An Illinois State University professor will be the director of the University of Illinois Springfield School of Education starting this summer.

UIS announced Tuesday that Beth Hatt, a professor of educational administration and foundations at Illinois State, would start as director on June 16. She has spent the past 10 years with the ISU College of Education and holds a doctorate in culture, curriculum and change from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. 

Hatt also has degrees in psychology and sociology from Indiana University – Bloomington.

“Despite all of the challenges in the world today, UIS students are still wanting to major in education to make a difference in their communities,” Hatt said in a statement. “I am thrilled to join the University of Illinois Springfield and feeling very hopeful about the future potential and possibilities.”

UIS formed the School of Education within the College of Education and Human Services in October 2021. The school combines two former departments, one in educational leadership and the other in teacher education, in a single academic unit.

This article was published in The Pantagraph on April 5, 2022. Read the entire article online.