Member Spotlight: Teresa Clark
AACTE’s new Member Spotlight features an individual from a member institution, highlighting how their work makes a difference in classrooms across the country. Nominate yourself or another member by providing a response to the following questions and sending to mgrenda@aacte.org.
Get to know Teresa Clark …
Position/Institution: Associate Professor of P-20 and Community Leadership, Murray State University
Number of years in your position: I am in my seventh year at Murray State. I started as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate last summer.
Alma Mater(s): Geneva College (B.A. and M.A.) and Vanderbilt University (Ed.D)
Hometown: I grew up in Beaver, PA, lived in Nashville, TN and now Murray, KY.
- How long have you been a member of AACTE?
My first AACTE conference was in 2015, and I have attended the annual meeting every year since.
- Why did you join AACTE?
I teach in the Ed.D. program, and we brought a group of our students to the AACTE annual meeting in Atlanta in 2015. My College of Education and Human Services was very active in the organization and several of my colleagues were attending.
- Why did you decide to enter the field of educator preparation?
I have worked in higher education since my first role as a graduate assistant nearly 18 years ago. I grew up in a family of educators: my dad was a community college professor and my mom was a preschool teacher.
- What’s been your favorite or most memorable moment of your career so far?
Receiving tenure and promotion in 2020.
- What’s one thing—educator preparation-related or not—you learned in the last month?
I recently finished reading the book written by last year’s AACTE keynote speaker, which has prompted me to think about new examples I can use in the cultural leadership training I teach.
- What has been the greatest challenge in your career?
Balancing innovation with an appreciation for what’s already working well. Practicing intentional creativity, not just for the sake of change.
- What advice would you give someone who is interested in working in this field?
Consider where you can best use your experience and strengths and whether you feel excited, maybe even called, to work in education.
- Who or what inspires you?
Sharing my story and learning those of my colleagues and students. Maintaining a mindset of inquiry.
- What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
When I was an undergraduate student in PA, I was appointed as my county’s Poet Laureate and served in that role until I moved to Nashville.
- What is your favorite part about being a member of AACTE?
With AACTE, I have had the opportunity to serve on the Membership and Capacity-Building Committee and am looking forward to starting a new term on that committee this year.
Tags: member spotlight, membership
