Update on the College of Education Dean Search

March 18, 2021

To: Georgia Southern Faculty, Staff and Students
From: Dr. Carl Reiber, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

I am delighted to announce that Dr. Sharon Subreenduth has been selected as the next dean of the College of Education. We conducted a national search for this vital position and Dr. Subreenduth emerged as the most qualified and best-suited person to lead the college forward. Her appointment at Georgia Southern begins on July 1, 2021.

Dr. Subreenduth brings a strong and diverse track record of accomplishments and experiences as an administrator, researcher, educator, and community collaborator. Currently, she serves as the Associate Dean (for Academic Affairs, Research and Graduate Studies) and full professor in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell (UML). Prior to her role at UML, she was a full professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, and Co-Director of the International Democratic Education Institute in the College of Education and Human Development at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Among her responsibilities as Associate Dean at UML, Dr. Subreenduth spearheaded recruitment and retention efforts that resulted in increased enrollment for the College of Education during the ongoing pandemic. She also was instrumental in graduate program redesign, developed a new undergraduate non-licensure option to provide flexibility for non-traditional students, and created initiatives with K-12 school district partners and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to diversify the teacher workforce.

Dr. Subreenduth grew up in South Africa under apartheid, and that experience has guided her scholarship, which focuses on decolonizing research and building diverse Communities of Practice through critical engaged inquiry. Theoretically, her work focuses on anti-oppressive schooling, curriculum, pedagogy, and identity. Methodologically, she pursues socially responsible research within global-local educational contexts. She has developed partnerships with educators from more than 32 developing and/or post-colonial countries across three continents.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Subreenduth to Eagle Nation.