New Ph.D. program launched in Rowan’s College of Education

Rowan University’s College of Education has launched a new Ph.D. program designed to educate scholars deeply committed to addressing persistent social justice concerns in education.

Housed in the new Center for Access, Success and Equity in the College of Education, the highly selective program will educate scholars looking to make an impact on improving the education of students who face persistent educational challenges. Among them: students of color, students with disabilities and students from traditionally underserved communities.

The second doctoral program in the college—the first, the Ed.D. in educational leadership, was launched in 1997—the Ph.D. program will welcome eight students for fall of 2016.

“This program is very much focused on attracting our future colleagues, those who are committed to making a significant impact in areas of access, success and equity in education,” says Program Director Ane Turner Johnson.

“We are looking to attract students committed to addressing persistent problems in education and who are invested in research and teaching that challenges the status quo. Our students will be laser focused on making changes in education through research and teaching.”

With specializations in higher and postsecondary education, counselor education, literacy education, and special education, the Ph.D. program includes research and teaching sequences in which students learn to become professors and researchers under the instruction and mentorship of Rowan College of Education faculty.  In turn, they will learn to “train future generations of students, contribute meaningfully to academic discourse, and influence policy-making with the intent of providing equitable outcomes for all educational stakeholders,” according to Johnson.

“It’s very selective,” Johnson adds. “We will have a rigorous program that is nationally renowned.”

Named fellowships

In support of the new program, two named fellowships in the doctoral program—the Betty Bowe Castor Fellowship Award and the Thomas and Carol Morgan Fellowship in Special Education and Autism Spectrum Disorder—have been established.

Each award provides a qualified candidate with three years of funded study as they work to complete their doctoral degree.

A 1963 graduate of Rowan (then Glassboro State College), Castor was the first female president of the University of South Florida. Formerly, she was president of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and also served as the Florida Education Commissioner. In January of 2015, she took over as the chair of the William J. Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She previously served on the 12-member Fulbright Board, headquartered in Washington, D.C., for three years and was recently appointed to a second three-year term.

A retired general civil litigator, Thomas Morgan is a former longtime member of Rowan’s Board of Trustees and served as its chairman from 2008-10. He and his wife, Carol, have provided funding to support initiatives in the University’s Academic Success Center, which provides a variety of programs and services to assist students in maximizing their academic potential.

The Morgans’ fellowship is specifically for a student intending to study autism spectrum disorders.

For more information

An open house to provide prospective students with information regarding the Ph.D. program is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m. in room 2096 of James Hall on Rowan’s Glassboro campus. Faculty in the program will be on hand to answer questions and to discuss prospective students’ educational and research goals. To register, contact Maria Lanza-Gladney, lanza-gladney@rowan.edu.

Additionally, a virtual open house has been scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m. The program’s administrative team, including Johnson and Kara Ieva, executive director of the Center for Access, Success & Equity, will present information about the program and discuss funding options for prospective students.

To attend the virtual open house, go to http://bit.ly/1Rm05cp and follow instructions to join the WebEx meeting.