From the desk of Tommy Hodges

The College of Education at the University of South Carolina is a special place comprised of nationally and internationally recognized faculty and staff. I could not be more excited to be named dean and to work alongside the faculty, staff and students to advance the educational needs of South Carolina and beyond. As my deanship begins, this is a great time to look back at all we have accomplished over the past year. The College of Education boasted record highs in research funding – designing high impact projects and programs to improve the lives of children, schools, and communities. Additionally, the College provided more scholarships and assistantships than ever before, making graduate programs more accessible and affordable.

To compliment courses and programs, CarolinaCrED in partnership with the Center for Teaching Quality launched a robust platform of microcredentials to provide new ways of engaging in professional learning.  Grounded in the belief that educators deserve agency and authority over their professional learning, the microcredential platform affords personalized professional learning across a range of domains. Microcredentials also play a central role in Carolina Collaborative for Alternative Preparation (CarolinaCAP) – the College of Education’s alternative preparation program designed to support the state’s highest need schools and districts. CarolinaCAP has played a key role in the racial diversification of the teaching profession, where 77% of candidates identify as Black or African American. The College of Education received funding to support partnership pathways for graduates of HBCUs in South Carolina to complete teaching residencies. And, for the first time in three years, the College welcomes a new freshman cohort of Apple Core Initiative students – the College of Education’s signature program to recruit historically underrepresented populations into teacher education programs. Recognizing that recruitment alone won’t solve teacher shortage issues, the College continues to expand the Carolina Teacher Induction Program (CarolinaTIP) – providing one on one coaching and support that has improved overall teacher retention in the profession to 96%.

Without a doubt, we are poised for an exciting new academic year. Fueled by our commitments to world-class teaching, research and service, we will continue to advance education policy and practice in South Carolina and beyond. I look forward to working with each of you as we build upon the outstanding accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students.

Forever to Thee!

• 

  Thomas E. Hodges

  Dean of the College of Education