Education

Welcomes New Dean

In August, the Lipscomb College of Education welcomed a new dean: K-12 and higher education veteran Dr. Leslie Cowell, former professor and dean of the College of Education at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama.

From 2011 to 2022, Cowell served at Faulkner in several administrative roles as well as a faculty member and as dean of the education college for six years.

Cowell’s accomplishments while at Faulkner include leading a successful accreditation process, launching a partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), engaging in grow your own partnerships and transitioning academic programs to online delivery methods. In addition, she has also secured and managed nearly $2 million in grants.

In addition to her work at Faulkner, Cowell volunteered her time and expertise as director of the preK program at

Innovation in learning institute celebrates 10th anniversary

The Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation celebrated 10 years on the front lines of Tennessee’s education system in November. It was established in 2012 by then-College of Education Dean Candice McQueen and lead donors Jim and Janet Ayers, founders of the Ayers Foundation. Partners, supporters and leaders gathered at a celebratory breakfast on campus to recall and honor the founding of the institute.

The institute is designed to support teachers and leaders in improving student outcomes through proven professional learning, to incubate innovative instructional ideas and resources, and to serve as a bridge between policy and practice, as well as between educators in preK-12 and higher education in rural and urban, public and private school settings.

Common Ground Montgomery, a nonprofit organization that focuses on youth development and leadership. She also served on the board of the Alabama School Readiness Alliance, was a Women’s Foundation of Alabama fellow, region four director of the Alabama Afterschool Network Hub and was a member of the Alabama Association for Colleges of Teacher Education executive committee.

Cowell’s reputation as a collaborative leader, relationship builder and connector positions her well to further the vision and goals of the College of Education.

Through its programming and digital resources, the Ayers Institute has reached educators in every county in Tennessee, every state in the nation and more than 135 countries around the world. Ayers resources include: customized partnerships, coaching academies, online resource-sharing portals, online courses and resource libraries, podcasts and webinars.

Jim and Janet Ayers have helped more than 6,000 high school students go to college through scholarships provided through their foundation. They have proven to be a valuable partner for the institute, which established the Ayers Leadership Fellows program providing scholarships for aspiring school leaders throughout the region to earn a master’s or Ed.S. with administrative licensure from Lipscomb.