Clarion University announces relaunch of School of Education

From staff reports

Clarion University will relaunch the School of Education as a freestanding entity, effective July 1, university President Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson announced Tuesday.

The school is currently a part of the College of Arts, Education and Sciences.

Gwyneth Price, who has led the school as director for two years, has been named dean.

The decision is the result of ongoing dialogue since Pehrsson’s arrival last July, according to a press release from the university.

Price’s leadership and innovative thinking in working with the faculty and staff in both education and special education departments helped to move the discussion forward, the release said.

As dean, Price will oversee the school’s budget, curriculum and scheduling decisions, and she will make personnel decisions.

“We are proud of our tradition in providing cutting-edge programs to educate future teachers, such as following best practices and going beyond state mandates for certifying special education teachers,” Pehrsson said. “That put Clarion ahead of the curve when the commonwealth reversed 2008 legislation dividing certification into two age groups,” she added.

“I see us broadening our horizons in terms of keeping the kernels of solid, evidence-based teacher preparation, then expanding that to embrace innovation,” Price said. “We have confidence that what we’ve been teaching historically has been the right thing, but we also have confidence that our faculty engage in research and continually update what they’re doing. We have been on the forefront of developing programming that prepares graduates to be better teachers of all students,” Price added.

The launching of the School of Education aligns with the university’s True North Initiative and its six priorities for moving the university forward, the press release said.

Price earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in educational psychology from Penn State and earned her B.A. in chemistry from Bucknell University.