Mission and History

The College leads UF’s drive to establish the University of Florida Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies. With a $1 million gift from UF education alumna Anita Zucker, the center becomes a research, training and model demonstration site where top UF scholars—in fields as diverse as education, medicine, law, public health and the life sciences—collaborate with local, state and national partners to advance the science and practice of early childhood development and early learning. Patricia Snyder becomes the center’s founding director.

The College is granted full, continued accreditation of its educator preparation programs by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Examiners cite exceptional strengths in faculty teaching and research, high-quality students, statewide outreach and school –improvement partnerships, and diversity efforts in faculty and student recruitment.

The UF Lastinger Center for Learning receives $6 million in federal education stimulus funds to expand its revolutionary Florida Master Teacher Initiative for early-learning teachers in Miami-Dade. The initiative offers a new degree track in early childhood education and teacher leadership as part of the job-embedded professional development and advanced degree program.

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, a genuine coal miner’s daughter and holder of two UF education degrees, receives UF’s 2011 Distinguished Alumna Award.

The College’s job-embedded Teacher Leadership for School Improvement (TLSI) graduate degree program wins the Association of Teacher Educators’ coveted 2011 Distinguished Program in Teacher Education Award. The national honor recognizes outstanding teacher preparation programs that are developed and administered through collaboration between local school districts and university-based teacher education programs.

P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School Director Lynda Hayes and COE science education Professor Rose Pringle receive $5 million from the National Science Foundation to transform how science is taught in Florida’s middle schools. The reform effort — called U-FUTuRES (short for UF Unites Teachers to Reform Education in Science) — further strengthens collaborative activities between the College and its longtime K-12 laboratory school.

Glenn E. Good, an education and counseling scholar and an associate dean at the University of Missouri College of Education, is named the 13^th dean of the UF College of Education. He succeeds Catherine Emihovich, who steps down after nine years at the helm to resume teaching and research on the UF education faculty.

To better prepare its teachers-in-training, the Unified Elementary ProTeach program year introduces the yearlong internship as the culminating experience for teacher candidates in their graduate year of the five-year program.

The College improves 18 places to 24th in the U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of America’s Best Graduate Education Schools. UF’s College of Education is Florida’s highest ranking education school, is No. 1 among public education colleges in the Southeastern Conference and is UF’s highest ranked graduate school in any discipline. The College also has four academic programs ranked in the Top 20 nationally: special education (4^th), student counseling/personnel services (9^th), elementary education (18^th) and curriculum and instruction (19^th).

The U.S. Department of Education awards a grant worth $25 million over five years to UF special education scholars Mary Brownell, Paul Sindelar and Erica McCray to establish a landmark, 20-state program charged with transforming professional standards and the preparation of teachers serving students with disabilities. The award — leading to the creation of the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development and Accountability and Reform, also known as the CEEDAR Center — is the College’s largest grant ever.

Aiming to bring teacher education into the 21st century, the College converts a vintage 1979 reading clinic in Norman Hall into a prototype “smart” classroom, where professors incorporate the latest education technology into their teacher preparation instruction.

P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, the College’s laboratory school since 1934, opens its new, beyond-state-of-the-art elementary wing. Experts describe the building’s “learning community” set-up as a national model for school building design in the 21st century.

UF’s historic, five-year Florida Tomorrow capital campaign concludes, with generous alumni and supporters contributing nearly $30 million to the College of Education—the College’s most successful fundraising campaign ever.

COE 1965 graduate Delores Lastinger, a leading Northeast Florida civic leader, philanthropist and former high school teacher, is recognized as a 2012 University of Florida Distinguished Alumna.

The Florida Department of Education awards $2 million to the College to create STEM-Teacher Induction and Professional Support, also known as STEM-TIPS, a statewide professional development support system for new science and math teachers in their first two years on the job.  The “teacher induction” effort is aimed at reversing the lack of support that historically drives nearly one-third of new science and math teachers from the classroom by their third year of teaching.

Alumnus Eric Grunder (MEd ’94) is one of seven educators across the country to receive the 2012 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in a spring ceremony at the White House.

UF’s investment of state Preeminence funds in priority research initiatives involving the College of Education allows the College to hire four distinguished faculty scholars in early childhood studies (two appointments), educational technology, and research and evaluation methods.

In another Preeminence initiative, the university turns to the College of Education to help lead the campus-wide development of UF Online, one of the nation’s first fully-online bachelor’s degree programs at an accredited public university.

The Lastinger Center for Learning launches Algebra Nation, a powerful, Web-based tutoring resource that within its first year would support a quarter-million algebra students from 900 schools in all 67 Florida counties.

In a state-supported effort, the College collaborates with Florida’s six historically black colleges and universities to provide 150 at-risk minority students, particularly young black males, with role-model mentors and other services.

UF’s interdisciplinary Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies is renamed for education alumna Anita Zucker in recognition of her $5 million donation — the College’s largest gift ever by an individual — to expand the growth and outreach of the center’s programs in early learning and the healthy development of our youngest children.

The dual certification track of the COE’s Unified Elementary ProTeach program becomes one of the first teacher prep programs in the nation to receive accreditation from the International Dyslexia Association.

Film crews from two major online education outlets — Harvard University and Edutopia.org — visit the campus of UF’s P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School to film the laboratory school’s novel K-12 teaching and learning methods and record activities of the learning communities supported by the architectural design of its new elementary building.

Four philanthropic foundations contribute a combined $4 million to support the UF Lastinger Center’s creation of Early Learning Florida, a first-of-its-kind, online professional development platform for Florida’s 55,000 early learning educators. The spinoff benefit will be improved learning and development for hundreds of thousands of young children by providing new tools and resources to build the skills of early learning professionals.

Faculty researchers accumulate a record high $86.4 million in total external research grants, a 78 percent increase since 2010-2011.

With support from the Florida Department of Education, the COE establishes a new Center of Excellence in Elementary Teacher Preparation to help lead reform in the state’s elementary teacher preparation programs. The College partners with Alachua County Public Schools to work with several local high-needs schools serving as the effort’s proving ground.

The Lastinger Center creates the UF Coaching Academy to “re-imagine” teacher professional development, providing teachers and school leaders with access to collaborative peer coaching tools and a portfolio of seven individual teacher coaching certificate programs.

The College’s national standing continues to rise after earning four No. 1 ratings in the U.S. News & World Report magazine’s annual rankings of America’s Best Graduate Programs in Education. UF is the highest ranked education school in Florida and among public schools in the Southeastern United States. The College also received top billing for it online graduate program in education, and received the nation’s highest score for online student selectivity — considered a benchmark indicating the high quality of students enrolled.

COE prominent scholar Maureen Conroy is chosen as UF’s first Anita Zucker Professor in Early Childhood Studies. Conroy is a key player in one of the College’s and UF’s core research priorities to advance the practices and policies of early childhood development and learning.

Since its inception in 2011 with funding from the National Science Foundation, the College’s U-FUTuRES master’s degree program graduates 37 practicing middle-school science teachers who mastered intensive instruction on teaching a new and powerful, hands-on curriculum with demonstrated promise for increasing student engagement. With their new designation as Science Teacher Leaders, the graduates return to their schools and districts to pass on what they learn to hundreds of other teachers in 20 Florida school districts, impacting thousands of students . . . With the five-year NSF grant completed, the Science Teacher Leader program is rebranded as U-FUTuRES 2.0 and transformed into a one-year accelerated certificate program.

College of Education faculty hold $97 million in external research awards–an all-time high. The College’s external funding doubles in value over the past five years. A major award is a $9 million federal grant to create a Precision Education Virtual Learning Lab to test novel approaches for advancing and personalizing online and multimedia instruction.

For the second straight year, U.S. News & World Report ranks the UF College of Education’s distance-learning graduate program in education No. 1 in the nation.

UF has been the highest rated education college in Florida overall almost every year since U.S. News began the graduate school rankings in 1983. UF also ranks as the best public college of education in the southeastern United States for the second straight year.

Three programs were also ranked by U.S. News — Special Education was rated fifth, Counselor Education eighth and Elementary Education 14th. 

College of Education faculty hold $102.1 million in external research awards – another all-time high. This included 47 new funded awards and a 5.2 percent total increase in award value. 

The planning and design phase of long overdue renovations of aging Norman Hall begins after the Florida Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott allocate nearly $29 million for the project combined from the current and previous annual state budgets. The top-to-bottom building rehab project is expected to be completed by fall of 2019 and fully operational by January 2020.

Early-childhood leaders from the University of Florida and around the country gather in Orlando in February for a three-day national summit hosted by UF. The experts and scholars collaborate to develop ambitious action steps to elevate the early childhood movement to new heights. The college’s Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies is the hub of UF’s top-priority initiative to advance early childhood learning, health and development.

The College is granted full, national re-accreditation of its educator preparation programs by the Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparation (CAEP), the nation’s sole accreditor of teacher education programs. Council examiners cited no areas for improvement and praised the college’s commitment to its students, its rigorous academic programs and the meaningful engagement between the college and its public school partners to create high-quality clinical experiences. The College has earned continuous national accreditation since 1954, when the accreditation process was first implemented.

Building on a $25 million award from the U.S. Department of Education in 2013, the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR Center) receives another $21 million to boost its efforts to improve teaching and school leadership for students with disabilities nationwide. 

The School of Special Education, School Psychology and Early Childhood Studies launches the fully online Dyslexia Graduate Certificate program to help current educators and practitioners develop the knowledge and skills to provide individualized reading interventions for students with dyslexia.

UF continues to remain the highest rated education college in Florida. The College of Education remains the best public college of education in the Southeastern United States for the third straight year and garnered No. 2 in the nation for online graduate education programs.  

Two programs were also ranked by U.S. News — Special Education maintained fifth and Counselor Education rose to fifth.

Reaching a record high once more — College of Education faculty gained a 26 percent increase in research funding, earning more than $128 million. 

UF launches a bold initiative to tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges, committing more than $17 million to funding UF-wide projects. As part of this initiative, the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies creates the A to Z’s of Early Childhood. This national campaign offers robust, quality and up-to-date information and resources informed by the science of early childhood development and learning for families, caregivers, practitioners and policymakers.

Best-selling author James Patterson commits $3 million to double the number of Florida children who can read at grade level. In partnership with the UF Literacy Institute, Lastinger Center for Learning and P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, the James Patterson Literacy Challenge is providing Florida schools intensive professional development and coaching. 

The Institute of Higher Education celebrated its 50th anniversary. With this milestone came the retirement of long-time institute director Dale Campbell. Justin Ortagus, assistant professor of higher education administration and policy, is his successor. 

Don Pemberton retires as director of the Lastinger Center and Philip Poekert succeeds him in this role. 

The Southwest Advocacy Group, along with community partners including the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies, opens the CHILD Center for Early Learning to provide excellent, affordable childcare to families in Southwest Gainesville. 

Thomasenia Lott Adams, professor of Mathematics Education and associate dean for Research and Faculty Development, delivers the commencement address at the UF 2018 Fall Doctoral Commencement Ceremony.

The College of Education co-hosts the 2nd annual UF Social Justice Summit: For the Gator Good, bringing together scholars, experts, members and advocates of marginalized groups, and other concerned individuals from the university and community to discuss priorities and set aggressive action strategies for eradicating social and racial injustices and biases in the greater Gainesville area.

Christopher Busey, assistant professor of Curriculum, Teaching, and Teacher Education, and Nicholas Gage, Special Education Assistant Professor are named the B.O. Smith Research Professors. 

Triple Gator Gerardo González is named a UF Distinguished Alumnus, the highest honor a graduate can achieve.

UF continues its streak as the higher ranked education college in Florida. According to U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, the college regained its No. 1 position for online graduate education programs and ranked in four specialty program areas — No. 3 in Counselor Education, No. 7 in Special Education, No. 16 in Elementary Education and No. 18 in Curriculum & Instruction. 

Yet again, College of Education faculty increased research funding by 21 percent to a record breaking $155.2 million. 

The College of Education launches the Bachelor of Arts in Education Sciences degree program with four areas of concentration — Schools, Society, and Policy; Educational Technology; Education Psychology and Research; and Disabilities in Society. 

The Lastinger Center for Learning, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Professional Development in Education, hosts the Leadership for Professional Learning Symposium opening a collaborative dialogue on the challenges facing education. 

Erica McCray, associate professor of Special Education, becomes the director of the School of Special Education, School Psychology and Early Childhood Studies, succeeding Associate Professor of Special Education Holly Lane. 

Patricia Snyder, director of the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies, is named a UF Distinguished Professor. She is only the seventh College of Education professor to receive this distinction. 

Best-selling author James Patterson commits an additional $4.5 million to the James Patterson Literacy Project to begin phase two of the project and expand its reach. 

Buffy Bondy, professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, receives the UF Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars Award for Education. 

Nancy Dana, professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, is a 2020 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching finalist. 

Ester De Jong, director and professor of the School of Teaching and Learning, receives the UF Research Foundation Professorship. 

Zhihui Fang, professor in Reading and Literacy Education, becomes the 2019-2021 Irving and Rose Fien Endowed Professor in Education, succeeding Maria Coady, associate professor of ESOL/Bilingual Education. 

Angela Kohnen, assistant professor of Literacy and English Education becomes the 2019-2021 B.O. Smith Research Professor. 

P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School breaks ground on Phase II of its campus revitalization effort, building a state-of-the-art secondary 6-12 building. 

The Education Policy Research Center is established, with a mission to stimulate and support scholarly research on relevant and timely education policy issues and to disseminate the findings widely to students, educators scholars, and policymakers.

UF remains the top rated college of education in Florida and No. 12 among the nation’s top public colleges of education, according to U.S. News & World Report. Online graduate education programs ranked No. 2 in the nation and four specialty areas were also recognized — Counselor Education rose to No. 2, Special Education remained No. 5, Elementary Education received No. 23, Curriculum & Instruction gained No. 24, and Education Administration rose to No. 28. 

College of Education faculty garner 146 active research awards and $102.8 million in active research funding. 

Over the last three years, 45 new faculty have joined the College of Education ranks, expanding domain expertise in the areas including: advanced learning technologies, counselor education, early childhood, educational leadership, educational psychology, higher education administration, math education, school psychology, special education, teacher education, and research evaluation and methodology.

The $31.5 million Norman Hall Rehabilitation project is complete and Norman joins the list of green buildings at UF, receiving a Gold Level Certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. In partnership with UF Sustainability, 96% of the existing building was preserved while meeting the needs of modern students. 

In response to the growing need for online reading instruction following the global pandemic, the UF Literacy Institute launches the Virtual Teaching Resource Hub. The hub has more than 2.3 million global views and counting. 

Mary Brownell, professor of Special Education and director of the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) Center, is named a University of Florida Distinguished Professor.

UF regains its position as America’s Best Online Graduate Education Program, according to U.S. News & World Report. The college has held the top one or two spots since 2016 and remains the top college of education in Florida.

Among top public colleges of education, UF garnered No. 13.  All eligible specialty program areas were also ranked — Special Education: No. 4; Counselor Education: No. 5; Elementary Education: No. 13; Curriculum and Instruction: No. 16; Secondary Teacher Education: No. 16; Higher Education Administration: No. 22; and Educational Administration: No. 26.

Active research funding reached a record-breaking $228.4 million and faculty earned 201 active research awards. The Institute for Advanced Learning Technologies (IALT) was formed to transform education through artificial intelligence, big data and data mining, computational psychometrics, machine learning and other forms of emerging technologies.

Thomasenia Adams, associate dean of research and faculty development, was appointed to the U.S. National Commission on Mathematics Instruction.

Sarah Ann Painter (M.Ed.’12) was named the 2022 Florida Teacher of the Year by the Florida Department of Education.

Patricia Snyder, UF Distinguished Professor and director of the Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies, was recognized with the Kauffman-Hallahan-Pullen Distinguished Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children Division for Research.

Pengfei Zhao, assistant professor of qualitative research methodology, has been named a recipient of the National Academy of Education and Spencer Foundation’s Postdoctoral Fellowship for the 2021 year.

The Lastinger Center for Learning is reducing barriers to student success by implementing the new $200 million literacy initiative, New Worlds Reading Initiative.

Out of the country’s top public colleges of education, UF is No. 14. Additionally, the specialty programs were also ranked — Education Programs: No. 2; Special Education: No. 5; Counselor Education: No. 6; Curriculum and Instruction: No. 16; and Elementary Education: No. 22. Additionally, the college earned No. 2 in the nation for online graduate education programs

$133 million was raised for newly funded research awards within the college.

Kakali Bhattacharya received the Egon G. Guba Award for Outstanding Contributions to Qualitative Research, AERA Qualitative Research SIG.

Christopher Busey, associate professor in the Teachers, Schools, and Society program in the School of Teaching and Learning was awarded the 2022 Early Career Award, AERA Social Studies SIG.

Nancy Dana, professor of education, was selected for the 2022 David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award from the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED).

Rob Moore, assistant professor of educational technology, was awarded the Charles M. Reigeluth Emerging Researcher Award, AECT.

The Lastinger Center for Learning celebrated its 20th year of transforming teaching and learning through education innovation, now impacting more than 1,000,000 children and 50,000 educators per year.

The Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) Center has been approved for another $17.5M from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant extends the project for a third time, allowing UF to continue supporting efforts across the nation to ensure that every student has effective teachers and leaders.

Once again, UF is ranked No. 1 in the 2023 Best Online Education Programs by U.S. News & World Report. The cCollege ranked top 10 in all specialty areas: Special Education, No. 2; Curriculum and Instruction, No. 3; Instructional Media, No. 4; and Educational Administration, No. 6.

The College of Education at the University of Florida achieved another milestone, ranking No. 10 among public education colleges in the 2023-2024 Best Graduate Education Schools by U.S. News & World Report. UF remained the top-ranked education college in the state and advanced five spots to No. 18 among all, public and private, U.S. colleges of education.