Dr. Robert Helfenbein, Dr. Loleta Sartin Appointed Associate Deans in College of Education

1522
College of Education in Atlanta

ATLANTA/MACON – Dr. Robert J. Helfenbein and Dr. Loleta D. Sartin were recently appointed to associate deanships by Dr. Thomas Koballa, dean of Mercer University’s Tift College of Education, effective July 1.

Dr. Robert Helfenbein
Dr. Robert Helfenbein

Dr. Helfenbein will serve as associate dean for research and faculty affairs in Atlanta. He is currently associate dean and professor of teacher education and curriculum studies in Loyola University Maryland’s School of Education.

“Dr. Helfenbein brings experience as an associate dean and expertise as a researcher and author to the position of associate dean for research and faculty affairs,” said Dr. Koballa. “In this position, he will collaboratively develop and enact initiatives to energize the College’s research culture and also work with chairs and program directors to guide faculty recruitment and orientation, promotion and tenure procedures, and annual faculty review.”

Dr. Helfenbein earned his Ph.D. in culture, curriculum, and change and B.A. in secondary education (history) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his M.A. in social science education from Appalachian State University.

His research interests include curriculum theory, urban education, cultural studies of education, qualitative methods, educational foundations and social studies education.

He previously served as co-director of the Center for Innovation in Urban Education at Loyola University Maryland and as associate professor of curriculum studies and director of the Center for Urban and Multicultural Education at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.

Dr. Helfenbein served as editor of the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, president of the Foundation for Curriculum Theory, and has been heavily involved in the American Educational Research Association.

Dr. Loleta Sartin
Dr. Loleta Sartin

Dr. Sartin will serve as associate dean for academic affairs in Macon. She is currently associate dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences and chair of the Department of Teacher Education and Social Work at Middle Georgia State University.

“Dr. Sartin will provide college-level leadership in curriculum and its delivery, assessment and accreditation as associate dean for academic affairs,” said Dr. Koballa. “Her service as a Council for Accreditation for Education Preparation annual report reviewer, Georgia Professional Standards Commission site visitor, and department chair and associate dean, along with her familiarity with K-12 education in Georgia positions her well to guide the College to new heights in these critical areas.”

Dr. Sartin earned her Ph.D. in higher education administration from Saint Louis University, M.Ed. in gifted education (elementary and secondary) from Drury University and B.A. in elementary education (first through eighth grades) from Southern University at New Orleans.

Her research interests include assessment, accreditation and teacher and leader education.

She has been working in education for more than 20 years, beginning as a fourth-grade teacher in New Orleans Public Schools in New Orleans, Louisiana. She later accepted a position at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, as director of the Developmental School Program coordinating the partnership between Springfield Public Schools, Drury and Yale University, in addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses.

Dr. Sartin was a founding faculty member of the School of Education and developed the teacher education program at Macon State College (now Middle Georgia State University).

She is president-elect of the Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, chair of the Membership Committee for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, a member of the Diversity Committee for the Association of Teacher Educators and president emeritus of the Georgia Reading Association.

About the College of Education

Mercer University’s Tift College of Education – with campuses in Macon, Atlanta and the University’s two regional academic centers – prepares more professional educators than any other private institution in Georgia. Named for the former women’s college that merged with Mercer in 1986, the College of Education offers baccalaureate and graduate degrees, and is guided by the conceptual framework of the “Transforming Educator,” which supports those who aspire to grow professionally throughout their careers, while also seeking to transform the lives of students. For more information, visit education.mercer.edu.