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Looking Back on 43 Years of Training Teachers


Dr. Karen Nery, dean of School of Education.

The desire for an education was strong in Drs. Frank Weyer and Margaret Giesbrecht. The first chairman of Campbell University’s Department of Education, Weyer rode a pony 20 miles across the Nebraska prairie to attend high school. Giesbrecht, a former dean of the School of Education, embarked on an educational career by borrowing $100 to go to teacher’s college in her native Canada.

Weyer, Giesbrecht, and other dynamic figures helped to shape Campbell University’s School of Education over the last 43 years. They expanded it to serve the community, added new graduate and undergraduate programs, and made it practical for the times. But they have done nothing to change the essential “can do” spirit upon which the school was founded.

“We’re one of the strongest programs in the state, if not the strongest,” said Dr. Karen Nery, the school’s present dean. “I think we’re such a success because our students have the ability to put theory into practice, and that comes from having a lot of field experience.”

Since Campbell’s Department of Education was founded in 1961, the program has had a community focus. Dr. Willard Swiers, who joined Weyer’s staff in 1967 and later chaired the department himself, once directed a four-week summer institute for teachers in isolated rural school districts. The 250 participants received intensive instruction designed to equip them as leaders of in-school training programs for teachers.

Today, the School of Education partners with the Harnett County School System in several programs that send students into the community to train as counselors, teachers, and social workers. The “Educator on Loan” project, sponsored by the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Instructional Technologies Division in partnership with Campbell’s School of Education and the Harnett County School System, also integrates Campbell and the community, allowing outstanding Harnett County educators to collaborate with Campbell’s School of Education on innovative, mutually beneficial projects. The School of Education’s computer lab and resource center is also available to Campbell education majors, as well as Harnett County teachers who work with Campbell students, and Campbell provides software for student teachers to take into the classroom and share.

Another visionary leader was Dr. Theo Strum, who succeeded Swiers and became the first dean of the School of Education when it was established in 1985. She first came to Campbell as a professor of education after serving as Dean of Women and dean of the college at Elon. She was promoted to chair of the Education Department in 1976.

As a member of the North Carolina Committee for Teacher Education Program Evaluation and the North Carolina’s Quality Assurance program, Strum understood the importance of participating in education at the state level. She was instrumental in the development of teacher education programs and the establishment of the standards for determining the competency of professional public school educators. Under Strum’s leadership, the School of Education added graduate programs that achieved accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the North Carolina State Board of Education.

When Strum died in 1990, Dr. Norman A. Wiggins, Campbell’s then president and current chancellor, was quoted as saying, “The foundation of Campbell University quivered early Sunday morning when Dr. Theo Strum died.”

Strum’s successor, Giesbrecht, also served at the state level. She was a member of the Evaluation Committee, which reviewed accreditation team reports on the Teacher Education program and made recommendations to the State Board of Education and served on the Task Force, making recommendations for the New Advanced Masters Competencies for master’s programs.

In addition, Giesbrecht initiated collaborative grant writing projects, obtaining an equipment grant that helped furnish the instructional technology classroom at Campbell, and was a key figure in the establishment of ongoing partnerships with the Harnett County community. She led Campbell through two successful joint national and state accreditation efforts for all teacher education programs at Campbell and an initial accreditation review of the Social Work program by the Council on Social Work Education.

 “Our mission as a school of education is to serve individuals, families, and communities, especially in our rural areas,” Giesbrecht said. “As a faculty, we have always tried to promote that.”

Dr. Karen Nery, who became dean of the School of Education in 1999, continues to perpetuate the legacy of her predecessors. Under Nery’s leadership, the school is in the process of adding a Birth-Kindergarten program, which will prepare teachers to work with children in pre-school settings.

“Dr. Karen Nery has led the School of Education in an exemplary manner,” said Dr. Jerry M. Wallace, president of Campbell University. “She has enhanced the school’s successful tradition, while responding to opportunities to develop new programs that will serve our region and the entire state of North Carolina.”

The Campbell University School of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the State Board of Education, and The Council on Social Work Education. The undergraduate program offers licensure in the areas of elementary education; middle grades education with concentrations in language arts and social studies; secondary education in the areas of English, mathematics, biology, and comprehensive social studies; vocational education (7-12) in Family and Consumer Sciences, and special subjects (K-12) in the areas of physical education, music, French, and Spanish.

Graduate level programs include elementary education (K-6); middle grades education (6-9) with a concentration in language arts or social studies; secondary education (9-12) areas of English, mathematics, history, special subjects (K-12) in physical education; and special service personnel (K-12) in the areas of school counseling and school administration. The school also offers master’s degrees in community counseling and school administration.


Bulletin 0182-06/17/04

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