Brigham Young University Academic Vice President Justin Collings announced today that Sarah Clark has been named the new dean of the McKay School of Education.
Clark’s tenure is effective immediately. She replaces Kendra Hall-Kenyon, who had served in that role since 2022 and was recently named an associate academic vice president.
“Sarah Clark will make a superb dean of the McKay School of Education,” Collings said. “She brings to this position a wealth of experience both in the public schools and in the academy. She is an excellent scholar, a gifted leader and a master teacher. Most importantly, she is a committed disciple of Jesus Christ who loves this university, its mission and our students. She will continue the work of her predecessor, Kendra Hall-Kenyon, in helping the McKay School to prepare graduates who will teach after the pattern of the Savior, and she will deploy her own unique vision and gifts as she helps BYU become the university of prophecy and promise.”
For more than 30 years, Clark has been involved in the field of education through a variety of roles, including classroom teacher, curriculum developer, author, editor, instructional coach, consultant, researcher and university professor.
Since July 2023, she has worked as an associate dean in the McKay School. She has also served as department chair and a professor in the Department of Teacher Education.
Clark’s research is centered on identifying ways to improve and enhance the instruction that all children receive and specifically examines the intersection between the child, the classroom instruction and the teacher.
Before joining the BYU faculty in 2017, she spent eight years as an assistant professor at Utah State University.
Clark earned a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, with a specialization in teacher education and literacy instruction from Utah State University. She received a Master of Arts degree in education with a specialization in language, reading and culture, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from the University of Arizona.
