Dr. Keepers joined Spalding as Dean of the College of Education in 2008 after retiring from Jefferson County Public Schools as principal of both DuPont Manual High School and the Youth Performing Arts School, a role she assumed in 1991. During her tenure as principal, student enrollment increased along with academic and athletic achievements and artistic accomplishments in the performing and visual arts. After her retirement, the Dr. Beverly Keepers Counseling Center was dedicated in her honor at Manual High School.She earned a Rank I in school administration with principal certification (P-12) from the University of Louisville and a doctorate in education leadership and organizational development. She was an adjunct member of the faculty at University of Louisville. As dean of the College of Education at Spalding University, she provides another dimension of her experience and passion for leadership in the preparation of teachers and school administrators.

Dr. James Takona, a Kenyan national, received his Ph.D. from Loyola University of Chicago. During the last ten years, his academic focus has included research of and the teaching of research methods and design courses in universities in Africa and the United States. Dr. Takona is the author of Educational Research: Principles and Practice (iUniverse, 2002) and Pre-Service Teacher Portfolio Development(Writers Club Press, 2003) and is co-author of Primer to Developing a Successful Pre-Service Teacher Portfolio (University Press of America, 2004). He has served as co-editor of the books The Devastating Impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Health and Education: Voices of the Children (Edwin Mellen Press, 2004) and Youth Violence in American Schools: How Can It Be Alleviated (Edwin Mellen Press, 2009).

Ms. Carletta Bell joined the Spalding faculty in 2009 as the director of alternative certification and the College of Education’s certification officer. She has more than thirty years experience in education as a P-12 practitioner in the Jefferson County Public Schools. Her areas of professional expertise include recruiting and assessing the potential of new teachers, mentoring new teachers, advising experienced teachers and assessing students for possible placement in exceptional child education programs, as well as curriculum and instruction.She served 15 years as an elementary school principal and after retiring, she returned to JCPS to work as a trainer and facilitator for Principals for Tomorrow, the aspiring leaders program. Her early career included positions as an exceptional child education middle school teacher, regional resource teacher, and personnel specialist for elementary and special schools.

Karen Dunnagan joined Spalding University’s College of Education in 2001. She teaches courses in literacy and literature for K-12 students in the Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in teaching (MAT) teacher-certification programs. She serves as academic advisor for middle and high school teacher candidates and faculty sponsor for the Kentucky Education Association Student Program. She serves on university and college committees and is active in professional organizations and educational service groups as an advocate for universal literacy.Dr. Dunnagan earned a bachelor of arts degree in communication and secondary teaching certification and a master’s of arts degree in communication with a K-12 reading specialist’s certification at Indiana State University (ISU). She earned a doctorate at the Ohio State University in literacy, literature, and drama studies in education. She taught speech communication at ISU, and she taught English language arts and directed literacy programs in K-12 public schools before beginning her career in teacher education at St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wis.

Barbara Foster earned a Doctor of Education degree in leadership education from Spalding University and received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in elementary education, as well as an education specialist degree in administration and supervision from Indiana University. She served as an elementary and middle school teacher and principal in both public and parochial schools for 25 years prior to joining the College of Education faculty at Spalding University. Dr. Foster shares her expertise in classroom management and instructional design with teachers in local school systems and frequently presents at state, national and international conferences, including presentations in Taiwan and Australia. Her current research interests include topics related to dialogue, reflection, behavior management, assessment, mathematics education and brain-based teaching and learning.

Born and educated in Louisville, Ky., Rita Greer is an alumna of Central High School. She holds three degrees from the University of Louisville: Bachelor of Arts in political science, master’s degree in secondary education, and a Doctor of Education degree with emphasis in supervision and administration. Her dissertation was titled, “The Attitudes of Academically Talented Black High School Students toward Teaching as a Career.” Dr. Greer is a retired P-12 educator from the Jefferson County Public Schools having served as a teacher, administrative intern, and a staffing specialist for elementary schools. She also has served as a data management coordinator, as well as director of human resources and a human resources consultant for special projects.Dr. Greer has been involved in the teacher training and certification for more than thirty years. During her career, she was the primary architect for a variety of programs and school and university partnerships. Dr. Greer has developed and implemented programs focused on attracting young adults, minorities and career changers to careers in education. This group of educators accounts for more than 20 percent of the current Jefferson County Public Schools’ teaching force. Also, she designed and coordinated the Minority Teacher Recruitment Project, the longest continuous school district and university partnership for minority recruitment, of 25 years, in the nation. Dr. Greer’s areas of professional foci have been teacher and educator identification, recruitment and training and development.Recognitions for her contributions to education include Outstanding Social Studies Teacher in Kentucky award and outstanding educator recognitions from Bellarmine University, Spalding University and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Dr. Greer has served as co-chair for the Kentucky State Minority Educator Strategic Plan Committee, an elected position. Her current research interests include teacher recruitment and leadership development.

Dr. Hasan earned a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University-Pullman in political science and a Master of Education degree and a Doctor of Special Education degree from the University of Washington-Seattle. He has more than 25 years of experience in education, including 12 years at the public school level and more than 13 at the university level. Presently, he holds teaching certificates in both Hawaii and Kentucky.His public school experience includes 10 years of teaching in the Seattle Public School District, in self-contained programs designed for students classified as seriously behaviorally disabled (SBD) grades fourth to 12th. He also taught for two years with the Hawaii Department of Education in a self-contained high school program for students classified as emotionally disturbed (ED). During his career, Dr. Hasan has worked extensively with gang-involved students and troubled children, adolescents and youth. He has coached football and basketball at the middle and high school levels.Dr. Hasan has also worked with the special education teacher preparation programs of Eastern Michigan University and the University of Washington-Seattle. While in Hawaii, he served as the dean of the Hawaii College of Pharmacy in Kapolei.

Dr. Jacqueline Johnson started her career in education as a truant officer in Richmond, Va. She has served as teacher assistant, teacher at the elementary and middle school levels, counselor in elementary and alternative education program at the middle and high school levels. She went on to become an elementary principal in public schools and principal in a state-operated juvenile facility school in Virginia. She has earned a master’s degree in teacher education, and she has earned certification in school guidance and counseling and certification in supervision and administration. Dr. Johnson has published in the Journal of Urban Education, and she has served as a presenter at the Kentucky Counseling Association (KCA) conference. She serves on the board of directors for KCA. Dr. Johnson joined Spalding’s faculty in 2009.

Jennifer Mangeot joined Spalding in 2009 as director of field Experiences in the College of Education. Jennifer received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Louisville and her Master of Arts in education degree from the University of Kentucky. She taught for eight years as an elementary school teacher in both Fayette County Public Schools and the Archdiocese of Louisville. In 2000, she began work as a student-teacher supervisor at Bellarmine University, where she also worked as an adjunct professor in the School of Education. In 2007, Ms. Mangeot began work as a university supervisor at Spalding and taught the student teaching capstone course before becoming assuming her current position.

Jayne Risen Morgenthal is currently an associate professor and director of the Teacher Leader Program. During her career she has served as a principal, an associate superintendent and superintendent of schools, assistant professor of educational leadership. She was previously president and owner of Executive Educational Leadership Coaching Firm.She received a Doctor of Education in educational administration degree from the University of Louisville and a Rank 1 and Master of Arts degree in curriculum and supervision from Western Kentucky University. Her research interest is administrator recruitment. She has published in Educational Administrator Quarterly, Leadership, The Principal, Journal of Educational Administration and University Council for Educational Administration. Dr. Morgenthal has presented at both national and international conferences, and she has served as conference chair and research proposal reviewer for the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). She has also been named a Kentucky Distinguished Educator.

Elisabeth Lodge Rogers, Ph.D. is the Director of the Teacher Leader Program. Prior to her position at Spalding University, Dr. Rogers was the Executive Director of Student Services and Special Education Programs for the St. Cloud Area Schools, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She received a B.S. and M.S. from Kansas State University, and earned a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota. She holds degrees in Elementary Education, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Learning Disabilities. Specific areas of interest include Instructional Leadership, Response to Intervention (RTI), Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports (PBIS), the use of Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA), Legal issues in Special Education, team approaches to conducting FBA and intervention planning, as well as the provision of school based mental health related services.

Terri Schoone started her career as a mathematics teacher. She has two master’s degrees in computer education and computer science from Florida Institute of Technology. She is ABD on her doctorate in computer education. Ms. Schoone has served as the director of instructional technology for a large school district in Illinois. She has worked in the field of institutional effectiveness where she coordinated college-wide assessment, continuous quality improvement, reporting to state, federal and accrediting agencies. She has presented at state, national and international conferences. Her current research interests include addressing 21st century skills through Web 2.0 tools and the ways social networking can be harnessed in education.

Veronica Petty Wright graduated from the University of Louisville with a Master of Education degree and Rank I in special education. She worked for 34 years as a special educator and social studies teacher for the Louisville city and Jefferson County Public Schools. At Spalding, she writes and manages the undergraduate and graduate level components of the Learning and Behavior Disorders Programs for Spalding University.In addition to designing the programs of study, she served as the program’s sole advisor for four years, taught courses in the special education curriculum, initiated an alternate-route teacher certification, managed the WHAS Crusade for Children grant, and co-authored the Master of Education in special education program. Veronica has served on the following university and college committees: administrative and faculty search, curriculum, undergraduate and graduate admission and retention, library and scholarship. She currently serves as a university supervisor for student teachers and alternate-route teacher candidates.