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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (Feb. 25, 2003) – The woman responsible for earning the Air Force’s early childhood education programs congressional accolades has accepted a faculty position at Milligan College. Beverly L. Schmalzried, Ph.D., will join the college’s faculty in June as a professor and chair of the education area.
“Beverly is truly an impressive person who brings national credentials to lead Milligan’s education area,” said academic dean Mark Matson, Ph.D.
Schmalzried has previously taught at Kansas State and the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where she also helped the national Department of Health, Education and Welfare develop and establish the national Head Start program.
But for the past 20 years, Schmalzried has been the senior manager responsible for all planning, policy and resource management of the Air Force’s programs for children and youth. This includes 143 child development centers, 85 family day care programs, 83 after school programs, 85 youth programs, 69 community centers around the world, and a budget in excess of $300 million per year.
Under her guidance, the Air Force’s early childhood education programs were designated as a “model for the nation” by the former administration, United States Congress and the National Women’s Law Center. She also set the standard for the Department of Defense by requiring and helping all Air Force school age programs to achieve national accreditation.
“I am looking forward to joining the fine staff at Milligan and having the opportunity to work with them in preparing young men and women for success as teachers in Tennessee and other states,” said Schmalzried, who is retiring from the Air Force and was looking to continue her work in education in a small liberal arts college similar to the one she herself attended.
She was quickly attracted to Milligan’s program. At Milligan, Schmalzried will lead a program whose faculty was singled out last year by the college’s accrediting board for “exemplary practice in teaching and exceptional service to their students and the community.” The college’s education program is also fully approved by the Tennessee Department of Education and is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
Schmalzried will teach early childhood education courses and lead the college’s education area, which includes undergraduate teacher education programs in early childhood, middle grades, secondary and select K-12 specialty fields, such as music, theatre and physical education. The college also offers a Master of Education program at both the initial licensure and advanced levels.
“Dr. Schmalzried will ensure that we continue to maintain our high standards and become an even greater resource for our local school community, especially in light of President Bush’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ standards that are being developed,” said Matson.
Schmalzried holds an M.S. in family and child development from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in child development from Florida State University. She will begin her role at Milligan in June.