MERREC announces five new Faculty Fellows
The Minority Educator Recruitment, Retention and Education Center (MERREC), a center affiliated with the VCU School of Education, has announced five new MERREC Faculty Fellows.
The Faculty Fellows are:
- Andrene J. Castro, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Educational Leadership, VCU School of Education
- Jason Chow, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, University of Maryland College of Education
- Christopher J. Cormier, Ph.D., postdoctoral research fellow, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University
- Taryn Goodwin Traylor, Ph.D., BCBA, LBA, assistant professor and Region I Autism Program coordinator, VCU Autism Center for Excellence
- Adria Hoffman, Ph.D., Anna Lou Schaberg Professor of Practice, Department of Teaching and Learning, VCU School of Education (serving as Faculty Affiliate)
“We’re very excited about this new program,” said LaRon A. Scott, Ed.D., executive director of the center and associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Special Education. “With this initiative, our primary goal is to create opportunities for scholars in the field who are interested in attracting, supporting, and retaining underrepresented minority teachers and developing high-impact scholarship to help solve some of the barriers these educators face.”
Fellows are required minimally a one-year commitment, and will serve as research leaders within MERREC with access to existing internal and national data aimed at reducing barriers for minoritized teacher educators. They will also have the opportunity to collaborate with a network of faculty and doctoral students to develop research, grants and other scholarship-related activities aligned with MERREC initiatives.
MERREC’s core mission is to improve society’s respect for underrepresented minoritized educators. They are particularly interested in attracting, supporting and retaining minoritized educators of color.
Congratulations to the five new MERREC Faculty Fellows!