Academic Vice President Brent W. Webb has announced the appointment of Mary Anne Prater as dean of the David O. McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University.
She succeeds K. Richard Young, who will return to his faculty appointment in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, and she will begin her five-year term as dean July 1.
"Dr. Prater received broad support from the faculty, strong endorsement from the search committee, and she has the full confidence of the BYU administration," said Webb. "She brings a combination of faculty and administrative experiences that prepare her well for this new responsibility."
"The search committee had a difficult task because there were several very qualified candidates. I take this opportunity to thank publicly the search committee, the candidates, and those of you who participated so thoughtfully and energetically in this process," he said.
"I am also deeply grateful to Dean Young who has provided fine service to you and has brought insights and skills to our university councils," said Webb.
A professor and former department chair in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, Prater received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Utah and a doctorate in special education, instructional technology and educational administration from Utah State University.
She was a faculty member at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1990 to 2001 and at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale from 1987 to 1990. She was also a post-graduate fellow at the University of Kentucky, Lexington.
Prater is the author or co-author of seven books and dozens of academic journal articles on teaching students with developmental difficulties as well as special and general education topics.
BYU operates one of the largest nationally accredited teacher preparation programs in the nation. The BYU Educator Preparation Program consists of the McKay School of Education and more than 25 departments from seven colleges across the campus. The program has been fully accredited since 1954.
To ensure the quality of its educator candidates, the EPP aligns its curriculum and instructional practices with the standards for teachers and administrators developed by the Utah State Board of Education. By grounding its programs in national and state educator standards, BYU uses the best practices in the field as determined through rigorous research and review while ensuring it prepares high quality candidates to work with the state’s children and youth.
For more information, contact Roxanna Johnson, roxanna_johnson@byu.edu, (801) 422-1922.
