Council Committees

The College of Education is committed to our mission of preparing educators at all levels of experience to facilitate active learning in diverse, inclusive communities. Our faculty continually design, develop, implement and assess academic programs to provide students with the expertise they need to shape the future of education.

College Council

While the university President and their delegates hold ultimate authority, faculty are integral to the College of Education's shared governance. The College Council serves as the primary legislative and advisory board, ensuring students, faculty and administration participate in college policy and decision-making.

Mission and Responsibilities

  • Protect the rights and privileges guaranteed to the college's faculty members as specified by the Constitution and Bylaws of the college.
  • Establish procedures for determining membership on the College Council and its standing committees.
  • Establish a mechanism for holding regular meetings of the College Council and disseminating information.
  • Uphold academic standards established for teacher education programs and review monthly TEEB reports.
  • Receive proposals for new academic programs and review significant changes in requirements for majors and minors in undergraduate and graduate programs of the college through the work of the Curriculum Committee.
  • Consult with duly constituted committees or university administrators.
  • Consult on budget development and implementation.
  • Maintain professional standards and procedures for faculty development, productivity, research and professional ethics consistent with the university and USM Board of Regents policies. 
  • Provide input into developing and evaluating long-range academic plans for the college.
  • Design, collect, analyze and share evaluations of college meetings and use these evaluations to inform planning and scheduling of future meetings.

2025-2026 Members

Faculty Department
Bethany Rice ELED
Lea Ann Christenson ECED
Kandace Hoppin SPED
Paul Koh ILPD
Liyan Song LTDM
Lijun Jin (Member at Large) ELED

Committee Membership

For all committees below (with the exception of the Promotion and Tenure committee), one voting committee member shall be elected by and from each department and shall be subject to any restrictions established by the College of Education Council Bylaws or the Academic Senate. In the event that committee members are unable to serve, the members' departments shall elect eligible replacements to serve while the original members are unavailable. Faculty members of standing committees are limited to two consecutive three-year terms (unless elected or appointed to fill an unexpired term).

The Promotion and Tenure Committee is composed of one tenured member from each department. The Dean of the College serves as a non-voting member. The faculty electorate of the College, under the jurisdiction of the College Council, elects the members.  The members of the PTRM Committee are elected to a single three-year term, may not be consecutive, but may be re-elected on a staggered basis. Vacancies on the committee are filled in a special election and the newly elected member serves a three-year term. Any exceptions to this policy must be reviewed and approved by the College Council.

2022-2023 Committees and Members

Awards Committee

Plan, implement, and administer, in conjunction with the Council and the Dean's office, the annual recognition event of students, faculty and alumni.

FACULTY DEPARTMENT
Stephanie Moody (Chair) ECED
Rob Caples LTDM
Ashley Burton SPED
Ashley Wallace ELED
John Foley SMED

Curriculum Committee

  • Serves as a liaison between COE departments and university level curriculum committees regarding new courses, course changes, course overlap, and any other curriculum approval business that arises.
  • New Courses/Changes to Existing Courses: Via Imagenow workflow software, the COE Curriculum Committee receives and acts upon departmental proposals for new courses and for changes in existing courses, in alignment with guidelines established by the University Curriculum Committee including:
    • New undergraduate courses or changes to current undergraduate courses sent to University Course Approval Reporting Committee.
    • University Core Course Certification sent to University Core Curriculum Committee.
    • Graduate Level Courses sent to Graduate School Course Curriculum Committee.
    • Proposals for new programs or changes to current programs are now routed to the University Course Curriculum Committee.
FACULTY DEPARTMENT
Stephen Schroth (Chair) ECED
Bonnie Brown LTDM
Gary Homana ELED
Meryl Klein SPED
Kathleen Reilly ILPD

Faculty Development and Research Committee

  • Provides forums for College of Education faculty to develop and share research within the college.
  • Promotes and disseminates College of Education faculty research beyond the College.
  • Plans and implements activities that support the productivity of faculty scholarship.
FACULTY DEPARTMENT
Danielle Sutherland (Co-Chair) SMED
Zac Price (Co-Chair) ECED
Kelly Davis SPED
Deneen Dixon-Payne ELED
Suzhen Duan LTDM
Kofi LeNiles ILPD
Brian Miller ELED

Promotion, Tenure and Review Committee (PT&R)

Reviews dossiers for faculty requesting tenure or promotion.

FACULTY DEPARTMENT
Rachel Billman SPED
Q. Vicky Cai LTDM
Todd Kenreich SMED
Xiaoming Liu  ELED
Jessica Shiller ILPD
Mary Slade ECED

Scholarship Committee

  • Commitment to equitably support the academic goals of COE  students by facilitating inclusive access to scholarship opportunities. 
  • Strive to honor the legacy and generosity of TU Foundation donors by distributing funds through a fair and thoughtful selection process.
  • Aspire to inform COE students about scholarship opportunities by promoting awareness of financial resources available through the TU Foundation. 
  • Supervise all COE scholarships under the guidelines set forth by the TU Foundation, where most scholarships are created by donors.
  • Follow donor guidelines to award scholarships that recognize both merit and unmet financial need.
FACULTY DEPARTMENT
Katie Gjoni (Chair) SMED
Scot McNary LTDM
Linda Miller ELED
Jennifer Pett ECED
Erin Richmond SPED

Information Technology Committee

  • Facilitate effective communication between COE departments and technology support services to enhance access and use of technology. 
  • Address the technology needs of faculty and students, including hardware, software and professional development.
  • Support the innovative work in the COE and advise faculty on available technology resources and professional development opportunities. 
  • Empower technology within the COE to enhance the teaching and learning experience with seamless communication and collaboration.
  • Strive to be a model of excellence for integrating technology into education, ensuring that faculty and students have the resources and support they need to succeed in a dynamic and evolving digital landscape.
  • Through our efforts, we envision a future where technology is a catalyst for educational innovation and excellence.
FACULTY DEPARTMENT

Meghan Liebfreund (Co-Chair)

ELED

Katie Landon (Co-Chair)

SMED

Christine Engbert

LTDM

Arlene Harrison

ILPD

Natalie Thomas

SPED

Danielle Ellis

ECED

 

 

 

Committee Reports

Current faculty members, please click here to to access current and previous-year committee reports.

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