Edwards Named Assistant Vice Chancellor

Sarah Edwards, Ph.D., chair of UNO's Teacher Education Department and a UNO faculty member since 2001, was recently named to the newly-created position of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Curriculum and Programs.

The announcement was made earlier this week by Sacha Kopp, Ph.D., Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and follows a recent announcement regarding changes to the Office of Academic Affairs.

As assistant vice chancellor, Edwards will join the UNO Office of Academic Affairs and oversee the following areas:

• University Honors
• Campus Learning Communities
• General Education/Dual Enrollment and Articulation
• Academic Student Support
• Cirricula and Degrees
• Academic Course Planning

Edwards is the Hollie Bethel Professor of teacher education and has served as chair of the Department of Teacher Education since 2012. The department includes 1,500 active students, 34 full-time faculty and 109 part-time faculty, whose collective work is nationally recognized in the areas of STEM education, early childhood education, library science and more.

Individually, Edwards' research focuses on literacy, culturally responsive pedagogy, diversity, supporting adjunct faculty and shifting academic cultural norms. She is the author of more than 30 academic articles and has helped bring in approximately $5 million in external funding to the campus to support her scholarship.

Among her accomplishments, Edwards initiated a comprehensive redesign of UNO's teacher preparation program with a focus on measured outcomes. She also created the Accelerated Certification for Teachers (ACT) program, which is a graduate pathway for students, leading to teacher certification.

Edwards earned the UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award in 2011 and was the recipient of the Paul Kennedy Diamond Professorship in 2007.

"It goes without saying Dr. Edwards has been a strong, collaborative, and facilitative leader," Kopp said. "It is this commitment and forward-looking approach that I know she will bring to this new role and to the Academic Affairs team."

Edwards has a Ph.D. in teaching and teaching education from the University of Arizona. She has a bachelor's degree and master's degree from Loras College and Friends University, respectively.