Martha Bigelow named new Chair of Curriculum and Instruction

Professor Martha Bigelow has assumed the role of Department Chair in Curriculum and Instruction (C&I), effective January 4.

Bigelow joined Curriculum and Instruction in in 2000. Over the years, she has held leadership positions in numerous departmental, college, and university committees, most recently as the Director of Graduate Studies in C&I.

“Martha brings with her a commitment to the goals of C&I and CEHD regarding racial justice with scholarship and leadership in the improvement of educational experiences and success of traditionally marginalized students and communities,” said Interim Dean Michael Rodriguez.

Bigelow is a well established scholar in the intersecting fields of education, applied linguistics, and cultural studies. Much of her work is grounded in local East African Diaspora communities, and she has extensive international experiences in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, Vietnam, and India in the areas of language (teacher) education, curriculum redesign, and language policy. Her empirical and theoretical work explores questions related to second language acquisition, the schooling experiences of adolescent youth, pre/inservice language teacher education, and multi/intercultural education.

Martha holds a BA in English from the State University of New York College at Cortland (with secondary English certification), an MA in language and linguistics from the University of New Hampshire (with K-12 ESL certification), and a PhD in applied linguistics from Georgetown University (through Title VII funding).

“I look forward to serving the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, ” says Bigelow. “We are a talented, productive, diverse, and hard-working department. I am committed to and will always prioritize our ongoing work toward creating equitable, safe, anti-racist spaces to work and learn. As we face inevitable obstacles and opportunities, I look forward to collaborating with the college, everyone in our department, our school partners, and our communities.”

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