ATLANTA — Torian White, a candidate in Mercer University’s Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction 2013 cohort, was recently selected as an Emerging Leader by the Association for Supervised and Curriculum Development. He is one of only 36 selected from a large pool of students from around the world.
The program is designed to prepare educators for potential influence and ASCD leadership. The two-year leadership development program is for experienced educators who show promise for future leadership. Students are assigned a mentor to help them enhance their skill set within various leadership pathways. White said he plans to blend his dissertation research interest, student perceptions of effective teaching, with the professional development and writing for ASCD pathways.
“I’m excited to be a part of the Emerging Leaders program, and I’m proud to represent my district, my state and Mercer,” White said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to grow as a professional and I believe this program will equip me with tools to become a more effective educator and help more students in my community.”
White, who lives in Covington, currently serves as an assistant principal at Salem High School in Conyers and hopes to become a principal. In addition, he also hopes to become an adjunct professor at the collegiate level and aspires to be a researcher, scholarly writer and advocate for high-quality schooling, he said.
The recognition was not surprising for those who work with White, said Dr. Karen W. Swanson, director of the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction program and an associate professor in the Tift College of Education.
“Torian is an outstanding member of the cohort,” she said. “This award is exemplary of his leadership at school and in our program. We look forward to the knowledge and skills that this opportunity will provide Torian and thus filter into the conversations and dynamics of our learning community.”
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University enrolls more than 8,200 students in 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies – on major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah and at four regional academic centers across the state. Mercer is affiliated with two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah and the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, and has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. The University operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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