Faculty and Staff Awards

Award of Excellence in Teaching

Misty Soles

Dr. Misty Soles is a senior lecturer in Educational and Organizational Leadership Development. Dr. Soles teaches in the Athletic Leadership program at the undergraduate and graduate levels, both of which are entirely online. Her teaching philosophy encompasses the online delivery of her courses, and she intentionally plans for this modality. Dr. Soles also recognizes that communication and clarity are keys in the online classroom. Despite her heavy teaching load, Dr. Soles still makes time to redesign her courses and improve her teaching based on student feedback. Many of her students are student athletes at the undergraduate level or have full-time jobs at the graduate level, and she takes these unique student profiles into account when planning her instruction by including practice-based assignments and placing emphasis on inclusivity. Dr. Soles’ commitment to teaching and mentorship is reflected in the alumni evaluations as one former student wrote, “Dr. Soles is simply outstanding! Our relationship has grown from student/professor to professional resource, mentor, and friend.”

Runners up: Christy Brown and Michelle Boettcher

Award of Excellence in Research

Senior Faculty: Sandra Linder

Dr. Sandy Linder is a professor in Early Childhood Education. Her primary research area centers on the intersection of improving teacher quality, supporting student understanding, and increasing family interactions for young children in mathematics education. She has published over 60 articles and book chapters in national or international peer-reviewed research outlets (26 in the past five years). Further, she edited two books, one focused on research in mobile learning for young children and one focused on research related to STEM Faculty Development. In addition, Dr. Linder has worked with entities like the Zero to Three organization, Reach Out and Read, and Primrose Schools to develop, implement, and evaluate national curricula related to early mathematics and STEAM education. To support her work, she has garnered $1,198,060 in external funding with an additional $114,249 in internal funding for a total of 27 grant awards over the past 14 years.

Junior Faculty: Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens

Dr. Arastoopour Irgens is an assistant professor in Learning Sciences and Director of the IDEA lab. Her research focuses on designing immersive, inclusive digital learning environments focusing on engineering and computer science and using learning analytics to investigate how learners make cognitive and socio-emotional connections. Most recently, she has focused on designing tools and activities for and with elementary-aged youth to build critical machine learning activities and applications that combat harmful algorithm bias toward marginalized populations. Dr. Arastoopour Irgens’ work has been published in premier international journals for her field, including but not limited to Learning, Media and Technology (Impact Factor: 4.68), International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction (Impact Factor: 3.87), Journal of Science Education and Technology (Impact Factor: 3.42), and Teaching and Teacher Education (Impact Factor: 3.27). She has also been awarded nearly $3 million in grant funding, including a prestigious $1.5 million CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.

Award of Excellence in Equity-Focused Service

Rachel Wagner

Dr. Rachel Wagner is an associate professor in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Dr. Wagner’s service efforts are centered on inclusion and equity, which align with her research, teaching, and the way she lives her life. Dr. Wagner has served as one of the inaugural College of Education Dean Fellows for Inclusive Excellence, reviewing College policies, procedures, and practices to identify and close DEI gaps; creating and facilitating DEI training for college faculty and staff; and co-leading the process of developing and implementing the College’s five-year strategic plan on inclusive excellence. Further, she served on multiple search committees for the College and the broader University to help ensure the implementation of processes to attract diverse candidates and create inclusive interviews. Further, Dr. Wagner aids the University's efforts to advance equity through her service on the Women’s Leadership Advisory Board and Decolonize Clemson initiative, and she shares her DEI perspective even more broadly through her continuous equity-focused service with professional associations.

Award of Excellence in Service

Heather Brooker

Dr. Heather Brooker is a lecturer in Education and Human Development. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Dr. Brooker's strong commitment to service makes her an asset to the college. Dr. Brooker has served on the Inclusive Excellence Implementation Team, the Merit Review Committee for EHD, and on the faculty senate, where she has been a fierce advocate for sound policy. She also serves as assistant program coordinator for the LS Ph.D. program. Dr. Brooker is committed to the mentorship of graduate teaching assistants and has supervised and mentored multiple graduate instructors of record in their teaching of undergraduate courses, helping them improve their practice through her willingness to observe their teaching and provide constructive and timely feedback. One colleague stated, “Ultimately, a mark of service is someone who steps up and gives of themselves when others are in need, and Heather Brooker does this for students, other faculty, the department, and the College without hesitation.”

Award of Excellence in Doctoral Advising

Faiza Jamil

Dr. Faiza Jamil is an associate professor in Learning Sciences. Dr. Jamil’s CLAD lab has been described as a vibrant and generative space for doctoral socialization. Students in her lab work on projects related to her research agenda, but they also engage in a scholarly community that provides scaffolded support to achieve program milestones. For instance, students in her lab vet their research topics among peers, collaborate to execute literature reviews, rehearse papers and scholarly presentations, and pose methodological quandaries for group feedback and resolution. As evidence of the efficacy of this scholarly community, several students have authored scholarly presentations and papers at national conferences and published papers in peer-reviewed journals. Notably, students who have graduated with their terminal degree continue to participate in her lab, finding it to be a productive space for scholarly collaborations post-graduation.

Insight Award of Excellence

Call Me MiSTER

The Insight Award of Excellence acknowledges projects, programs and/or innovations that have significant impact on realizing the College of Education mission and Clemson Elevate goals. The recipient of the 2023 Insight Award is one of the College's longest standing, marquee programs, Call Me MiSTER ^®.

The mission of the Call Me MiSTER (acronym for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) Initiative is to increase the pool of available teachers from a broader more diverse background particularly among the state's lowest performing elementary schools. Student participants are largely selected from among underserved, socio-economically disadvantaged and educationally at-risk communities.

Roy Jones, executive director of Call Me MiSTER, has seen the program grow and expand over the course of the last 23 years. At no time is the program’s impact more evident than during its Summer Leadership Institute. To attend one is to see all of the program’s strengths – and its history – put on display. Faculty, staff and students from the program’s 25 participating institutions come together to share knowledge and celebrate graduating seniors in the program. They provide example after example of the program’s work to improve lives across the state and beyond, making Call Me MiSTER a shining example of the innovation, collaboration and transformative power of both the College of Education and Clemson University.

Exceptional Performance and Outstanding Service Award

Stephanie Madison

Dr. Stephanie Madison serves as the project manager for Clemson University's Teacher Learning Progression (CU-TLP), one of the largest grants ever received in the College of Education. Through her role, Madison leads and mentors educators to improve their effectiveness in the classroom as well as facilitates opportunities for advanced credentials and/or degree. She navigates relationships with 19 school districts and nearly 300 teachers while balancing the complexity of scheduling that is unique to this grant. Madison also started a non-profit organization, Education llimitada, that provides much needed resources for children in refugee camps located in Reynosa, Mexico. A nominator spoke of her dedication to multiple professional and personal education projects, saying she is “one of those unique individuals who invests her personal time, training and resources into a passionate cause that makes a difference in the lives of marginalized children and their families. She also brings this passion to her work with her program members as well as volunteering her time for presentations to our undergraduate pre-service teachers.”

Exceptional Performance and Outstanding Service Award

Paula Adams

Paula Adams serves as placement coordinator for middle grades/secondary undergraduate students. Adams works closely with district partners to initially inquire and coordinate field placements while also promptly addressing concerns or questions that may arise along the way. She has built strong and meaningful relationships with our district partners and has professionally maintained this partnership over the years. Adams also visits several schools and takes an active interest in meeting cooperating teachers and administrators for in-person visits. Adams serves as an excellent liaison between faculty, students, and cooperating teachers. Her attention to detail when it comes to student and cooperating/mentor teacher's needs is phenomenal. As one nominator put is: “Paula is courteous, kindhearted, hardworking, a team player and is extremely passionate about her work in education. She exudes integrity and has a genuine respect for herself and the people she serves daily.”

Inclusive Excellence Service Award

Valerie Oonk

Valerie Oonk serves as director of undergraduate student services, working closely with College leadership, academic advisers and students. Oonk currently also serves on the College of Education's implementation team for our strategic plan for inclusive excellence. Last Fall, Oonk completed the University's strategic inclusive excellence certificate which spanned three semesters and included a culminating project. Her project focused on incorporating equity-related objectives into staff annual evaluations. She held multiple meetings to help staff brainstorm ways to integrate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives into staff roles and to reflect this integration into their current EPMS reviews. Oonk’s nominator for this award said that she demonstrates a commitment to the advancement of inclusive excellence within the College. “Valerie's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion has touched each staff member within the College of Education, and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award.”

Collaborative Service Award

Jean McKendry

Jean McKendry serves as director of research development for the College of Education. McKendry draws upon 20 years of experience in Washington, D.C. working in positions with higher education, federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations. She provides research development support to the College’s associate dean for research and graduate studies in carrying out strategic priorities, mentoring early career faculty, providing proposal development services, researching targeted funding opportunities and leading grant writing workshops. A faculty member who nominated McKendry for this award has worked with her closely over the last few years while seeking grant funding, and they said McKendry has been integral to their development in this area. “[Jean] is someone I deeply respect and trust, which has been critical to my willingness and ability to step outside of my comfort zone to pursue grant opportunities in recent years.” They said that Jean’s clear confidence in them and her support was crucial to their success.