Clara M. Jennings, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Education
Armed with the belief that universities must play a pivotal role in shaping young minds by building educationally healthy economies and communities, Clara M. Jennings is the dean of the School of Education (SOE).
Under her tenure, Jennings has improved collaboration among the faculties of SOE, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Music and The Theater School, resulting in several joint projects. She increased the number of SOE partnerships with P-12 schools and established six professional development schools, both public and private, in Chicago. These partnerships are influenced by scientifically based research and practical knowledge to enhance learning among students from primary through graduate school. She led development of the school's first long-range strategic plan and is currently working on its second.
In recent years, Jennings led the SOE through a successful renewed accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). External funding from foundations, alumni, friends of the SOE and grants from the U.S. Department of Education has increased substantially-more than 500 percent between 2003 and 2006-enabling the support of the faculty's creative and scholarly work and professional development as well as expansion of scholarships for students.
Frequently tapped for university service, Jennings has served on the Strategic Research Allocation Committee (SRAC), the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Search Committee (2004-2005), and the 2005 University Strategic Planning Expert Team on Teaching Quality.
Her experience in higher education spans 25 years, more than 15 of those in higher education administration. Her accomplishments as dean of the Graduate College of Education at the University of Massachusetts at Boston (UMass) include working with the administration to make teacher education a priority and helping to successfully steer the Professional Education/Graduate College of Education program through its first NCATE accreditation process.
Prior to assuming the deanship at UMass, Jennings served in a variety of positions associated with education or higher education administration. Her experience includes such jobs as dean of the Beeghly College of Education at Youngstown State University; associate dean of the College of Education and associate professor and chair of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Curriculum and Foundation at the University of West Florida; Rountree Caldwell Bryan Distinguished Professor of Education; and chairperson of the Education and Social Sciences Division at Arkansas College.
She has lectured widely on early childhood education, higher education, and the accountability of schools of education for improved student achievement at all grade levels in response to the "No Child Left Behind" law. Her creative and scholarly activities include studies of accidents among three-and four year-olds in center-based preschool programs; improving slow learners' reading and writing skills through a whole language approach; and trends in college and university faculty development programs and education deans of color.
In 2004, she co-chaired the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) Focus Council on Early Childhood; the Council produced a white paper titled "Early Childhood Education Challenge: Preparing High-Quality Teachers for a Changing Society." Currently, she is chair of the AACTE Board of Directors, and writes a column in the AACTE Briefs (the association monthly newsletter). She also is a member of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Unit Accreditation Board. Over the years she has received several awards for her work, the most recent being a certificate for outstanding leadership and service for excellence in teacher education from AACTE.
Jennings earned a doctorate degree in elementary education and language arts from Michigan State University, a master's degree in elementary education, language arts and reading from Wayne State University, and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Arkansas Agriculture, Mechanical & Normal College.
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