Update on Faculty Comings & Goings

This year the Department of Special Education has some short-term faculty changes as well as one new permanent appointment. For the 2006-07 academic school year, Dr. Brenda Myles, Dr. Suzanne Robinson, and Dr. Sean Smith (Spring 2007 only) are on special assignments in the field. While they are away, we’re fortunate to have two full-time visiting professors, Dr. Katherine (Katie) Cooke and Dr. Juliet Hart.  In addition, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Sandra Gautt has joined the SPED faculty on a full-time basis starting in the spring.

As of the summer of 2006, Dr. Sally Roberts began her responsibilities as the new Associate Dean for Teacher Education and Undergraduate Programs for the KU School of Education. It is good news for the School of Education to have someone with exemplary knowledge and skill leading KU’s teacher education efforts. Sally, as a Courtesy Associate Professor in SPED, will continue to teach courses and serve on student committees.

We wish our traveling colleagues the very best this year as they pursue these unique professional opportunities, and are confident that their research and service experiences will benefit the Department and the School for many years to come. Please join us in welcoming Katie, Juliet, and Sandra to our community. Their individual and collective knowledge and expertise provide us with wonderful new learning opportunities.

Below are more details about the work Brenda, Suzanne, and Sean will be doing as well as details about the expertise that Katie, Juliet, and Sandra are bringing to our programs.

Dr. Sandra Gautt, former KU Vice Provost for Faculty Development, is returning to the Department of Special Education faculty on a full-time basis starting January 2007.   As vice provost, Gautt oversaw faculty mentoring, instructional development, faculty evaluation and promotion and tenure processes for the Lawrence campus. She was also instrumental in the development of the Center for Teaching Excellence designed to facilitate innovative teaching and learning environments. Next spring she will begin teaching courses designed to prepare doctoral students for higher education careers.

Dr. Brenda Myles is taking a one-year leave to work as the Chief of Development and Programs at the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI). OCALI is a statewide federally-funded project under the direction of the Ohio Department of Education, Office for Exceptional Children (ODE-OEC). OCALI serves as a statewide clearinghouse for information about autism spectrum disorders and low incidence disabilities; responds to individual requests for information; maintains a collection of resources for public distribution; and monitors information on resources, trends, policies, services, and current educational interventions.

Dr. Suzanne Robinson is taking a one-year leave to work as the Executive Director of the Strategic Learning Center in Seattle.  The Center is a non-profit organization affiliated with the KU Center for Research in Learning. Its mission is to facilitate implementation of learning strategies and content enhancements within the structure of a whole school literacy program through USDE "Striving Readers" funds and other state and local secondary reading initiatives.  Because of the national focus on underperforming high schools as identified by NCLB accountability activities, SLC is experiencing dramatic growth.  Suzanne will provide leadership as SLC addresses its scaling up issues related to professional development, effective literacy instruction, systems change, and system-wide collaboration. 

Dr. Sean Smith has been awarded a spring 2007 KU Faculty Sabbatical Leave. He will be a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Florida working in the Department of Special Education.  He will be a participant in a prestigious research program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.  Sean will be investigating critical issues in personnel development with UF colleagues and other scholars. During this time, he will be working closely with Dr. Mary Brownell (KU ’90), a noted expert in special education teacher preparation.

Dr. Katherine (Katie) E. Cook has been appointed to serve as a visiting professor during Dr. Myles’ leave.  She holds a BS in Early Childhood Special Education from Iowa State University, graduate degrees in Special Education from the University of Kansas with an emphasis in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Cook has been involved special education since 1992, as a teacher, consultant, and college professor. She is the author and co-author of numerous articles, book chapters, and books within the field of autism spectrum disorders. Cook’s recent books include Asperger Syndrome and Sensory Issues: Practical Solutions for Making Sense of the World, How to Write and Implement Social Scripts.How to Develop and Implement Visual Supports, and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Interventions and Treatments for Children and Youth.

Dr. Juliet Hart has been appointed to as a visiting professor in the Adaptive Program during Dr. Robinson’s leave and Dr. Smith’s sabbatical.  She received a doctorate in Special Education and TESOL at the University of Miami in 2003. Since that time, she has been an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Dr. Hart’s primary research and teaching interests include language, literacy, and multicultural issues in special education, child psychopathology, and classroom adaptations/strategies for students with disabilities in inclusive settings. She writes and presents regularly on these topics. She was the recipient of two grants awarded by William & Mary and submitted an IES grant proposal earlier this summer.

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Special Education
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University of Kansas
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phone: (785) 864-0556
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