UConn Names Dean of Neag School of Education

The University of Connecticut announced Monday that it has named a veteran college educator as the new dean of the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education.

Dr. Gladis Kersaint, the associate dean of academic affairs and research for the College of Education at the University of South Florida (USF) since 2011, where she is also a professor of mathematics education, will assume the deanship in July, according to a statement issued by UConn.

Prior to her current role, Kersaint served as director of the David C. Anchin Center and held the David C. Anchin Endowed Chair in Education Innovation. The Center promotes alliances and leverages resources to facilitate partnership efforts that support innovation and the advancement of teaching. From 2006 to 2010, she served as coordinator of USF Undergraduate Education and chair of the General Education Council, a role with university-wide reach.

“With an exemplary record of teaching and research, coupled with her impressive experience at the administrative level, Dr. Kersaint is an ideal choice to lead UConn’s distinguished Neag School of Education, where she will work to build and maintain its academic excellence in the years ahead,” UConn President Susan Herbst said in a statement.

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“Dr. Kersaint is a talented leader who has a distinguished scholarly career and clearly understands academic and educational excellence. Her skills and background are exactly what we look for in our senior leadership,” Provost Mun Choi said in the statement.

Kersaint is also a well-respected scholar in mathematics education with an extensive publication and national and local service record. She has published four books and numerous journal articles related to factors that influence mathematics teacher education and effective mathematics teaching, the mathematical teaching and learning of at-risk students, and the use of technology in teaching and learning mathematics. During her tenure at USF, she has served as the principal or co-principal investigator of approximately $30 million of National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and Florida Department of Education grants.

Kersaint has engaged in a number of collaborative STEM education projects involving faculty in the College of Arts and Science and the College of Engineering. She also has provided service at the national level, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the largest professional organization for mathematics educators and the Association on Mathematics Teacher Educators. Prior to her academic post at USF, Kersaint taught high school mathematics for the Miami-Dade County Public School district, the fourth-largest public school in the nation.

She earned her BS in mathematics from the University of Miami in 1990, as well as her MS in education in 1992. She earned her Ph.D. in mathematics education from Illinois State University in 1998.

Photo: Dr. Gladis Kersaint. Credit: http://www.coedu.usf.edu.