University of Southern Mississippi Dean Named to National Leadership Fellowship

Wed, 08/12/2020 - 12:27pm

Dr. Trenton Gould, dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at The University of Southern Mississippi, has been was named an Impact Academy fellow, joining a cohort of leaders chosen for their commitment to improving educator preparation.

Educator-preparation programs face unprecedented challenges as they prepare the next generation of teachers in uncertain environments and seek to address educational inequities revealed and exacerbated by COVID-19. More than ever, the field needs leaders who can foster individual and organizational learning and ensure that all children have access to rigorous, content-rich instruction – whether in-person or online. Deans for Impact aims to fill this need through its year-long Impact Academy fellowship, which empowers dean-level leaders with skills, knowledge, and strategies to pursue instructional excellence in the face of new challenges.

“I am honored to be selected as an Impact Academy fellow,”Gould said. “Given the unique challenges we are facing in educator-preparation programs, I am looking forward to working with other dean-level leaders on solutions and innovative approaches to teacher education in post-COVID world.”

Dr. Gould is one of 17 fellows announced today as part of the fellowship’s fifth cohort. Each cohort is selected through an intensive nomination and application process.

“We believe that transformative leadership is the cornerstone of an educator-preparation program that embraces an improvement mentality and prioritizes candidate learning above all else,” said Benjamin Riley, founder and executive director of Deans for Impact. “We’re thrilled to welcome 17 such leaders into the Impact Academy fellowship, and are excited to support these leaders as they embark on efforts to improve their own educator-preparation programs and the field more broadly.”

This year’s Impact Academy fellowship combines monthly virtual sessions with regular learning modules and ongoing leadership coaching from Deans for Impact member deans. Fellows strengthen their ability to engage faculty, staff, and K-12 school partners in a shared vision for change, grounded in a deep scientific understanding about how students learn.

Deans for Impact is committed to reflecting the broad diversity of programs preparing new educators in this country, and today’s announcement reinforces that commitment. Fellows lead institutions in 12 states from Delaware to California and Michigan to Mississippi. They represent public and private universities, Minority Serving Institutions and Predominately White Institutions, non-traditional programs, and one urban teacher residency. Collectively, these institutions serve over 6,600 future teachers annually.

 

About Deans for Impact

Founded in 2015, Deans for Impact is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that every child is taught by a well-prepared teacher. We do this by connecting with leaders of educator preparation programs; helping them transform their programs; sustaining these transformations over time; and influencing policy that affects their work. In designing learning experiences, we aim to create inclusive and collaborative spaces that address participants’ real problems of practice, and provide concrete examples while recognizing the importance of local context.

More information can be found on our website.