For innovation in education:more innovators.

NEW FACULTY APPOINTMENTS 2013

Dr. Thomas H. Beatty comes to VCU from Richmond Public Schools, where he served as the

Executive Director for Secondary Education. In that role, he provided leadership for the school

system’s middle and high school principals. Prior to that appointment, Dr. Beatty was the principal

of Richmond Community High School, which has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one

of the best high schools in the country. He was also principal of Thompson Middle School, an urban

school that serves a large number of children from public housing projects. Dr. Beatty is a recipient

of the R.E.B. Award for Distinguished Educational Leadership, which came with a $15,000 cash

award. He used the money from the award to fly a group of students and chaperones to New York

City to study the Harlem Renaissance. Dr. Beatty continues to build capacity for school excellence

by providing staff development to school leaders across the Commonwealth of Virginia. He holds a

Bachelor of Arts in English degree from VCU, a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction degree

from The College of William & Mary and a Doctor of Education in Administration degree from The

College of William & Mary.

>> Thomas H. Beatty, Ed.D. Assistant Professor,Department of Educational Leadership

DEAR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES,

At the VCU School of Education, our goal is to shape the future of education in powerful and productive ways. We are working to ensure today’s students become tomorrow’s leaders in schools and communities across the U.S. and around the world. To help make this happen, the School is growing and we are recruiting outstanding new colleagues to help us in these efforts.

I’m delighted to introduce 11 new faculty who have joined VCU this fall. Their knowledge, professional skills and expertise reflect the School’s commitment to 21st-century learning, teaching and workforce development. We are fortunate to have attracted world-class talent in these hires; each brings a commitment to cutting-edge research and evidence-based practice.

Please read on to learn more about the new faculty. I also encourage you to visit the School’s new website at www.soe.vcu.edu to learn about upcoming events, recent awards and ongoing research and development projects by almost 500 VCU School of Education faculty and staff. We are proud of the progress we’re making as we continue to shape the future of the field of education.

Best,

Christine S. Walther-Thomas, Ph.D.Dean, VCU School of Education

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Dr. Yvonne W. Brandon returns to VCU after a long career in K-12 public education. Dr. Brandon

served Richmond Public Schools for 36 years in various capacities, moving through the ranks from

substitute teacher, teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, principal, director of instruction,

deputy superintendent and associate superintendent to superintendent. In 1990, she was a

project coordinator at VCU for a peer- and teacher-led intervention program. Dr. Brandon has made

presentations to numerous local, state and national audiences. Most notably, she provided insight to

the Joint House Staff Committee on the Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind; provided testimony to

the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pension; and has made several

presentations at Harvard University. Dr. Brandon received her Doctor of Education in Supervision

and Administration degree from Nova Southeastern University, her Master of Education in Guidance

Counseling degree from Virginia State University and her Bachelor of Science in Biology degree from

Randolph-Macon College. She also is a graduate of the Broad Urban Superintendents Academy.

>> Yvonne W. Brandon, Ed.D. Associate Professor,Executive in Residence

MORE TEACHERS. MORE THINKING. MORE DOING.

Dr. Ross Collin joins us from the Department of Literacy Education at Manhattanville College in

Purchase, NY. This highly regarded educator focuses his research on the dynamics of language and

power in English classrooms and, more broadly, in education. In his classes and research, Dr. Collin

examines schooling in times of socio-economic transformation. Specifically, he studies how literacy

and literacy instruction serve the social, political and economic needs of various groups. Dr. Collin has

published articles on literacy and the politics of schooling in leading journals, and he has presented

papers on these topics at regional and national conferences. A frequent co-author with educational

theorist Michael Apple, he has an impressive and productive record of early-career scholarship. Dr.

Collin received his Bachelor of Arts in English Education from The University of Iowa. He also received

a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of

Wisconsin-Madison, which is one of the top English education programs in the country.

>> Ross Collin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor,Department of Teaching and Learning

Dr. Abigail H. Conley comes to VCU from the University of Central Florida College of Education,

which has been ranked one of the top 10 counselor education programs in the country by U.S.

News & World Report. Her research interests include interpersonal violence survivorship and

healing, spiritual diversity and spiritual development, stereotype threat and underrepresentation in

STEM fields, and best practices in program evaluation and research methodology. Dr. Conley was

recently awarded Research and Best Practices Grants from the Association for Spiritual, Ethical,

and Religious Values in Counseling and is the Quantitative Associate Editor for its official journal.

She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Psychology and Religion from Wake Forest University,

a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Lewis & Clark College and a Doctor of Philosophy

in Counselor Education from North Carolina State University, where she studied under nationally

known scholars in counselor education.

Dr. Autumn Cyprès brings with her an impressive level of both academic and hands-on experience in education. Prior to joining our team, she served as professor and founding director of the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Tennessee. Her research centers on the politics of school leadership and reform with an emphasis on principalship. Her international work has focused on building university collaboratives and reforming school systems through the development of leadership preparation programs. As a former principal, Dr. Cyprès has a wealth of experience as a school administrator at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In 2011, she was awarded the William J. Davis Award for her groundbreaking theory concerning school politics and the hiring procedures of principals. This is the highest honor for research given in the field. Her contributions as a scholar and leader have been recognized by various organizations, including the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education. She also served the University Council For Educational Administration as its 50th president. Dr. Cyprès earned a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Arizona State University, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Arizona State University.

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Abigail H. Conley, Ph.D. Assistant Professor,Department of Counselor Education

Autumn Cyprès, Ed.D. Professor and Chair,Department of Educational Leadership

VCU SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: NEW FACULTY APPOINTMENTS 2013

04

Lynne J. Gilbert comes to VCU from a long career as a secondary school teacher in Virginia’s

Chesterfield County Public Schools. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in the content area

of Physical Education. During her time with Chesterfield County, Gilbert was involved in numerous

teacher leadership projects, in both physical education and teacher education. Her research interests

include the impact of physical activity on academic success, and the importance of assessment in

physical education as it relates to student achievement over time and impact on teacher performance.

Gilbert has presented in numerous teacher leadership venues. Her interest in teacher education is

driven by her focus on the relationship between teacher pedagogy and student achievement. She

received her Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education from Longwood College,

and she received her Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from VCU.

As a new addition to our Department of Counselor Education, Dr. Donna M. Gibson comes to

us from the Department of Educational Studies of the University of South Carolina’s College of

Education. Her research interests include the professional identity development of counselors-in-

training, counselor educators, counselor education doctoral students and practicing counselors. She

also has research interests in transformational leadership of school counselors. Dr. Gibson has

served as associate editor of qualitative research for the Journal of Counseling and Development as

well as editor of the Chi Sigma Iota International Honor Society Exemplar newsletter. She is a past

president of the Association for Assessment in Counseling, a division of the American Counseling

Association, and is a Nationally Certified Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor. Dr. Gibson

received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Science in School Psychology and Specialist

of School Psychology degrees from Winthrop College, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling

and Counselor Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

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Lynne J. Gilbert, M.Ed. Assistant Professor,Department of Teaching and Learning

Donna M. Gibson, Ph.D. Associate Professor,Department of Counselor Education

MORE TEACHERS. MORE THINKING. MORE DOING.

Dr. Mary Ellen Huennekens is a graduate of VCU’s Doctor of Philosophy in Education program,

with a concentration in Special Education and Disability Policy. Her research interests include early

childhood inclusive special education, second language and literacy development among young

children, assessment of young children and multicultural education. Dr. Huennekens was selected

as a 2011-2012 Council for Exceptional Children, Division for Research/Doctoral Student Scholar.

This highly competitive scholars’ program is designed to expand special education research and foster

collaboration among scholars across the country. Dr. Huennekens worked as a student researcher

in an Early Reading First project that included over 250 preschool-age children from 14 Head Start

classrooms across five elementary schools in Richmond, Virginia. Her thesis research examining the

effects of a shared storybook reading between parents and children who were English Language

Learners was published by the Early Childhood Education Journal. Dr. Huennekens earned a Bachelor

of Science in Biology and a Master of Education in Early Childhood Special Education from VCU.

Dr. Ross A. Larsen joins us from the University of Virginia Center to Promote Effective Youth

Development. His research focuses on quantitative methodology, specifically Monte Carlo

simulations, Bayesian statistics, multilevel modeling and missing data techniques. Dr. Larsen

has studied social-emotional interventions at the elementary school level, specifically, the effect

these interventions have on student achievement. He is also interested in leadership interventions

aimed at making principals more effective and their eventual effect on student achievement. Dr.

Larsen received his Bachelor of Science in Biostatistics and his Master of Science in Statistics from

Brigham Young University, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology Research and

Measurement from Texas A & M University.

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Mary E. Huennekens, Ph.D. Assistant Professor,Department of Special Education and Disability Policy

Ross A. Larsen, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Foundations of Education

VCU SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: NEW FACULTY APPOINTMENTS 2013

06

Dr. Deborah L. Speece came to VCU from the University of Maryland, where she was a professor

of special education and director of the doctoral leadership training program in learning disabilities.

She also served as the Commissioner of the National Center for Special Education Research at the

Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education, where she was responsible for

the national research agenda for special education. Her work on children at risk for reading failure is

published in the leading journals in special education and educational psychology and funded by the

U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Dr. Speece has the Bachelor of Science and Master of Education in Special Education degrees from

Bowling Green State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Psychology from

the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Our new Director of Graduate Studies joins us from the Ohio University Patton College of Education

Department of Teacher Education, where she served as a professor, coordinator for Adolescent and

Young Adult and Multiage Programs, and the associate director for the Stevens Literacy Center.

While at Ohio University, Dr. Wan taught and advised both undergraduate and graduate students.

She was named the 2009 recipient of the Media Literacy Award by the National Council of Teachers

of English, and received the 2010 Margaret Lindsey Distinguished Research in Teacher Education

Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Her research interests

include the education of a diverse population, media literacy education, English as a Second

Language, and teaching and learning in the 21st century. Dr. Wan holds a Master of Arts in English

Language and Literature from Shanghai International Studies University, China; a Master of Arts

from the University of Warwick, UK; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction from

The Pennsylvania State University.

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>> Guofang Wan, Ph.D. Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Teaching and Learning

Deborah L. Speece, Ph.D. Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development,Department of Special Education and Disability Policy

MORE TEACHERS. MORE THINKING. MORE DOING.

www.soe.vcu.edu

1015 West Main StreetP.O. Box 842020

Richmond, Virginia 23284-2020804.828.3382