Review about the perceived challenges and realities of dual-language programs. Dr. Steele was interviewed by The National News Desk about post-pandemic learning loss highlighted in the 'Nation's Report Card' in January. She was also quoted in this Times Higher Education piece about the potential closing of the Department of Education. [February 17, 2025]

• Dr. Carolyn Parker was quoted in The Washington Post about how cuts to teacher education grants hurt teachers, principals, and schools in need. [February 17, 2025]

• Senior Professorial Lecturer Dr. Gayle Warmbrodt, who is Osage, testified before the Texas State Board of Education to readopt Native Studies as a high school course and argued to put the course on the agenda for review and approval as a standards-based course. [February 17, 2025]

• 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. [January 22, 2025]

• Dr. Jasmine Rogers appeared in The Colorful Classroom Podcast episode 15, Black Language & Structured Literacy with Dr. Jasmine Rogers. "Dr. Rogers shares insights from her research, discussing how recognizing and celebrating Black Language—rather than correcting it—is essential to honoring students’ identities and supporting their academic growth." Listen to the full episode. [January 22, 2025]

• American University's School of Education is mentioned in this Maryland Matters article about the Science of Learning and how it has been proven to shrink achievement gaps while increasing test scores. SOE is "breaking down the longstanding barrier between teacher training and research science, teaching future educators about how learning happens long before they step into a classroom." [January 22, 2025]

• Dr. Amaarah DeCuir, senior professorial lecturer, presented at the U.S. Department of Education's "Lessons from the Field Webinar - Student Religious Expression in Public Schools." [January 22, 2025]

• Dr. Jacque D. Patterson, Sr. (EdD ’22) has been re-elected to the DC State Board of Education as At-Large Representative. Read Dr. Patterson's biography here. [January 22, 2025]

• Assistant Professor Liana Petruzzi, a founding member of the Community Health Worker and Social Worker National Workgroup, launched their inaugural report “Essential Strategies for the Effective Integration and Collaboration of Community Health Workers and Social Workers in Health and Social Service Systems.” The event and report shared best practices for community health and social workers collaboration and integration at the individual, organizational, and system levels, along with policy recommendations. [January 22, 2025]

• Dr. Amaarah DeCuir published "What Educators Need to Know About Countering Islamophobia" in Education Week, part of a three-part series. Learn how you can help defend Muslim, Arab, and Sikh students against bias and hate.  [January 22, 2025]

• "Identifying Sources of Preservice Teachers’ Dyslexia Knowledge to Guide Teacher Education" in Frontiers in Education by Professor Alida Anderson presents findings from an exploratory descriptive qualitative inquiry of preservice teachers' self-reported dyslexia knowledge sources. [January 22, 2025]

VIEW ADDITIONAL FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• When eighteen-year-old Pamela Cheryl Higgins, BA '72, MEd '73, EdD '25, first stepped onto American University's campus in 1968, she couldn't have imagined that her relationship with the institution would span more than five decades and culminate in a doctoral hood being placed over her shoulders at the age of 75. [May 22, 2025]
• SOE students Delaney Denton, Rachel Hou, and Victoria Allen were interviewed by The Eagle about recent steps to dismantle the Department of Education. “It’s kind of a big deal teaching the next generation of people and citizens in the world,” Allen said. “That’s one of my favorite things about education is you just truly get to see the young minds of society grow and change." [May 22, 2025]

• Patrick Doyle, BA '25, exemplifies the passion, dedication, and community-minded spirit that American University strives to foster in its graduates. A double major in secondary education and history, prior to graduation Doyle secured a position as a 6th-grade history teacher at Brookland Middle School in Washington, DC. [May 22, 2025]

• Ricardo Garcia, MEd '25, presented his capstone project to the District of Columbia State Board of Education. Garcia developed a research agenda for DC's school board team to support local impact. [May 22, 2025]

• SOE students were honored at the Student Achievement Awards Ceremony celebrating the exceptional contributions of graduating students, highlighting the university’s highest honors. Darla Davenport-Powell, EdD '25, received the Outstanding Scholarship at the Graduate Level Award. Nikki LeVee, BA '25, a secondary education major, received the Evelyn Swarthout Hayes Award. [May 22, 2025]

• Nikki LeVee, BA '25, also participated in an Aspen Institute research symposium co-hosted by Aspen’s Center for Rising Generations and Georgetown University titled “Promise, Possibility, and Power of Adolescence.” [May 22, 2025]

• When Dr. Rachel Cason, EdD '25, first set foot on AU's campus attending a youth leadership camp, she didn't know that years later she would return to earn her doctorate. AU has been a recurring touchpoint throughout her life's journey—from volleyball camp in high school to a college internship with AU's Community and Social Change program, and finally, to the culmination of her educational path. [May 22, 2025]

• Robin Wrobleski, MAT '25, knew that attending American University would be a significant achievement for a first-generation college student. This May, he graduatedwith his Master of Arts in Teaching: Secondary Education, while already putting his education to work as a social studies teacher at Woodbridge High School in Virginia. [May 22, 2025]

• SOE’s Prakriti Nepal, ITEP ’25, presented “The Transnational Education of DC’s Books and Beats” at the AU Career Center’s Experiential Learning Showcase. “It feels like a transnational educational leap to a powerhouse coming from Nepal,” she said. She spoke about student diplomacy, food epistemology, and her experiences at conferences. [May 22, 2025]

• Elizabeth Graff, '27, a secondary education and history double-major, was selected by the AU Honors Program and the Office of Undergraduate Education to participate in the 2025 AU Summer Scholars and Artists Program. This prestigious opportunity is being offered to only 10 students out of a record number of applicants this year. [May 22, 2025]

• Casey A. Crews, Mary M. Oewel, and Kyuna Sims, all MEd '24 alumni, co-authored “Urban District Superintendents: Characteristics, Tenure, and Salaries,” to uncover superintendent pay, tenure, and turnover in system leadership. [May 22, 2025]

• SOE had significant representation from students, alumni, faculty, and staff at the American Educational Research Association's 2025 Annual Meeting. [May 22, 2025]

• Lorelei Bangit, a sophomore majoring in early childhood education, was awarded the School of Education’s 2025 student athlete award. [April 16, 2025]

• The School of Education is proud to nominate two teacher candidates: Nicole 'Nikki' LeVee, a secondary education in social studies major; and Victoria Schroeder, an elementary education major, for the Maryland Association of Teacher Education 2024-25 Distinguished Teacher Candidate Award. [April 16, 2025]

• “The Influence of Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices on Students’ Literacy Motivation” is an investigative study on the influence of a high intensity reading tutoring intervention program combining culturally responsive literacy and science-of-reading practices on students’ motivation to read. The authors includes Madelyn Dawn Smith (BA ’22, MEd ’24), among others, and it was published in Sage Open. [April 16, 2025]

• EdD candidate Tiffany Green was featured in Forbes' The Women Who Redefined Tech For Good In 2024 for founding Uprooted Academy, which uses technology to ease the college-to-career journey for low-income and first-generation students of color. [February 17, 2025]

• EdD candidate Melanie Latson published an opinion in New York Amsterdam News after an encounter with blackface memorabilia. She explores how this peculiar home decor continues to perpetuate generational racism and what this culture means for children. [February 17, 2025]

• 2025 EdD candidate Joytrese George won the 2025 Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE) Conference Three Minute Thesis People's Choice Award where she condensed her dissertation “For the Culture, Beyond Microorganisms; Uplifting Joy Among Black Women Science Teachers in NYC.” [February 17, 2025]

• EdD candidate Derek Flake has been accepted into the inaugural Howard Community College’s President's Leadership Academy. [February 17, 2025]

• Dr. Keisha Woods (EdD ’24) will present Effective Co-teaching Strategies for Students with Disabilities in Inclusion Classrooms at the Council of Exceptional Children Conference. She will also be presenting Every Learner Counts:Transforming Reading Instruction for Diverse Learners at the International Educators' Summit in Ghana in July. [February 17, 2025]

• 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. [December 5, 2024]

• Dr. Jasmine Rogers (EdD '23 and SOE adjunct faculty) was a guest on the Leading Literacy Podcast where she spoke about her time in AU's Doctorate in Education program. [October 15, 2024]

• Julie Corbett (EdD '25) was also quoted in the Chicago Tribune about a the resignation of the entire Chicago Public School Board of Education. [October 15, 2024]

• Julie Corbett (EdD '25) presented at the 2024 Cradle to Career Network Convening in Salt Lake City, UT, discussing Norwalk ACTS' Civic Influencer Program (the foundation of her doctoral dissertation). [October 15, 2024]

• Dr. Nara Nayar, EdD '27, published “What Accurate Identification Means for Indigenous Students, and the Challenges of Doing So” in the American Institutes for Research, examining data about the education of Indigenous people. [October 15, 2024]

• MEd student Carlos Gamez’s paper, “Student Growth on a Statewide Progress-Monitoring Assessment System by District,” was accepted by the Florida Journal of Educational Research. [October 15, 2024]

• Education studies minor Felicity Chapman, SOC/BA ’26, won the prestigious 2024–26 Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship and up to $50,000 in financial aid. [September 16, 2024]

• Carl Felton, III, MEd '23, policy analyst at EdTrust, wrote a blog post promoting tutoring, extending learning time, and teachers building relationships with students. [September 16, 2024]

• Teaching Fellows Tatiana Ellis, BA '26, and Luis Paredes Alvizurez, BA '27, taught DCPS Generation Teach (GT) STEAM Academy participants math and engineering as part of their GT Summer Teaching Fellowship, promoting teaching in diverse communities. [September 16, 2024]

• The Black Code, a documentary by EdD program alum Dr. Sharice Lane, '24, is a Student Film category finalist for the 2024 Lane Doc Fest. The film analyzes the cultural responsiveness of English language arts (ELA) instruction. [September 16, 2024]

• Pamela Harris, CAS/MEd '73 and SOE/EdD '25, with husband Tyrone, SOC/BA '72 and WCL/JD '75, won the 2024 Volunteer Impact Award at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Ebony Eagles of Excellence celebration, for their dedication to advancing the global Black community. [September 16, 2024]

• EdD alum Dr. Dia L. Jones, '22, will facilitate a workshop at STEMNoire 2024: Black Women Leading the STEM Renaissance Conference which will provide attendees with tools to build their belongingness capacity in STEM spaces. She will also present research to support increased participation of Black girls and women in STEM at this summer's Black Gaze Symposium. [May 28, 2024]

• EdD student Julie Corbett, '25, was one of the subjects of a The Hour article, "Chalk Talk: A Diverse Group of Norwalkers Are Being Trained to Be Civic Influencers," which detailed a program she designed enabling diverse citizens of Norwalk, CT, to participate in a civics lesson on local government. [May 28, 2024]

• EdD alum Dr. Iris Bond Gill, '24, has been named a New America Fellow. The program invests in thinkers who generate big, bold ideas that have an impact and spark new conversations about the most pressing issues of our day. [May 28, 2024]

• EdD student Darla Davenport-Powell, ’24, plays the role of the family matriarch Lucy Bell in the slavery-centered live-animation documentary The Bell Affair, which explores freedom lawsuits of US slaves and recently began streaming on Amazon Prime. [April 24, 2024]

• Education Policy and Leadership (EPL) MEd students Lauren Gustafson, Meanha Kim, and Kwand Lang, Jr. of Dr. Phelton Moss’s proseminar course are partnering with Opportunity Consulting to develop a series of toolkits for school leaders with strategies to bolster school improvement efforts. EPL MEd students Jarren Newby, Kissiah Valle, and Angeliki Papari-Kosiori accompanied Moss to a Capitol Hill roundtable discussion he organized and facilitated for Black and Latino school superintendents from across the country and the education policy advisors of President Biden and Vice President Harris. [April 24, 2024]

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