063-Annual-Report-2023-v13 Final pages - Flipbook - Page 7
College of Education welcomes rural education scholar to the
role of department chair
Kristen Cuthrell, Ed.D., joined our college as chair of the Department of Education
and Human Development in early August.
Cuthrell served as director of the East Carolina University (ECU) Rural Education
Institute and professor in ECU’s Department of Elementary Education and Middle
Grades Education. Over the last 15 years, Cuthrell has collaborated with others on
approximately $30 million in externally funded research and outreach focused on
improving and growing community partnerships in rural areas. She served as the
acting state director for the North Carolina Rural Education Association, an affiliate
of the National Rural Education Association, and is the Hub Liaison for the Southeast
Regional Hub in the Rural Schools Collaborative.
“I know from working
with Clemson faculty
through past research
and scholarship that
I’m joining a great
team. I look forward to
seeing that persistent,
solution-oriented work
from the inside.”
Cuthrell served as principal investigator of ECU’s
current Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant
and previously served as co-principal investigator of
ECU’s first TQP grant in 2009. She was a principal
investigator on a federal contract for a statewide
scaling grant for full-service community schools
in North Carolina. Cuthrell intends to utilize her
skill of bringing people together to form innovative,
transformational partnerships within and beyond
her new department.
College of Education welcomes Inaugural Dean’s
Fellow for Rural Education
Darris Means is the College of Education’s first dean’s fellow for rural education, and he
will work to bring every stakeholder in education to the table to address challenges and
opportunities in rural districts and schools, improve student outcomes and celebrate and
enhance the unique learning opportunities inherent in these settings.
“The danger is in approaching things from one angle; education scholars or teachers or
principals will have many answers, but not all of them,” Means said. “What rural schools
and communities need are multi-sector responses that see everyone working alongside
rural communities, spending time listening and thinking about what we can do together.”
For the past 10-plus years, Means has focused on rural education, and his work has
supported youth on pathways to and through higher education. He has seen a greater
need to examine the resources and opportunities available to rural youth, not just
bachelor-awarding institutions but in post-secondary education in general. Means said
resources and opportunities are not the same even across rural locations in the state, so
geographical, social and economic contexts are also critical when discussing education.
Means’ first orders of business are meeting as many people as possible and building relationships. As a native
of Spartanburg, South Carolina, and a Clemson alumnus, Means is no stranger to the state, rurality or Clemson
University. Means knows that sustainable impact only comes from trust and relationships with partners across the
PreK-20+ system of public education, government, business and industry.
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