School of Education Mourns Faculty Member John Park

Baylor University mourns the passing of Dr. John C. Park, associate professor of Curriculum & Instruction. Park passed away June 28 after a brief illness. Park joined the Baylor faculty in January 2012.

“John had an impressive national reputation as a teacher-educator and served in many important leadership roles within the profession,” said Dr. Larry Browning, professor and chair of curriculum and instruction. “At Baylor, he always engaged with students and peers in a manner that clearly expressed his Christian beliefs.”

Editorial Accomplishments

Dr. Mar Magnusen, assistant professor of educational administration, has been named associate editor of the Sport Management Education Journal. The academic journal is the official educational journal of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM).

Dr. Rishi Sriram, graduate program director in educational administration, has been selected as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of College Student Development, a higher-education student affairs journal published by the American College Personnel Association.

Dr. Lakia Scott, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, won a best paper award in the entertainment division from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Co-authored with Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez, associate professor of journalism, the paper addresses rap music literacy.

Diplomate Designation

Dr. Alex Beaujean, associate professor of educational psychology and director of the School Psychology program, earned the designation of Diplomate from the American Board of Assessment Psychology.

ABAP is the only international certification board for doctoral-level psychologists with specialized expertise in psychological testing, test development and test battery administration.

Statewide Elections

Dr. Sandi Cooper, professor and coordinator for mathematics education in Curriculum & Instruction, was elected to serve as 2017-19 president of the Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics (TCTM).

Dr. Randy Wood, professor of curriculum and instruction, was elected vice-chair of the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) for a two-year term.

New Faculty

The Department of Educational Psychology welcomed Dr. Nicholas Benson as associate professor in the School Psychology program. He was previously associate professor and school psychology program coordinator at the University of South Dakota.

He holds both a PhD and EdS in school psychology from the University of Florida. Benson’s primary fields of study are psychological assessment, human intelligence, academic achievement and temperament.

Dr. Leanne Howell, who has served as visiting clinical faculty for two years, joined the faculty in Curriculum & Instruction as clinical assistant professor. She is also University liaison to Spring Valley Elementary, a Professional Development School campus. Howell earned a PhD in curriculum and instruction and urban education from Texas A&M and holds two degrees from the Baylor School of Education.

Faculty in Residence

Dr. Karon LeCompte is the new faculty-in-residence in Allen-Dawson Hall, Baylor’s Living-Learning Center for Leadership.

All residents of the LEAD LLC are taking a leadership course through the School of Education’s Department of Educational Administration.

LeCompte is assistant professor of curriculum and instruction and has been teaching leadership courses for several years.