I serve as the director of student teaching and as an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education. I work with the coordinator of student teaching and licensure to arrange the placement and supervision of all student teachers in grades K-12.

I joined the faculty at USI in 1994 after teaching elementary school in Illinois, South Carolina, and Indiana. My area of expertise is literacy education, specifically literature for children and young adults. I have taught undergraduate and graduate courses in children's literature, young adult literature, reading methods, social studies methods, and content area reading.