Please join the Mary Frances Early College of Education in welcoming our 16 new faculty members for the 2026-27 academic year! These faculty are experts in aural rehabilitation, educational technologies, exercise physiology, and more.
- John D. Akins, assistant professor, Department of Kinesiology
- Thomas Albright, limited-term assistant professor, Department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education
- Lydia Buki, professor, Department of Counseling and Human Development Services
- Dominique Calandrillo, clinical assistant professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education
- Kayla Flanagan, academic professional associate, Department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education and Office of Information Technology
- Abraham E. Flanigan, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology
- Edmund Hamann, Donna Alvermann Professor of Social Change, Department of Language and Literacy Education; associate director, Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education
- Lisa Hamilton-Rajaram, limited-term instructor, Department of Educational Theory and Practice
- Kiana Hines, limited-term clinical assistant professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education
- Anthony Ilobinso, assistant professor, Department of Workforce Education and Instructional Technology
- Pei-Jung Li, assistant professor, Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy
- A.J. Naatz, assistant professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education
- Bev Rosario-Williams, assistant professor, Department of Counseling and Human Development Services
- Margaret Vaughn, Connally Family Distinguished Professor of Literacy, Department of Language and Literacy Education
- Sophie Waller, lecturer, Department of Kinesiology
- Gary W. Wright, III, assistant professor, Department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education
Read more about our new faculty members on our website.
Due to the delayed shipment of a part associated with the hot water pump that feeds the VAV boxes, repair work will be temporarily postponed. This means that Aderhold Hall’s heat will still be functioning as of Oct. 1 except for the third floor where VAV work is ongoing.
While we expect a delay of multiple weeks, we will follow up with an updated timeframe for when this work will be performed once it is known.
Any faculty members employed under written contract for the fiscal or academic year shall give at least 60 calendar days written notice of their intent to resign. Advance notice allows adequate time for the program and department to plan for covering the faculty member’s responsibilities.
- 8.3.4.1 Voluntary Resignation by Faculty: Any faculty members employed under written contract for the fiscal or academic year shall give at least 60 calendar days written notice of their intention to resign to their direct supervisor as well as the president of the institution or his or her designee (in the College, this is the dean).
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 1
- Time: 3-5 p.m.
- Location: Aderhold Hall Room G23
Flu shots will be available in Aderhold Hall on Thursday, Oct. 1. No reservations needed. All appointments are walk-ins and will be treated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Each semester, the Mary Frances Early College of Education provides our students with free initiatives specific to career development in sports, exercise science, education, and speech/hearing in the form of workshops, alumni panels, info sessions, and more.
We invite faculty and staff to help us develop the spring 2027 calendar by submitting topic suggestions. Please use this survey to suggest topics that interest you. In particular, we are looking for topics not discussed or discussed very little in class that you think would benefit students to learn more about.
Are you interested in shaping the 2027 Inclusion and Belonging Conference? This conference centers on connection, belonging, and shared learning across our College and community. We’re inviting students, faculty, and staff to collaborate on session ideas, speaker outreach, and event logistics.
If you would like to bring your ideas and creativity to this year’s planning committee, please email Georgette Morgan by Friday, Oct. 2 at 5 p.m.
Carey Lovelace joins the College on Sept. 30 as the executive assistant to the dean.
She comes to us from the College of Veterinary Medicine, where she served as administrative specialist II supporting the associate dean for academic and student affairs for eight years. Prior to that, she served as an administrative associate in the Office of the Vice President for Research for seven years, and before that, she worked in human resources at Penn State. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UGA with a minor in American Sign Language from the Mary Frances Early College of Education.
Outside of work, Carey likes spending time with friends and family, digging in the dirt, and playing with her dogs.
Best wishes to the following individual who departed the College during the month of September:
- Kailee Courington, behavioral analyst, Center for Autism and Behavioral Education Research
The JoLLE (Journal of Language and Literacy Education) graduate student team has been planning the upcoming JoLLE conference with excitement. For the first time since the pandemic, the conference will be back in person. It will be held Feb. 12-14, 2027, in Athens, Georgia, at the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel on UGA’s campus.
We’d love to have members from across the Mary Frances Early College of Education community submit and attend to foster interdisciplinary conversations about the conference themes of community, praxis, healing, and power.
Please do share widely with networks! And don’t hesitate to be in touch with any questions by emailing jolle.conference@gmail.com. Also, please view our newly published issues from this past summer.
- Proposal deadline: Sunday, Nov. 1
We hope to see you at the annual meeting of the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society (SEPES), held Feb. 5-6, 2027, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
SEPES has a long tradition of providing a friendly forum for dialogue and the exchange of philosophical ideas related to a broad variety of educational topics. We welcome presentations from graduate students, faculty, and practitioners from both within and beyond educational foundations. While there is no particular theme for the conference, we invite proposals that meaningfully engage philosophy in the consideration of problems of educational relevance.
Please view the call for proposals for more information and the link to submit proposals.
Mark your calendars! Breakout session proposals for the 58th Annual Georgia Conference on Children’s Literature are now open. The 2027 conference will take place on Friday, March 19.
We invite you to share your ideas, research, and perspectives on children’s literature. More conference news will be coming soon!
To better serve diverse faculty needs, we are transitioning what was previously known as the ITT Academy into two distinct monthly learning communities. You are welcome to attend both or move between them as your goals evolve.
Both groups will meet in Aderhold Hall Room 206 from 1-2 p.m. on select Fridays monthly. If these meeting times don’t work for your schedule, stop by Room 232 or reach out to Kayla Flanagan in the Office of Information Technology to brainstorm new ideas or explore digital strategies for your courses.
Group 1: TLC
TLC (Teaching and Learning Community) is an interdisciplinary community that offers a supportive environment for faculty to explore practical teaching strategies, discuss evolving classroom dynamics, and collaborate on effective methods to enhance both instruction and scholarly work with a focus on emerging technologies.
Upcoming sessions:
- Friday, Oct. 16: Beyond the AI Ban: Draft an academic honesty policy and discuss how to navigate assessment with the use of AI tools
- Friday, Nov. 13: Accessibility: Discuss strategies and receive instruction on making all materials more accessible on eLC
Group 2: EDGE
EDGE (Educators Driving Growth in Education) brings together early adopters and innovative educators to experiment with emerging technologies and novel instructional practices across disciplines, driving continuous educational growth and high-impact learning across online, hybrid, and traditional classrooms.
- Friday, Oct. 23: AI Tools for Faculty Use: Learn and practice with AI tools and strategies for your teaching
- Friday, Nov. 20: AI Tools for Student Use: Create assignments for your students that use and evaluate the use of AI tools for learning
Please reach out to Kayla Flanagan with any questions.
Latiné Translanguaging: Educating Bilingual Latinés
- Date: Thursday, Oct. 1
- Time: 6-7 p.m.
- Location: Zoom (register today)
- Speaker: Ofelia García, professor emerita, City University of New York
The Distinguished Speaker Series focuses on amplifying Latiné academic voices and is dedicated to exploring intellectually rich, scholarly, and research-enhancing discussions relevant to the Latiné community. The series is hosted by the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education in the Mary Frances Early College of Education and is supported by the Department of Language and Literacy Education, the School of Social Work, and the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education.
Please join us for this event, titled “Latiné Translanguaging: Educating Bilingual Latinés” by Ofelia García, a professor emerita in the Ph.D. programs of urban education and of Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures (LAILAC) at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
- Date: Wednesday, Oct. 7
- Time: 2-3 p.m.
- Location: Zoom
Faculty are invited to attend the Faculty Senate meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Please email Bethany Hamilton-Jones for the Zoom link by Tuesday, Oct. 6.
- Date: Friday, Oct. 23
- Time: Noon-1 p.m.
- Location: Zoom (register today)
- Presenter: Luis R. Alvarez-Hernandez, assistant professor, Boston University School of Social Work
Join the UGA qualitative research program for the second QUAL Lab Speaker Series event this semester, “See Me!”: Amplifying LGBTQ+ Latine Voices Through a Critical Qualitative Book,” presented by Luis R. Alvarez-Hernandez.
How do you put a community in a book? It requires genuine connections, interdisciplinary collaborations, and strong critical qualitative methods. The testimoniadores (storytellers for social change) in our book tell their life stories as gay and trans men living in South Texas. They also show their faces through black-and-white photographs as their authentic selves, determined to connect with all of us. Our goal was for the book to be accessible to everyone in our communities. We envisioned our madres (mothers) and tías (aunts) reading it.
In this presentation, Alvarez-Hernandez will discuss his process of writing a qualitative community-based book—its complexities, messiness, and joy. He will share how he approached:
- Connecting with the community
- Collaborating with an interdisciplinary team
- Centering Chicana and Latina feminist values and qualitative methods to amplify the voices of community leaders
Fisher named to UGA’s Faculty Innovation Fellows program
Sycarah Fisher, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, was recently named to the second cohort of UGA Faculty Innovation Fellows.
The two-year program, which launched last year, fosters connection between UGA faculty and their ideas via the fellows, who act as a bridge between their school or college and the Innovation District to promote entrepreneurship and the commercialization of their ideas.
Fisher joined UGA in 2019, and her research focuses on solving real-world problems like substance use prevention and mental health intervention through community partnerships, particularly in low-income, minority-serving areas. Although she is the first faculty member from the College of Education represented in the program, this isn’t her first interaction with the Innovation District.
Read the full story on our website.
LEAP faculty attend Gwinnett Chamber Luncheon
As part of their continued partnership with Gwinnett County Public Schools, Jami Berry, Karen Bryant, Shelby Cosner, and Kaneshia Dorsan, faculty in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy, attended the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
The event highlighted the State of the Schools and featured GCPS superintendent Alexandra Estrella as the keynote speaker.