Alumni Dr. Grant Hayes and Dr. Dwight C. Watson accept national leadership positions

The University of South Carolina College of Education is proud to announce the achievements of two alumni who are shaping education at the highest levels nationally.

Dr. Grant Hayes, who earned his doctoral, master’s and educational specialist degrees at the College of Education, has been named dean and distinguished professor of the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC.

Prior to accepting the position at ECU, Hayes was professor of counselor education and interim dean of the College of Education and Human Performance at the University of Central Florida. Additionally, he has worked at James Madison University in Virginia in the Department of Psychology. His educator and education administration career spans more than 27 years.

Dr. Dwight C. Watson, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and Master’s in Elementary Education from the College of Education, has been named Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota.

Before beginning his duties at SMSU in July, Watson served as Dean of the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa for five years. Prior to that position, he was Associate Dean of the Teacher Education program and department chair at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Additionally, he served as interim director for the Center for Excellence in Urban Teaching, and chair of the Department of Education at Hamline University in St. Paul.

We congratulate our distinguished alumni on their continued success and the impact they are having throughout the nation.