Latest Announcements

Education at Illinois is proud to announce it’s first ISBE-approved fully online microcredential for teachers on Canvas Catalog.

The Microcredential in Trauma-Informed Education examines multiple dimensions of trauma-informed education, including the incidence and impact of trauma; trauma-informed strategies for children from pre-Kindergarten to age 18, including students with disabilities; and trauma’s connection to social-emotional learning, multi-lingual learners, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and parent involvement.

This professional development course comprises 10 asynchronous, self-paced modules that provide essential content, activities, and opportunities for reflection.  The course was developed by Lynn Burdick and Mia Chudzik of Curriculum & Instruction, in coordination with the Council on Teacher Education.

Interested educators can access the course here.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announced its first-ever dual credit classes for Illinois high school students. One of the classes offered is housed in the College of Education.

SPED 117: The Culture of Disability will be one of four dual-credit classes. The class provides an introduction to disability culture across the lifespan. The impact of disabilities on individuals across the lifespan will be explored, and the unique culture created by disability will be addressed. The historical foundations of the disability movement and special education will be examined, including legislation and litigation that have significantly shaped the field.

This pilot opportunity marks a new approach for the university in offering its popular general education courses directly to high school students across Illinois in the form of dual credit — at no cost to those students.

“The dual-credit initiative reflects our university’s commitment to expanding access and opportunity for students and families across Illinois,” said Provost John Coleman. “Through the Learning Accelerator’s innovative learning model, we’re bringing transformative educational experiences to high school classrooms and preparing students throughout the state for success in college and beyond.”

Read more about this initiative from the Illinois News Bureau.

Mindy Chappell, assistant professor Curriculum & Instruction, is the first Illinois faculty member to be named to the Office of the Chief Information Officer's Boldly Accessible Wall of Fame.

Chappell was recognized for completing the steps to ensure that her Canvas course content for her Teaching a Diverse High School Student Population class is accessible to everyone.

The initiative answers the call of the Boldly 2030 Strategic Framework by embedding accessibility into the heart of our digital infrastructure, culture, and innovation. It is a part of our campuswide movement to ensure that digital environments are accessible by design, informed by lived experience, and sustained through collaboration and leadership.

All instructors are encouraged to accept the challenge. Learn more about the challenge here.

The College of Education Awards Committee is now accepting nominations for 2025-26 awards.

The committee is seeking faculty, specialized faculty, academic professionals, staff, and teaching assistants who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, or work over the past year. Applications for awards are due on Monday, February 16, 2026, by 4:30 p.m.

Available awards for 2025-26 are:

• Staff Excellence Award - $1,500 (awarded up to three recipients)
• David Zola Distinguished Career Teaching Award - $2,000
• Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award - $1,500
• Outstanding Faculty Award for Public Engagement - $1,500
• Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award - $1,500
• Spitze/Mather Faculty Award for Excellence - $2,500
• Outstanding Teaching Award for Teaching Assistants - $1,000 (awarded to two recipients)
• Excellence in Online Teaching Award - $1,500
• Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Award - $1,500
• Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research Award - $1,500

Information on all awards and links to nominate are available here.

Prince F. Robertson, Ph.D. ’23 EPOL, has been named Interim Vice President and Dean of Student Life at Eureka College in Eureka, IL.

Robertson joins from Illinois Wesleyan University, where he previously served as Dean of Students for Community Standards and Advocacy. With extensive experience in student affairs and higher education leadership, Robertson has dedicated his career to fostering student growth, engagement, and success.

In addition, he has been appointed by the City of Champaign to the Human Relations Commission and the Citizens Review Subcommittee, working to advance equity, inclusion, and community trust.

The 17th Annual College of Education Graduate Student Conference is accepting presentation submissions through December 8. 

This year’s conference theme, The Learning Community: Education as a Force for Change, focuses on fostering interdisciplinary innovation in education to address complex global challenges. This conference provides a collaborative space for graduate students to present their research, exchange ideas, and connect across institutions.

The conference will be held March 5-6 at the University of Illinois.

The top-rated presentations in the Poster, Roundtable, and Paper sessions will also receive an award of up to $300. Submit a Proposal Here. 

Questions or accessibility requests can be made to the conference committee at gsc@education.illinois.edu.

Idalia Nuñez, associate professor Curriculum & Instruction, has published a book that explores literacy practices and theories.

She is one of five editors of Theories, Models, and Practices of Literacy, the eighth edition of a foundational text in literacy research. This edition has been reworked to include diverse perspectives and updated to include more modern theories and scholarship.

From Routledge: “This volume addresses theories across ten sections, including early, youth, and community literacies; teaching literacy and literacy teacher education; dis/abilities and disciplinary literacy theories; digital and multimodal literacies; and the disruption of colonial boundaries in language and global literacies. The chapters in this volume are curated to inspire the interrogation of literacy theory and foster its evolution.”

On-campus Ph.D. student Cecilia Vaughn-Guy and online student Ed. D. Bryant Ramirez had never crossed paths until the 24th Asian AHRD conference in Bangkok, Thailand from November 11-15. Cecilia traveled from Washington, DC, while Bryant had recently relocated to Thailand.  A chance meeting led to a great Illini photo-op. 

(Picture available upon request)

Asif Wilson, assistant professor Curriculum & Instruction, has published a new article in the journal Professional Development in Education.

His publication, co-written with former Education faculty member Rachel McMillian, is titled “Justice-centered praxis is work in perpetuity: critical professional learning as unfinishedness.” 

The study explores the experiences of P-20 social studies teachers who were part of a series of professional development sessions on the school-prison nexus and justice-centered praxes.

Sourabh Garg, a Ph.D. student in Curriculum & Instruction, presented a paper co-authored with Gloriana Gonzalez, professor of C&I, and Saadeddine Shahab, Ph.D. '19 C&I, at the Psychology of Mathematics Education Conference.

The paper, titled "Geometry teachers’ reflections-in-action for noticing students’ design thinking during lesson study," investigates teacher learning in asynchronous sessions during lesson study. Using reflection-in-action and the mathematical knowledge for teaching framework, it examines how teachers drew on different types of knowledge to plan a research lesson, anticipate students’ ideas, and consider lesson modifications. 

It is part of an NSF-funded project, "Engaging teachers in integrating human-centered design for geometry problem-based instruction."

College of Education faculty and students have published an article in the American Journal of Evaluation on designing culturally responsive and values-engaged evaluations for school-based equity programs. 

The article, “A Mixed-Methods Evaluation Design for a Secondary School Equity Program: Utilizing Culturally Responsive and Values-Engaged Approaches” features lead author Melissa Goodnight, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Anthony Sullers, Jr., postdoctoral scholar for the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA), three doctoral candidates and students, Mostafa Hanafy, Molly Galloway, and Jasmine Johnson, and Valerie O’Brien, a teaching associate at the University of Illinois Laboratory High School.

The article details the design of a mixed-methods evaluation for a new equity program serving underrepresented and racially minoritized students at a selective-admissions, gifted public secondary school in America.

Chang-kyu Kwon, assistant professor EPOL, will deliver a keynote address at an international Human Resource Development conference.

He will speak at the 2025 Taipei International Forum on Employment for Persons with Disabilities × International Conference on Human Resource Development, which will be held November 5-6 in Taiwan.

His keynote, “From Fitting In to Being Me: Leading Disability Inclusion with a Whole Self Culture,” will focus on rethinking inclusion from policy and representation to creating safe spaces where people can show up fully and thrive. It emphasizes recognizing people with disabilities not as passive recipients of accommodation but as co-creators of adaptive and inclusive systems—a vital reframing in organizational education.

Linda Herrera, professor Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, will host a book talk about her upcoming book, "Education 2.0, Chronicles of Technological and Cultural Change in Egypt."

The talk will be held on November 12 from 4 to 5:15 p.m. in Gregory Hall, room 223.

Hererra will discuss the book and larger issues about how to research and document a national education reform in Egypt, oriented towards digital transformation and curriculum change.  The research is based on oral historical research from the 'top down' and 'bottom up' with figures from the state, international organizations, the private sector, and members of local school communities.

Amber Ray, associate professor Special Education, was recently honored by Loras College. Ray received the Young Alumni Award which honors notable graduates of the last 15 years.

Ray is a 2011 graduate of Loras College with a bachelor's degree in Special Education.

She was honored at the school's Homecoming celebration on October 3.

Join leaders from the Illinois State Board of Education to give input on the first draft of the Illinois Comprehensive Numeracy Plan, a statewide initiative to strengthen math learning and outcomes for all students. 

Share your expertise to guide and support educators, schools, and districts in aligning efforts and advancing student success in mathematics. Teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, counselors, parents/families, community advocates, and other education leaders and practitioners are welcome to provide feedback and inform the final plan.

The event is on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801.  Register for this free event on Eventbrite.

Mirelsie Velázquez, associate professor Latina/Latino Studies, Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, has been named a Conrad Humanities Scholar.

Velázquez is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work centers on education, women's history, Puerto Rican studies, gender and sexuality, and teacher education. She’s currently working on her second book, Genealogies of Empowerment and the Makings of Home: Latina/o Activism at the University of Illinois, 1970–1992, and an oral history project, "De Isla a Chicago: Stories of Puerto Rican Teachers, 1970-1990," that collects oral histories of Puerto Rican educators who were recruited to work in Chicago in the 1970s to serve the needs of a diverse student population.

The Conrad Humanities Scholars Award recognizes promising mid-career scholars and provides financial support for continued achievement, research, and scholarship in the humanities. It is designated for five years and funded by a gift from the late Arlys Conrad, AB, '44, ED.

Richard Price, Ph.D. '24 SPED, has been named to Cohort 2 of the CASE Special Education Leadership Institute by the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE).

Price, an assistant professor in Purdue University's Department of Educational Studies, will participate in leadership development, collaborate with other special education leaders, and develop ways to meet the needs of students and families.  

The Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) recognizes the nationwide concern over the shortage of educational leaders trained to supervise special education programs. CASE is committed to leadership development that will continue to drive the profession forward. Based upon the core values at the heart of CASE, the Leadership Institute provides an opportunity for current and future educational leaders to strengthen their foundation in the components related to the administration of special education programs.

In collaboration with the Pipeline for the Advancement of the Healthcare Workforce (PATH), the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is conducting a research study on the experiences of adult learners in career and technical education programs in community colleges in Illinois.

Cynthia D'Angelo, associate professor Educational Psychology, was recently awarded a $1.2 million NSF grant to study learning challenges surrounding Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and the complicated STEM concepts that people with the disease must manage.

The study is titled Understanding and Addressing the Complex STEM Learning Challenges of Adults with Type 1 Diabetes. It runs through July of 2029.

Type-1 diabetics must absorb a lot of information and balance it with many variables to manage their disease, especially during physical activity. D'Angelo aims to utilize technology to learn more about what information those with T1D must know, develop online STEM learning materials, and create a digital learning platform to practice these newly learned skills.

Michele Schutz, assistant professor Special Education, will speak at the Bloorview Research Institute Global Guest Speaker Series at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

Her presentation, “Collaborative, Community-Engaged, and Cross-System Transitions to Work for Youth with Disabilities,” will take place virtually on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from 10 to 11 a.m. The free monthly series highlights international leaders advancing childhood disability research, rehabilitation, and inclusion.

Find out more and register here: http://bit.ly/46fAGx5