• In "'Soft skills' vital to help kids compete with AI for jobs of the future: education expert" the National News Desk interviewed Dr. Jennifer Steele. She said, "AI might be able to do a task, but it can’t do so with the bedside manner of another human being."  Steele published this related article in The Conversation. Steele was also on "The Heat: US Education Controversy" on China Global Television Network about the changing role of the federal government in education, including what is taught, how it is paid for, and what she termed "One Big Bad Bill for higher education." 

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  Dr. Corbin M. Campbell was a panelist on the webinar "How to Spot Great Teaching on a College Campus" about helping high school students find their dream college, reflecting on the types of learning experiences students enjoy, and related questions about the college search. Shel shared her expertise on the quality of teaching and leadership skills students graduate with.

• Professor Sarah Irvine Belson was named as AU's faculty athletics representative (FAR), serving as the primary liaison between athletics and the broader academic community.

• Dr. Gayle Warmbrodt, AU Faculty, members of the Ethnic Studies Network, and Grand Prairie ISD advocates, was successful in moving the Texas State Board of Education to approve a Native Studies course as a high school course in Texas after repeatedly testifying before the Texas State Board of Education.

• Dr. Antonio L. Ellis was admitted to the 2025 GW Fellowship & Summer Institute on Antisemitism and Jewish Identity in Educational Settings in the Curriculum & Pedagogy track, where he joins a wide range of scholars, administrators, and institutions across the US. Ellis was named to the prestigious American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2026 Presidential Program Committee, where he will help shape the vision and content of AERA's 2026 Annual Meeting, contributing to a dynamic and impactful program that addresses the most pressing issues in education today.

• Dr. Liana Petruzz published an article describing a community-academic partnership training program with lessons learned. It showed that capacity‑building is transformational: Investing in training, co‑development, and resource-sharing strengthens community partners and academics alike. 

• Dr. Sung Ryung Lyu published an Anthropology and Education Quarterly article titled "Complicating Cultural Diversity Complicating Cultural Diversity in Head Start: White Educators Negotiating Multicultural Policy in Rural Appalachia." The ethnographic study examines how white Head Start educators in a predominantly white, rural Appalachian community navigate multicultural teaching policies. She also published "Humanizing Pedagogy and Latinx Preschool Teachers in an Urban Preschool" in the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education.

• Dr. Antoni L. Ellis authored Activism as Resistance: The Uprising of Black Youth With Stuttering Disabilities, in the journal Urban Education, examining how Black youth with stuttering disabilities engage in activism as a form of resistance. He published this opinion piece in Diverse: Issues In Higher Education titled "Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Enduring Legacy in Black Education and Youth Empowerment." He published the qualitative study, “Commemorating 45 years of music education: how Linard H. McCloud transformed lives through high school band participation,” in International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. He co-authored the opinion piece “You Can’t Say You’re Pro-Life and Defund Job Corps” in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. 

• Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, SOE and SPA professor and author of the forthcoming book Man Up, spoke with the Alabama Political Reporter about the ideological roots of political violence and how divisive rhetoric fuels extremism. Miller-Idriss co-authored Harvard Fights to Keep Enrolling International Students – 4 Essential Reads About their Broader Impact in The Conversation about the broader impact of the White House's push for Harvard to cease enrolling international students. 

• Dr. William N. Thomas IV presented a poster session at the annual meeting of the Society on the Science of Motivation, with research assistant and doctoral student Dylan Ravdin, MEd '23 EdD '26. The meeting focused on the topic of motivation, broadly construed, with contributions from fields such as social psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and AI.

• Dr. Alida Anderson won the 2024-2025 Milton and Sonia Greenberg Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, which recognizes faculty who have made a significant contribution to research-based analyses of teaching practices or of curricular design.

• Dr. Elizabeth Worden has a new role as Faculty Co-Lead for the AU Encounters Program, the orientation program for first-year and transfer students formerly called AUx. SOE's undergraduate enrollment is soaring—from 11 acceptances for undergraduate freshman in 2024 to 24 in 2025.

• Shaina Ayers has a new role as the Graduate Program Coordinator role to support SOE's Doctorate in Education in Education Policy and Leadership program.

• Dr. Eugene Pringle has a new role as the Associate Director of SOE's Doctorate in Education in Education Policy and Leadership program.

• Dr. Robert Shand has a new role as the Director of Faculty Affairs for the School of Education.

• Dr. Shari Watkins has a new role as Director of Faculty Initiatives and Engagement, AU’s Center for Excellence.

VIEW ADDITIONAL FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Dr. Sara Taylor, EdD '25, was selected to be a 2025 Camelback Fellow to drive change in early childhood, education innovation, healthcare access, justice-impacted communities, and other areas. Taylor launched Perfect Match Schools. 

• Brianna Nargiso Newton, EdD '25, presented the session titled, “Measuring Belonging and Psychological Safety in K–12 Research: Tools and Methodological Considerations” at the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness' (SREE) 2025 Research Methods Webinar Series. 

• Nikki LeVee, BA '25, choreographed and danced in AU in Motion, the university’s largest student-run dance organization. She wrote, “I am so grateful for the gift of spending my first semester to final semester with AU In Motion."

• Dr. Brandi Berry Smith, EdD '24, presented at the NYU Metropolitan Center's EQUITY NOW Conference with the session "Disability Justice and the Evolution of Inclusive Educational Leadership: Integrating the Social Model of Disability in Urban School Districts."

• Allen Baugh, Jr., EdD '26, and Dylan Ravdin, MEd '23 EdD '26, will present "Reimagining Teacher Evaluation and Development as Mutual Networks for Agency and Growth" at the University of New Mexico's 18th annual Mentoring Conference in October.

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  Dr. Jacque Patterson, EdD '22, was selected for a Kean-Hunt Education Leadership Fellowship, which partners with senior-level political leaders who have the knowledge, skill, and will to be effective, equity-minded education policymakers at the state level.

• Dr. Latrina Johnson, EdD '25, and Dr. Darla Davenport-Powell, EdD '25, will present “Witnessing the Indigestible: Spirit-Led Exchange on Educational Anti-Blackness,” at the 2025 CPED Convening hosted by Drexel University on October 22.

• Dylan Ravdin, MEd '23 EdD '26 presented a poster session at the annual meeting of the Society on the Science of Motivation. The meeting focused on the topic of motivation, with contributions from fields such as social psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and AI.

• Dr. Brandi Berry Smith, EdD '24, presented at the NYU Metropolitan Center's EQUITY NOW Conference with the session "Disability Justice and the Evolution of Inclusive Educational Leadership: Integrating the Social Model of Disability in Urban School Districts," It explored her findings of urban principals' perceptions of inclusive practices when making decisions about students with IEPs and how ableist ideologies influence instructional design as well as socializing educators to employ practices at odds with disability justice.

• Allen Baugh, Jr., EdD '26, and Dylan Ravdin, MEd '23 EdD '26, will present "Reimagining Teacher Evaluation and Development as Mutual Networks for Agency and Growth" at the University of New Mexico's 18th annual Mentoring Conference in October. The presentation will share practices from research and perspective from school settings look at ways that schools can reduce siloes, build networks, and center teachers in their development. 

• Dr. Latrina Johnson, EdD '25, and Dr. Darla Davenport-Powell, EdD '25, will present “Witnessing the Indigestible: Spirit-Led Exchange on Educational Anti-Blackness,” at the 2025 CPED Convening hosted by Drexel University on October 22.

• Dr. Jacque Patterson, EdD '22, was selected for a Kean-Hunt Education Leadership Fellowship, which partners with senior-level political leaders who have the knowledge, skill, and will to be effective, equity-minded education policymakers at the state level.

• Carlos Gamez, MEd '25, published an opinion piece in The Hill on how Medicaid is limiting for some people with disabilities. "Politicians and pundits focus on 'able-bodied adults' and whether they’re working hard enough — but no one talks about disabled adults who want to work, can contribute, and are forced into poverty by the very safety net that is supposed to support them,” he said. 

• Dr. Dia Jones, EdD '22, was named a REALlist connector for the Philadelphia region by "Technical.ly," meaning she is one of 20 people keeping the Philly tech community thriving. Jones’ role leading the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition requires her to work with educators across the School District of Philadelphia, bringing resources and opportunities for STEM programming to students.

• 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 graduated with 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]

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