Teresa Taber Doughty, associate dean of learning at Purdue University, has been named as the dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Doughty will begin her new duties on Aug. 1.
Doughty was selected through a national search and brings more than 30 years of experience as an educator, faculty member and university administrator, and as teacher to children with disabilities in Alabama and Georgia before moving into faculty positions at Georgia State University, Oglethorpe University and Purdue.
Doughty is a past president of the Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children and is the organization’s current executive director. During her 17-year career with Purdue, she represented the university on the Indiana Commission for Higher Education’s Statewide General Education Transfer Core Task Force, the national Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparation Board of Visitors and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Board of Examiners.
Doughty has contributed to research that examined effective instructional strategies leading to increased community participation for individuals with severe disabilities and autism, assistive technology, stimulus control and transition planning. In 2013, she was inducted into the Purdue Book of Great Teachers, Center for Instructional Excellence.
“Dr. Doughty is a national scholar and proven leader who, through research, scholarship and teacher preparation, has helped to shape and enhance instruction for thousands of students across top-ranked institutions. I am confident that she will bring that same blueprint for success to UTA,” said President Vistasp M. Karbhari.
Doughty said she will assess the needs and priorities of the College of Education faculty while looking strategically to expand current initiatives, doctoral programs, and to perhaps introduce new instructional pathways.
“I plan to build relationships with the North Texas community and P-12 schools to ensure greater access to the College’s existing programs,” she said. “Faculty and staff have positioned the College of Education to be at the forefront of technology, and we will place great emphasis on technology literacy as well as articulate the value of a college education as a research learning institution. The focus should be on impact and on helping to shape and improve instruction across the institution.”
Doughty earned her undergraduate degree in special education from Auburn University and her master’s degree and Ph.D. from Georgia State University.