Dr. Temi Bidjerano joined the Department of Education in the fall of 2007. She has received a Ph.D. and a M.S. degree in Educational Psychology from the University at Albany, State University of New York, and a M.A. in Social Psychology with sub-concentrations in Clinical and Organizational Psychology from the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Prior to coming to Furman, she worked as a research associate in outcomes assessment at Excelsior College, Albany, NY and an educational program evaluator at the Evaluation Consortium, University at Albany, SUNY . Her areas of expertise include educational research, educational measurement and statistics as well as methodology of cross-cultural research. Temi has published research in nationally and internationally recognized peer reviewed journals such as Learning and Individual Differences and Journal of Early Adolescence. As an active member of several national and regional associations, she has numerous conference presentations in the areas of child development, learning and instruction. Her current research interests include children’s after-school activities, self-determination and self-regulated learning.
		Geneal Cantrell joined the Education department of Furman University in 1999. At Furman she serves as the Coordinator of the fifth year Teacher to Teacher program. In this capacity she acts as a liaison between the university and partnering schools and school districts. A graduate of Lander University (B.S.), Clemson University (M.A.), with post graduate work at other area institutions, Geneal spent 22 years in the public school system. Geneal is also employed part-time at Spartanburg School District Six where she is the Coordinator of the district’s Induction and Mentoring program. She has presented at numerous state and national conferences sharing topics such as teacher retention, mentoring, service learning, building communities in the classroom, motivation, and stress management. Geneal and her husband co-authored a book, Teachers Teaching Teachers: Wit, Wisdom, & Whimsey for Troubled Times with Peter Lang Publishers. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two daughters, and her beagle, Maggie.
		Dr. Lorraine DeJong has been a member of the faculty at Furman since 1995. She holds the rank of Associate Professor and is Coordinator for the Department of Education’s Early Childhood Program. Lorraine teaches several courses including Human Development, Service Learning in the K-12 Schools, and a series of courses in early childhood including: Teaching and Learning in the Early Primary, Preschool, and Infant-Toddler Years. Dr. DeJong received her doctorate in Child Development from Florida State University and her BA and MAT from Cornell University in New York. Before coming to Furman, she was a public school teacher in the State of Florida where she taught children and adults ages early childhood through college for over 15 years. One of her most memorable teaching positions was to serve as Director of an Early Childhood Program serving infant children born to teenage parents for Leon County Schools in Tallahassee, Florida. Dr. DeJong has written many articles in the fields of early childhood education and teaching pedagogy, including two in the journal of Young Children that relate specifically to the care and education of young children born to teenage parents. She is past president of the South Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children and serves on the Professional Development Panel for NAEYC. When not at work, Lorraine enjoys her family which includes her husband of 25 years, her two young adult daughters, a devoted dachshund, and a lively shitzu!
		Dr. Harris M. Heath joined the faculty in the Department of Education at Furman University in September 1997. A former principal and school superintendent, he coordinates the school leadership program at Furman. His primary area of interest is the principalship. A graduate of Benedict College (B.A.), New York University (M.A.), and Duke University (Ph.D., 1974), Dr. Heath spent thirty years as a K-12 teacher, administrator, and professor in higher education before coming to Furman. He frequently conducts sessions on team building, leadership, and conflict management for schools, local school boards, and community boards and organizations. He has worked closely with several Upstate school districts in South Carolina to offer district-sponsored principal preparation programs in collaboration with Furman University.
		Dr. Nelly Hecker, a faculty member at Furman University since the fall of 1979, has served as Chair of the Department of Education and Director of Teacher Education since 1999. With a Bachelor of Science (1963) and Masters (1964) degrees from Springfield College and Ed. S. (1974) and Ph.D. (1978) degrees from The University of Georgia, her area of specialty is Literacy Education. In 1962, as part of an exchange between the United States and Uruguay, she received a two-year Fulbright Scholarship to study in Massachusetts. Throughout her teaching career, Dr. Hecker has been interested in student and teacher development and in supporting the consistent use of effective teaching practices. Her presentations at state and national conferences highlight curriculum innovations, the use of children's literature in the classroom, and content area reading strategies. Dr. Hecker has had a broad range of teaching experiences in bilingual schools, elementary grades, and higher education. She has authored or co-authored children's literature articles and, at the request of the International Reading Association, co-authored the Evaluation of Lectura y Vida, the Spanish language literacy journal. She has participated in curriculum development institutes on the use of case study methodology to facilitate reflection and decision-making. As Co-Director of the Library of Congress Adventure of the American Mind Grant at Furman (2000-2007), she worked with in-service teachers (K-12) interested in developing effective skills to use online resources from the Library of Congress in their classrooms.
		Dr. A. Scott Henderson has been a member of Furman University’s Education Department since 1998. He is also Director of Program Development and Evaluation, as well as Furman’s Director of National/International Scholarships. His formal academic training includes a B.A. in history and international affairs from Florida State University (1984); an M.A. in history from the Johns Hopkins University (1985); teacher certification in secondary social studies from the University of Virginia (1986); and a Ph.D. in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo (1996). Prior to his appointment in the Education Department, Dr. Henderson taught American and world history in the Chesapeake City [ Virginia] schools (1986-1989); was an instructor of English and Western culture at Yamagata Women’s Junior College in Yamagata, Japan (1989-1990); and was an adjunct instructor in Furman’s History Department (1996-1998). Dr. Henderson teaches undergraduate and graduate education courses, and also supervises student teachers. He was the founder and coordinator of Furman’s Teachers As Scholars program (1999-2004). He was the President of the South Carolina chapter of the American Association of University Professors (2005-2007), and has served on the boards of the National Association of Fellowships Advisers (2007-2011), the Urban History Association (2005-2008), the Greenville Area Interfaith Hospitality Network (2004-2007), and the Interfaith Forum (2007-2010). His published scholarship includes “Building Intelligent and Active Public Minds: Education and Social Reform in Greenville County During the 1930s” (2005); “World Literature and Multiculturalism in High School Curricula” (2002); Power and the Public Interest (2002 [editor]); “Understanding Cities: An Overview of Urban Social Theory” (2002); and Housing and the Democratic Ideal (2000). Dr. Henderson was a Baruch (2004) and Truman (1982) Scholar, and was a 2002 recipient of Furman’s Meritorious Advising Award (2002) and Teacher of the Year Award (2002).
		Dr. George B. Lipscomb, an assistant professor in the Education Department, has been at Furman since 2002. He received his B.A. with Honors in History from Davidson College in 1990, his M.A. from Wake Forest University in 1992, and Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2003. A former middle and high school social studies teacher, he currently instructs elementary, middle level, and secondary social studies methods, curriculum and technology, and geography among other courses. Dr. Lipscomb has served the last four years on the board of the South Carolina Council for the Social Studies and helped to organize the SCPSSE (South Carolina Professors of Social Studies Education). He has also presented workshops around the state on “Using Technology in the Social Studies Classroom” and served on panels to review the SC Social Studies Curriculum Standards and the End of Course US History test. He enjoys soccer, golf, basketball, downloading music, and spending time with his wife and two sons. Dr. Lipscomb's web site.
		Dr. Connie McDowell devoted twenty-eight years to public education. During this time she taught at the elementary school level and at the middle school level. She was chosen Teacher of the Year in 1990 at Liberty Elementary School and Teacher of the Year in 1995 at Edwards Middle School. She also served as the curriculum specialist for an alternative high school, the Reading Department Head at Tri County TEC, and an adjunct professor at Clemson University. She was an assistant principal and a principal of two elementary schools. While principal at Liberty Elementary, a Title One school and the largest elementary school in Pickens County, the school received numerous prestigious awards, which included four consecutive Palmetto Gold Awards, three consecutive SC School Report Card ratings of Excellent, and, three consecutive EOC Closing the Achievement Gap Awards. Under her leadership, the school was also named as a South Carolina Showcase School, an Exemplary Writing School, and a Red Carpet School. In addition to these awards, the school received the SC State Department of Education Deregulation Status during her tenure. Dr. McDowell received her Ph.D. in 2004 in Educational Leadership from Clemson University. She joined Furman in 2006 as a clinical faculty member and teaches graduate classes in the School Leadership program.
		Charmaine Moore joined the Furman University Education Department in July 2003 as the Education Analyst. In this capacity, she works closely with the students majoring in a field of education in compliance with state, federal, and national accrediting body reporting requirements. Charmaine is responsible for a variety of reports including: Professional Education Data System (PEDS); the joint AACTE/NCATE report; Title II report; Student Teacher Report; and Program Assessment Reports. Prior to joining Furman, she served as the Assistant Director of Georgia’s pioneering HOPE Scholarship Program, where she developed the undergraduate PROMISE and HOPE Teacher Scholarship programs currently under the HOPE umbrella. Charmaine graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology (1984). When not commuting from Greenwood to Travelers Rest, she enjoys her family time, gardening, and a good game of Scrabble.
		Dr. Lesley Quast, a faculty member at Furman University since fall term 1976, served as the Director of Partnerships and Special Projects as well as National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Coordinator from 1999 to 2006. Previously, Dr. Quast served for five years as Chair of the Education Department and Director of Teacher Education. She is presently the Assistant Academic Dean of the university. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology (1969) from St. Andrews Presbyterian College; her Master of Education degree in Emotional Disturbance (1971) from Virginia Commonwealth University; and her Ed. D. in Learning Disabilities (1977) from the University of Alabama. Additionally, she spent one summer at the University of Salzburg studying German, and one year doing doctoral internships and courses in Emotional Disturbance through the University of Virginia. While psychology and special education have provided the foundation to her teaching and preparation of educators, Dr. Quast has for over 32 years focused on appropriate education of students with exceptionalities within the context of typical classrooms. Her research interests in the effects of child abuse and neglect, depression in adolescents, renewal in teacher education, and preparing teachers to be culturally responsive, have resulted in annual national and state conference presentations, as well as journal publications and a book chapter. One of her main areas of scholarship throughout her career has been the writing of grants for innovative programming for students with exceptionalities, preparation of all educators to effectively teach those with exceptionalities, and enhancing teacher quality through renewal of teacher education programs. She has brought almost 2.5 million dollars to Furman University in grant funding over the past 30 years. In addition, Dr. Quast has held international and state leadership positions in the Council for Exceptional Children. She was a charter executive committee member of the South Carolina Network for Educational renewal and served as the liaison between South Carolina and the National Network for Educational Renewal from 1991-2006.
		Jennifer Queen, department assistant and caretaker for the education department, joined the Furman University Education Department in 2002. Jennifer graduated from Limestone College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Computer Software Applications (2005). She also serves as webmaster for the Education Department. She enjoys spending time with her husband, Josh, and son, Mason.
		Dr. Shirley A. Ritter, has been a faculty member at Furman University since the fall of 1984. With a Bachelor of Science in Education (1970) degree from Indian University of Pennsylvania, a Masters of Educational Studies (1981) degree from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and a Ph. D. (1984) from The University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), her area of specialty is Special Education. Her public school teaching has been in both the US and Australia. Throughout her career, Dr. Ritter has been interested in effective teaching practices for all students, especially those receiving special education services. Her presentations at state, national and international conferences highlight collaboration and inclusion for students with special needs. She is also conducting a longitudinal research project on a, now young woman, born with agenesis of the corpus callosum. She is past president of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children. She has held leadership position in other Divisions of CEC, as well as in CEC, and participates in other organizations whose goal it is to improve educational services for students with special needs. She reviews manuscripts for Teacher Education and Special Education, Remedial and Special Education, and the Journal of International Special Needs and Education. When not at the office you might find Dr. Ritter working in her yard or hiking on a trail!
		Dr. Renita Schmidt began her work at Furman as an Assistant Professor of Education in Fall, 2005, after a successful 15 year teaching career in rural elementary schools in Iowa. She holds a Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Culture from The University of Iowa (2005), an M.A.T. from Morningside College (2000) and a B.S. from Iowa State University (1976). As an elementary teacher, she worked as a teacher member of the Iowa cohort of the New Standards Project and as a facilitator for several state and regional conferences on portfolio assessment. Today, Dr. Schmidt is active in the National Council of Teachers of English, the South Carolina International Reading Association, the Writing Improvement Network, and Whole Language Umbrella. Dr. Schmidt is teaching undergraduate literacy methods courses and is happy to be reawakening the Masters in Education with a concentration in Literacy. She will be teaching a variety of graduate courses in that program – Literacy Methods, Reading in the Content Area, and Current Trends in Literacy Research to name a few. Her research interests include the politics of literacy, topics in children’s literature, and socio-political issues surrounding teacher education. She is currently working on a book for Springer with Furman colleague, Paul Thomas, Twenty-first Century Literacy: If We’re Scripted, Are We Literate?
		Martha Shaleuly came to Furman in 1996 to fill a one-year appointment as an instructor in the areas of elementary/early childhood education. During that year Furman was selected to receive state funds for the purpose of developing the SC Teaching Fellows scholarship program and Martha was selected as director of that new program. Prior to her work in higher education, she worked with young children teaching kindergarten, primary grades and special education including teaching social studies to children with specific learning disabilities and a self-contained class of first graders. After finishing Coker College with a BA in Elementary Education, she completed her Masters of Education at the University of South Carolina with Early Childhood her specific area. She co-authored Nurturing Those Who Nurture Children, a training manual for early educators and also made chapter contributions to A Gallery of Portraits in Service Learning. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Recruitment, Retention and Advancement of Educators. Working with diversity on the Furman campus she is a member of NCBI team and has recently completed training with the Santa Cruz and Cognitive Coaching Mentoring programs to enhance her work with Furman’s senior block and fifth year teachers in their classrooms.
		Dr. Judy Stuart is an Associate Professor at Furman University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education from Louisiana Tech University and a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of New Orleans . Other experience in South Carolina includes teaching at Lander University in Greenwood and teaching at League Academy in Greenville County Schools. Dr. Stuart has been actively involved in working with professionals in special education and other related service providers in a variety of ways. In addition to serving as Faculty co-advisor for the State Council for Exceptional Children (SC/CEC), Furman’s Chapter of CEC, and Furman’s Circle K Club, she was the State Treasurer for the Division of Early Childhood of SC/CEC. Her interests are centered on children with special needs and their families. She shares her passion through involvement in the community and in projects with Furman students. Dr. Stuart has previously served on the Development Council for Greenville Memorial Children’s Hospital and the Board of the Mental Health Association of Greenville County. During her tenure at LSUMC, she was director of training for an integrated early intervention center. While at Tulane University, she coordinated a number of special education programs and served as a consultant for Tulane Hospital for Children, and as a development member for Children’s Hospital of New Orleans .
		Dr. Michael Svec was born in Berwyn, Illinois, a near west suburb of Chicago. In 1988, he graduated from the University of Illinois-Urbana with a degree in physics. After graduation he remained in Urbana and taught at University High School and Parkland College resulting in discovering a teaching vocation. Dr. Svec earned a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction (secondary science) from Indiana University-Bloomington in 1994. After graduation, he was an assistant professor of education at Rockhurst College in Kansas City until joining Furman University in 1998. As a member of Furman’s Education Department, Dr. Svec teaches all levels of science methods, perspectives on American education, and supervises field placements. He also teaches graduate courses in astronomy and physics for teachers. His professional activities include professional development of teachers, physics education, developing science curriculum, international science education, and inquiry in the K-12 classroom. He is serving on the board of the Roper Mountain Science Center. During the winter/spring of 2005, Dr. Svec was a Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic teaching science education courses at Ostrava and Palacky Universities.
		Dr. Troy M. Terry, Director of Graduate Studies in Education, came to Furman in July 2005. His entire career spans a gamut of educational experiences including teaching high school English and Drama, and serving as a middle school assistant principal and an elementary principal. Dr. Terry is a literacy and service-learning advocate and has presented at county, state and regional meetings on integrated literacy programs in the elementary school, creating an exemplary writing school, service learning, curriculum integration, teaming, reading and writing across the curriculum, grant writing, and humanities-based curriculum. Dr. Terry has authored or edited three publications on curriculum integration: ARISE – Integrating Service Learning into the Curriculum 9-12; ARISE: Service Learning at the Middle Level; and REACH: Integrating the Collaborative Humanities. Dr. Terry completed a doctoral dissertation on the 21st Century Learning Grant’s after-school programs and how they affect individual student achievement on the SC PACT test in 2004. Dr. Terry’s first experience at Furman was serving as an adjunct instructor of service-learning methodology. He has been recognized by a Furman University summa cum laude graduate as a “Master Teacher”. Currently, Dr. Terry oversees all phases of the Graduate program and serves as a professor of School Leadership. Continued research interests include Public School Administration and the Law, Literacy, gender differences in learning, and contextual teaching methodology.
		An Assistant Professor of Education at Furman University since 2002, Dr. P. L. Thomas taught high school English for 18 years at Woodruff High along with teaching as an adjunct at a number of Upstate colleges. He holds an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education (1983) along with an M. Ed. in Secondary Education (1985) and Ed. D. in Curriculum and Instruction (1998), all from the University of South Carolina. Dr. Thomas has focused throughout his career on writing and the teaching of writing. He has published fiction, poetry, and numerous scholarly works since the early 1980s. Currently, he works closely with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the SC Council of Teachers of English (SCCTE). His major publications include a critique of American education, Numbers Games (2004, Peter Lang); a text on the teaching of writing, Teaching Writing Primer (2005, Peter Lang); and books in a series edited by Thomas, Confronting the Text, Confronting the World—his most recent volume being Reading, Learning, Teaching Margaret Atwood (2007, Peter Lang). He has also recently published a work with Joe Kincheloe (McGill University), Reading, Writing, and Thinking: The Postformal Basics (2006, Sense Publishers), and is currently drafting a book on Ralph Ellison along with working with authors for others books in his series. He will be a column editor for English Journal beginning the fall of 2008. His scholarship and teaching deal primarily with literacy and empowering people for social justice through education.