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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu
)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
6/30/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES -Dr. Vickie S. Gentry has been named dean of the College of Education at Northwestern State University. She has served as acting dean since 2004. The appointment has been approved by the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System.
"Dr. Gentry has provided outstanding leadership over the past two years during a critical time for the College of Education," said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Thomas Hanson. "She led the College of Education through the accreditation process and the process of redesigning several programs. She is highly qualified by education and experience to serve as dean of the College of Education."
Gentry has been at NSU since 1997 as a faculty member in the Department of Health and Human Performance. She was named acting head of the Department of Health and Human Performance in 2000 and department head in 2001. Gentry was promoted to the rank of full professor in 2002.
"The College of Education at NSU has a rich history in teacher preparation, and I am proud to be a part of an academic unit that continues to strive for excellence in teaching, research, and service," said Gentry. "The education profession faces many challenges, but our faculty have demonstrated they want to solve problems and continue to improve education in this state and region."
Gentry said faculty within the College of Education have been willing to shoulder an increased burden during her tenure as acting dean because of the demands of the accreditation process by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and new curriculum standards.
"I am very proud of the accomplishments of the College of Education," she said. "In the last 2 1/2 years, there have been many demands placed on faculty. Many worked above and beyond the call of duty to prepare evidence required by NCATE. Such evidence or documentation meant that faculty had to re-think their teaching methods and assessments for measuring student learning. In the midst of preparing for NCATE, many faculty were also involved in redesigning their entire academic program due to a Board of Regents mandate."
According to Gentry, as a result of meeting NCATE and Board of Regents requirements, the College now has its teacher education and professional school personnel programs redesigned and approved for meeting national and state standards.
"These are huge accomplishments, which have occurred in a short amount of time," she said.
This fall, the College of Education will begin implementing its redesigned master's of education programs in educational leadership, educational technology leadership, curriculum and instruction and early childhood education. The College will also begin offering courses that prepare teachers for National Board Certification. These courses will apply toward graduate credit in the curriculum and instruction degree program.
College of Education faculty have been meeting with outside evaluators who will determine if the special education mild/moderate and gifted education programs meet Board of Regents guidelines. This is the final degree program to be evaluated, and if approved, will begin implementation in August 2007.
From 1989 until 1996, Gentry was a faculty member at LSU-Shreveport, serving as department coordinator in 1994-95 and department head in 1995-96. Gentry was a faculty member at Texas A & M in 1988-89 and at LSU-Alexandria from 1981 until 1988. She also taught at NSU during the 1980-81 academic year.
A graduate of the University of Alabama Birmingham, Gentry received a master's from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Ala., and a doctorate in kinesiology from Texas A & M.