Veronica E. Valdes started as new Head of Education, Culture and Society Division (ECS) July 1, 2022. She is one of her two new deans at the College of Education this year. Learn more about her Robert Zheng, the new Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology. here.

“Dr. Valdez is going to be an exceptional leader,” said Nancy Songer, Dean of Education“She is passionate about work that engages her community and uses education in meaningful ways that increase access and equity. We have conducted valuable research that has had a significant impact on

As a teacher educator and interdisciplinary researcher, much of Valdez’s research focuses on language teaching and educational inequalities. Her goal is to explore how sociocultural factors (racial language, class, policy, beliefs, etc.) intersect within families, schools, and communities to influence children’s multilingualism, multi/biliteracy, and education. is to understand what forms the trajectory of In fact, Valdez’s latest grant, the multi-year Department of Education (DoE) project APEX (aadvancing P.towards epretty and eXcellence with Educators of Multilingual Learners) demonstrates her passion for work and research, and her commitment to historically underserved communities. Project APEX increases educator effectiveness in teaching diverse multilingual learners and building partnerships with their families and communities. APEX targets parents, para-educators, tutors, support personnel, preschool and in-service teachers as a broad team of educators responsible for shaping the educational experience of multilingual students. Valdez and her diverse all-female team have been so successful that APEX was recently ranked 12th out of 50 national professional development programs funded by the DoE, and is ahead of Texas A&M, Baylor, Purdue and others. We beat our competitors.

In addition to his research and community involvement work with school district partners, Valdes has served in several Special Interest Groups (SIGs) of the American Association for Educational Research (AERA), the largest educational and research institution in the United States. Has extensive leadership experience. Her most recent SIG leadership roles as Chair, Program Chair, and Nominee Chair of the powerful bilingual Education and Research SIG with over 500 members, and various within her Latina/o/x Research Issues SIG With a good commission, Valdez can bring a wealth of skills. and a strong network of collaborators nationwide for her new role as ECS Division Head. In April 2022, Valdez will oversee her nearly 200 SIGs across AERA as Chair of the AERA Special Interest Group Executive Committee and as a member of her AERA Council, the governing body of the AERA Council. , began her new leadership role within AERA, which will last through 2024. Association. The Faculty of Education and her ECS department will benefit from the national and international perspective she has gained through her leadership experience at AERA and her extensive network.

“I look forward to seeing how Valdez advances the mission of ECS and the University in this new role,” Songer said. “ECS is a notable department for its community engagement work and research from data to real-world practices. An ideal candidate to develop into