Dr. Deborah Eldridge Named Academic Vice President of WGU's Teachers College

SALT LAKE CITY, April 4, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dr. Deborah Eldridge has joined Western Governors University (WGU) as Academic Vice President, Teachers College. Dr. Eldridge will lead program strategy, curriculum development, accreditation, and licensure for the online Teachers College, which offers programs leading to teacher licensure as well as graduate programs for teachers. WGU's Teachers College is one of the largest in the country, with more than 20,000 enrolled students in all 50 states.

Learn more about WGU's Teachers College at www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees.html.

"Dr. Eldridge's experience and leadership will ensure that the programs and curriculum offered at WGU will continue to produce high-quality, well-prepared teachers," said Sarah DeMark, Vice President of Program Development at WGU.

Before coming to WGU, Dr. Eldridge was a Senior Vice President at the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the governing body that formed from the merger of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC). While serving in that role, she drafted the preliminary policies and procedures of CAEP and provided overall administration for all accreditation operations.

Prior to her work at CAEP, Dr. Eldridge was engaged in teacher preparation as a professor of literacy education, department chair of Curriculum and Instruction at Hunter College and Montclair State University, an Associate Dean responsible for accreditation at Hunter College, and then Dean of Education at Lehman College of the City University of New York. She was the primary author of two Teacher Quality Partnership grants/awards from the United States Department of Education: one for Lehman College and one for the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Eldridge is a nationally recognized presenter on accreditation, and is the author of numerous books and articles on teacher preparation and accreditation.

WGU's Teachers College, the first fully online teachers college to earn NCATE accreditation for its programs leading to teacher licensure, offers bachelor's, post-baccalaureate, and master's degrees for aspiring and already-licensed teachers and K–12 leaders. Established in 2003 with the support of the U.S. Department of Education, WGU's Teachers College is a leader in STEM education and a top producer of math and science teachers throughout the nation. The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) ranked WGU's secondary math education program in the nation's top one percent and the National Science Teachers Association nationally recognized WGU's eight science programs.

About WGU

Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves 95,000 students nationwide and has 103,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation's leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 21 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing the workforce needed in today's rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and was featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at www.wgu.edu.

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SOURCE Western Governors University

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