Nancy Dana, professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, has been selected for the 2022 David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award from the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). As a grassroots effort meant to help faculty and administrations better understand the everyday needs of teachers, CPED works not only to help better distinguish the Ed.D. from the Ph.D., but to connect Ed.D. professionals together in an effort to build Ed.D. professionals into transformational leaders that are able to re-think, re-imagine and move forward in education using collaboration and investigation to develop a more enriching curriculum.
The David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award is given to those whose mission is to improve, enhance and reclaim the Ed.D. as the highest quality professional practice doctorate in education. Alyson Adams, associate director for Teaching and Education, who has worked with Dana since 2003, says, “Dr. Dana’s focus on practitioner inquiry led to it being identified as the ‘signature pedagogy’ in the UF Ed.D. program in Teachers, Schools, and Society. She is a recognized expert within CPED and beyond for helping educators name, frame and study problems of practice within their own contexts.”
As a dedicated educator, Dana has published eleven books and more than 100 refereed journal articles and book chapters related to professional learning through inquiry, including “The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Research: Learning to Teach and Teaching to Learn through Practitioner Inquiry” 4th Edition. Moreover, she has won numerous awards, including the University of Florida Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars (2021) and the Association of Teacher Educators Duaine C. Lang Mentoring in Teacher Education Award (2018). Dana was also a finalist for the Robert Foster Cherry Awards for Great Teaching in 2020.
Along with the many achievements under Dana’s belt, she has continued to serve educational professionals with her dedication and service to higher education. According to Gage R. Jeter, clinical assistant professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, who coordinated Dana’s nomination, “The teaching profession and the field of education at large is better off because of Nancy’s steadfast commitment to bridging research, theory and practice through the systematic, intentional and contextualized study of one’s own practice. Countless professionals across the state, nation and world embody an inquiry as stance approach to their work thanks to Nancy and her expertise, leadership and guidance.”
“Dr. Dana is a tremendous asset to the college and our university, through both research and scholarship,” said College of Education Dean Glenn Good. “The far-reaching impact of her career, her influence on teaching and learning, are without measure.”
Dana has also been an integral part of developing the Teachers, Schools and Society program Ed.D., which focuses on helping education professionals use educational theory and research in ways that directly impact their work as instructors, using an interdisciplinary approach to help shape their curriculums and prepare for teaching students in an increasingly diverse world. The University of Florida’s TSS Ed.D. program in Curriculum and Instruction was named Program of the Year by CPED in 2020.
Nancy Dana
