New faculty appointments 2021-22 The Penn State College of Education welcomes six new faculty members this fall. Each individually brings expertise that will strengthen our already stellar faculty ranks. Collectively, they add a dimension that will accelerate our ability to identify and address the systemic inequities that impede many individuals from meeting their full potential in meaningful ways. Together, we will build upon our college’s existing commitment to progressive social change through internal and external collaborative efforts to change education by educating for change. The individuals highlighted here joined our faculty on July 1, 2021.
Dr. Mildred Boveda, associate professor (special education)
Dr. Aaron Campbell, assistant professor (special education)
Dr. Brandy Henry, assistant professor (rehabilitation and human services)
Dr. Mildred Boveda comes to us from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State, where she was assistant professor of special education and cultural and linguistic diversity. She earned her Ed.D. in exceptional student education Mildred Boveda from Florida International University, and her Ed.M. in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Dr. Aaron Campbell earned her doctorate in educational psychology with an emphasis in special education from the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. She earned Aaron Campbell her master’s degree from North Carolina Central University, and currently is an online instructor of the Teaching Special Education course at Baylor University.
Dr. Brandy Henry comes to us from a joint appointment at the Columbia University School of Social Work and Mailman School of Public Health, where she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the National Institute Brandy Henry on Drug Abuse funded Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System. She received her doctorate and master’s degrees in social policy (behavioral health track) from the Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
In her scholarship, Dr. Boveda uses the terms “intersectional competence” and “intersectional consciousness” to refer to educators’ understanding of diversity and how students, families and colleagues have multiple sociocultural markers that intersect in complex and nuanced ways. She designed the Intersectional Competence Measure to assess teachers’ preparedness for an increasingly diverse student population.
Dr. Campbell has focused her research on preventive and intervention strategies for children with and at risk for social, emotional and behavior problems with a specific focus on African American learners and improving academic outcomes. Her research is guided by her education, practicum and work experience in clinical psychology. Learn more about Dr. Campbell in her directory entry.
Learn more about Dr. Boveda in her directory entry.
Dr. Janice Byrd, assistant professor (counselor education)
Janice Byrd
Dr. Janice Byrd comes to us from Kent State University, where she was assistant professor in the Counselor Education and Supervision program. She earned her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision from the University of Iowa.
Dr. Byrd has experience working on teams to facilitate campus and community diversity trainings and has spoken on topics related to anti-racist pedagogy, advocacy and equity in school counseling. Her scholarship seeks to situate the lived experiences of students of color within the broader ecological context to systematically examine how their personal, social, academic and career success is interrupted and/or enhanced by school, family, community settings, relationships and policies throughout all stages of the educational pipeline. Learn more about Dr. Byrd in her directory entry.
Dr. Henry leverages years of practice experience as a clinical social worker, providing behavioral health services to criminalized populations to ground her research in the complexity of translating research to inform policy and practice. Learn more about Dr. Henry in her directory entry.
Dr. Paul Harris, associate professor (counselor education)
Dr. DeMarcus Jenkins, assistant professor (education leadership)
Dr. Paul Harris joins us from the University of Virginia, where he was associate professor in the Counselor Education program and a faculty affiliate with the Center for Race and Public Education in the South. He completed his Ph.D. in counselor Paul Harris education from the University of Maryland, where the program’s emphasis was on promoting systemic equity, access and justice in schools through counseling.
Dr. DeMarcus A. Jenkins comes to us from the University of Arizona College of Education where he was an assistant professor of education policy studies and practice and an affiliate in the Department of Geography. He earned his Ph.D. DeMarcus Jenkins from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from the Division of Urban Schooling.
Dr. Harris’ research focuses on investigating the college and career readiness needs and promise of underserved students; analyzing the identity development process of Black male student-athletes, and specifically the role of school counselors in facilitating their multidimensional sense of self; and examining the pre- and in-service school counselor training to ensure implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs that promote equity, access and justice.
Dr. Jenkins is an activist and urban scholar whose work considers the intersections of race, space and policy. His research focuses on the influence of spatial, social and political factors that foster and exacerbate inequalities for Black populations as well as the approaches that school leaders take to disrupt and transform these dynamics. Consistent throughout his research are practical solutions for school leaders and policymakers.
Learn more about Dr. Harris in his directory entry.
Learn more about Dr. Jenkins in his directory entry.
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