School of Education celebrates the contributions of 10 faculty members retiring in 2020-2022
As the academic year draws to a close, the School of Education community will gather this week to recognize the extraordinary contributions of 10 faculty members who have retired over the past two years. Individually, they have served between 17 and 38 years; collectively they’ve given 239 years of service to William & Mary.
Bruce A. Bracken taught a diverse collection of psychologically oriented courses during his 41-year academic career. During his 20-year tenure at William & Mary, he was a prolific scholar and his publishers estimate that between 5 and 10 million individuals have been evaluated using one of his many assessment instruments. His most notable tests, the Bracken Basic Concept Scale and the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test, set standards for equitable assessment practices through innovative measurement approaches and techniques, and through their socially and culturally sensitive items and artwork. He provided significant leadership to the profession and was awarded more than $6 million in external research funding. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. Bracken on his Kudoboard
Johnston M. Brendel Ed.S. '94, Ed.D. '96 arrived on the W&M campus for graduate studies in 1992 and served as the student clinical director of the New Horizons Family Counseling Center from 1995-1996. After a stint at Texas A&M, he returned to William & Mary to join our counseling faculty in 2005. In his 17 years of service at William & Mary, he has been devoted to producing exemplary members of the counseling profession. He lent his expertise and leadership in advancing field experiences for our counseling students, helping to design the clinic space in the new school building, and developing the online program in counseling. He was appointed by three Virginia governors to serve on the Virginia Board of Counseling, representing William & Mary and serving the counseling profession across the Commonwealth. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. Brendel on his Kudoboard
Michael F. DiPaola '69 received his undergraduate degree in secondary education from William & Mary, then returned to his alma mater, teaching courses in educational policy, planning and leadership for 22 years. He served in a variety of leadership roles within the university, initiating long-standing university partnerships with local school divisions to assist them in training and developing leadership. He was instrumental in the creation of the Executive Ed.D. program, as well as the development of hybrid and online courses that provided opportunities to serve doctoral students nationwide. His work on developing leadership in school districts continues into his retirement. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. DiPaola on his Kudoboard
Victoria A. Foster brought a wealth of knowledge with her to William & Mary in 1992, having had extensive clinical experience working with children and families in crisis. She launched the marriage, couples and family counseling specialization here at W&M, the first of its kind in Virginia. Her appointment also included primary responsibility as director of the New Horizons Family Counseling Center. In her nearly three decades working with New Horizons, funding grew from $7,000 to $95,000 annually, with $100,000 in additional funding from the Williamsburg Health Foundation to serve high-risk families. Her work has positively impacted thousands of local families, not to mention the many William & Mary students who benefited from her mentorship and support. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. Foster on her Kudoboard
Charles F. Gressard’s 28 years of service to William & Mary have been dedicated to producing outstanding clinical mental health, school and addiction counselors, and counselor educators who have become leaders in the profession. He initiated and directed the counselor education program’s initial accreditation from CACREP and designed and implemented the addiction counseling specialization. In 2009, he launched New Leaf Clinic, which has not only served as a training site for hundreds of counseling students but has also served the W&M community by providing counseling services for over a thousand students disciplined for alcohol or other drug violations. He has a long history of service and leadership both within the university and far beyond, serving across the commonwealth and nationally to advance the field of counseling. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. Gressard on his Kudoboard
Judith B. Harris began her career as a computer-using K-6 teacher in 1980 and has been a true pioneer in curriculum-based technology integration. We recruited her to William & Mary in 2002 as Professor and Pavey Family Chair in Technology Integration, the first named professorship established at the School of Education. She coordinated our Ph.D. programs in both Curriculum & Educational Technology and Curriculum & Learning Design, mentoring scores of future educational leaders. She pioneered e-mentoring for teachers and her extensive research addresses educators’ pedagogical knowledge, design and learning. Together with Mark Hofer and colleagues at seven other universities, Judi developed and tested web-based taxonomies of learning activity types and professional learning that help in-service and preservice teachers integrate educational technologies in their classrooms. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. Harris on her Kudoboard
Charles R. McAdams served four years as a UDT/SEAL combat swimmer with the U.S. Naval Inshore Warfare Command before pursuing his career in counseling. During his 26 years as a William & Mary faculty member, he has been actively engaged in teaching, scholarship and service, pursuing research on mental health crisis prevention and intervention with a significant focus on client violence and suicide. In 2000, he became faculty co-director of the New Horizons Family Counseling Center. His service to the university and the profession are extensive. In the School of Education, he served as department chair, coordinated the development of online programs in counseling and proposed the curriculum for the military and veterans counseling specialization. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. McAdams on his Kudoboard
Virginia L. McLaughlin '71 leads this impressive group with an amazing 38 years of service to William & Mary. An undergraduate alumna, she returned to her alma mater in 1983 as an assistant professor of education. She served as associate dean, then was invited by newly-appointed President Timothy Sullivan to become his chief-of-staff. She then returned to the School of Education as dean, a role she held for 18 years. Her accomplishments as dean make a long list, but highlights include restructuring academic programs, increasing the quality and diversity of the faculty and student body, and developing important partnerships with schools and agencies. She led the university’s efforts to acquire property, secure funding, design and construct our beautiful building, bringing all of the school’s programs and projects under one roof in 2010. There are few, if any, whose impact on the life and legacy of this school are greater. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. McLaughlin on her Kudoboard
Gene Allen Roche came to William & Mary in 1998 as director of communications and organizational development for the office of Information Technology and assumed the role of Director of Academic Information Services two years later. In that role, he was responsible for supporting faculty in using technology in their research and teaching. He was also appointed as a clinical faculty member in the School of Education, working with Higher Ed and Curriculum and Educational Technology. He worked as a member of the planning team for the Executive Ed.D. program and was instrumental in designing e-learning outreach for courses in Arts and Science and the Business School. In his role as practitioner/scholar, Gene has been a leading advocate for problem-based learning and self-direction in his teaching, research and service. The students in his final class in Educational Planning provided much of the foundational research that contributed to the launch of the Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation in 2019. Read the full retirement resolution.
Leave a message for Dr. Roche on his Kudoboard
Carol L. Tieso worked for 16 years as a middle and high school teacher in California before pursuing her Ph.D. in educational psychology and gifted education. She joined the faculty here in 2005, fulfilling the roles of teaching, scholarship and professional service including coordination of the gifted education teacher preparation program. Her primary areas of expertise include curriculum pedagogy and the social and emotional needs of gifted, talented and creative students. She served as associate dean for academic programs for three years, then transitioned to her role as the main instructor for doctoral-level quantitative research design and methods courses. Read the full retirement resolution.
