JOHNSON CITY (Sept. 20, 2022) – East Tennessee State University is one of 32 providers of educator preparation from 16 states, Puerto Rico and Jordan to receive recognition for their leadership and commitment to continuous improvement.
The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) recently announced that ETSU is a recipient of the 2022 Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement. Recipients of this honor provided evidence and data trends to achieve accreditation with no stipulations or areas for improvement.
The Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement is named after the founding president of the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). CAEP was created by the consolidation of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and TEAC. Murray was the founding president of TEAC, served as chairman of the Board for TEAC and was also an initial member of the CAEP Board of Directors. He was a key advocate for a single set of educator preparation standards to unify the profession and was instrumental in the merger that created CAEP. He also served as the dean of the College of Education at the University of Delaware from 1979 to 1995.
“Frank Murray was passionate about education preparation, a prominent leader in our profession, and an advocate for evidence to improve education. The providers that CAEP is recognizing are committed to continuous improvement and preparing their students to succeed in a diverse range of classrooms after they graduate,” said Yuhang Rong, chair of the CAEP board of directors. “CAEP accreditation is a sign of commitment to quality through purposeful use of evidence. The Murray Leadership Recognition recipients should be proud of their accomplishments.”
Recipients of the 2022 Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement are selected from the educator preparation providers (EPPs) that were granted accreditation by CAEP at the initial level from the previous year, who provided a full complement of evidence with demonstrated data trends and no stipulations or areas for improvement. Providers selected for recognition advance equity and excellence in educator preparation through purposeful use of self-study procedures and evidence-based reporting that assure quality and support continuous improvement to strengthen P-12 learning. These EPPs use inquiry and assessments to establish quality assurance systems to drive improvement.
The Clemmer College at ETSU is home to programs of study that focus on improving the quality of life in the region and beyond through teaching and learning, physical and mental health, and leadership, management and coaching.
Clemmer’s academic programs, K-12 laboratory school, and four research and practice Centers (Community College Leadership, Early Childhood Learning and Development, STEM Education and Sport Science and Coach Education) all provide opportunities for research and professional outreach.
“For more than a century, ETSU has trained educators to improve the quality of life for the people of our region, so we are proud to be recognized among the top educator preparation providers in the nation,” said Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkle, provost and senior vice president for Academics.
Students of the Clemmer College can pursue nine undergraduate degrees, 16 minors, 23 graduate degree programs, and 14 graduate certificates, as well as doctorate programs in early childhood education, educational leadership and policy analysis, and sport science and coach education.
“Our students and alumni are changing lives day in and day out in classrooms and in their communities,” said Dr. Janna Scarborough, dean of Clemmer College. “This recognition is further validation of their important work and the work that our faculty and staff do every day to ensure that we provide an education program that is second to none.”
CAEP accreditation serves the dual purposes of accountability and continuous improvement. Four hundred and seventy-one educator preparation providers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have been accredited under the CAEP Standards. The CAEP accreditation process evaluates the performance of providers and focuses particularly on whether candidates will be prepared, by completion, for the challenging responsibilities that educators face in America’s classrooms. Approximately 600 educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP Accreditation system, including many previously accredited through former standards.