The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE

 Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; scarr@unm.edu

March 2, 2009

UNM Announces Three Finalists for College of Education Dean

Provost Suzanne Ortega has announced the names of three finalists for the position of dean at the University of New Mexico College of Education. Finalists include Mary John O’Hair, James Middleton and Richard Howell. Each individual has been scheduled for an open forum and candidate presentation with interested faculty, staff and students.

The open forums will be held as follows:

Mary John O'Hair - Wednesday, March 4
9 - 10 a.m., College of Education TEC Center, Room 101

James Middleton - Friday, March 6
9 – 10 a.m., College of Education TEC Center, Room 101

Richard Howell - Tuesday, March 10
9 – 10 a.m., College of Education TEC Center, Room 101

Brief biographical information for each is listed below.

Mary John O’Hair
O’Hair is currently the vice provost for School and Community Partnerships and professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma. She is founding director of OU’s K20 Center for Educational and Community Renewal (K20 Center), a statewide, interdisciplinary research and development center that connects the University with more than 500 schools and communities across Oklahoma.

As principal investigator of more than $40 million in funded research projects, O’Hair has focused on leadership development; diversity and equity; organizational learning and systemic change; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; economic development (i.e. K-12 biotechnology schools); global education, and technology integration and virtual learning (i.e. digital game-based learning).

James Middleton
Middleton is professor of Mathematics Education, associate senior vice provost, and director of the Center for Research on Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology at Arizona State University. Middleton’s research interests focus in the following areas where he has published extensively: Children’s mathematical thinking; Teacher and Student motivation in mathematics; and Teacher Change in mathematics.

To fund his research, Middleton has garnered more than $20 million in grants to study and improve mathematics education in urban schools. He just finished a $1.8 million research grant to model the longitudinal development of fractions, rational number and proportional reasoning knowledge and skills in middle school students, and is currently engaged in a project studying the sustainability of changes in urban elementary teachers’ mathematics practices.

Richard Howell
An alumnus of the University of New Mexico having earned all three degrees at the institution, Howell currently serves as the interim Dean of the College of Education at UNM. In this capacity, in which he has served the past year-and-half, he is responsible for the administration, support and facilitation of College-wide initiatives. Howell’s background is in special education and instructional systems design, with an emphasis in the development of instructional systems for students with disabilities.

His special education background has led to the development and research of assistive robotic tools as well as instructional software for children with a range of disabling conditions. He has secured and managed more than $10 million in federally funded research and development projects over his career. In addition, Howell was a co-principal investigator of a large principal leadership project, LeadNM, involving the principals from 27 Northern New Mexico school districts.

                                                                                        
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