Monika Williams Shealey, Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, is mission-driven and committed to collaborative community uplifting. She is proud to join the CEHD at Temple University because of the college's mission and commitment to excellence in education within an urban context. Dean Shealey is the first female dean in history of the College of Education and Human Development and is excited to begin her work in the college and in the community.
"I am thrilled to join the Temple community and work collaboratively with students, faculty, and staff, as well as internal and external partners, in carrying forth the vision and mission of the College of Education and Human Development." Shealey added, "I look forward to leading our efforts in demonstrating our commitment to social justice and community uplift through our curricula and programming, recruitment and retention of faculty and staff, dedication to student success and service to diverse communities."
Social justice in education has been a passion of Shealey's since her undergraduate years. Initially a business major at the University of South Florida, Shealey changed her major in her sophomore year after taking a special education class. She recalls learning about the landmark Larry P. v. Riles case, when the families of five Black students in California filed suit after students were segregated and placed in special education classes based on scores from a single IQ test. Shealey recalls being outraged about the treatment of the students in the case and wanting to make a difference for students and within school systems. As a result, Shealey changed her major and decided to be a part of changing the trajectory. She chose to be an advocate to ensure all special education students have access to the general education curriculum.
"The roots of who I am as a leader come from my time as an educator, so I am always educating as dean; even in my previous role as senior vice president, I educated my colleagues in the cabinet and our entire university community around issues of DEI. That is a part of my responsibility as a leader, to always create that kind of climate and culture where we are all learning," Shealey said.
"Creating that culture is important to me, and it drives my leadership style. I am collaborative at every level because it's who I am; that is how I started as a special education teacher," Shealey added.
She has memories of walking in classrooms begging general education teachers to let her in the classroom to help not just the children that she was assigned, but other children without a diagnosis who needed support. That is just a part of how Shealey is as a professional.
She strives for educational excellence for students and defines success broadly. "Student success is the whole student's personal, social, and emotional well-being and ensuring we are attending to the needs of our students and facilitating those connections students make with faculty, staff and administrators," Shealey commented.
"Those kinds of connections will carry students through their entire life. All of us can tell stories of how we connected with people either through undergrad or graduate experience, and we have continued to lean on people as mentors or people in our network, and that is a part of the excellence that we already have in the College of Education and Human Development. I'd like to ensure we sustain that excellence," Shealey added.
Shealey's research interests include examining the intersection of urban and special education, experiences of traditionally marginalized groups in teacher and special education, and culturally responsive practices in special education. Additionally, Shealey is chair of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). AACTE is the leading voice on educator preparation and represents more than 800 postsecondary education institutions with educator preparation programs.
Shealey has held academic appointments at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Florida International University in Miami; and the University of Missouri at Kansas City, where she served as associate dean. Shealey joined Rowan University in 2013 as the first African American Dean of the College of Education. In 2019, she was tapped by President Ali Houshmand to serve in her most recent (inaugural) position to lead the new Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Division was the first of its kind in the region and strives to be a model for systemic change in higher education that results in equitable outcomes for students, faculty, and staff.
Shealey received her BA in Specific Learning Disabilities and MA in Varying Exceptionalities from the University of South Florida. She earned her EdS in reading and learning disabilities from the University of Miami and her PhD in education from the University of Central Florida.
Her research has focused on examining the experiences of minoritized groups in special education and Black women in teacher education and leadership.