News & Events
Department of Specialized Education Services
Professors
J. David Smith, Ph.D. Department Chair
Columbia University
J. David Smith earned both baccalaureate and graduate degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University. He was awarded a second master’s degree and his doctorate from Columbia University.
His professional experience includes work as a public school teacher, counselor, professor, dean and provost. He has made numerous invited presentations to national and international audiences and regularly contributes to the professional literature on education, human services, and public policy through journal articles. He is the author of eleven books. One of the integrating themes of Dave Smith’s research and writing has been a concern for the rights and dignity of people with disabilities.
Contact Information:
Office: 212A Ferguson Building
Phone: 336-334-3738
Email: jdsmi24@uncg.edu
Bill Bursuck, Ph.D.
University of Illinois
Dr. Bill Bursuck received his PhD from the University of Illinois. Prior to becoming a professor, he taught for nine years in the public schools as both a general and special education teacher. Bill’s main areas of interest are early literacy for children who are at-risk, inclusive practices for students with disabilities, and conducting applied research in public school settings. Bill has obtained over two million dollars in grant funding over the course of his career and has published numerous research articles on a variety of topics in special education including at-risk reading, and homework, grading, and testing adaptations for students with disabilities.
Contact information:
Office: 206 Ferguson Building
Phone: 336-334-3222
Email: wdbursuc@uncg.edu
back to top
Marilyn Friend, Ph.D.
Indiana University
Special Interests: Collaboration and Staff Development
Dr. Marilyn Friend is the chairperson of the Department of Specialized Education Services and is appointed as Professor in that department. She joined UNCG's faculty in the fall of 1999, coming from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis where she was the coordinator for special education programs and Professor. She has also worked as a faculty member at Northern Illinois University and the University of Oklahoma.
Dr. Friend's interests relate primarily to the topic of collaboration, that is, how the professionals and others who provide services to individuals with disabilities create working relationships that foster creativity and productivity. She has co-authored a book on collaboration with Dr. Lynne Cook of California State University, Northridge, Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals, due out in January 2000 in its third edition. In addition, she has co-authored with Dr. William Bursuck of Northern Illinois University a textbook on inclusive practices for classroom teachers: Including Students with Special Needs-A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers. The second edition of the text was published in 1999. Dr. Friend is also a well-known staff developer and seminar presenter. She has worked with teachers in most of the 50 states as well as in several other countries, including Canada, Portugal, and Indonesia. She assists professionals to develop effective co-teaching skills, create and maintain effective teams, and problem solve with parents and families.
Contact information:
Office: 205 Ferguson Building
Phone: 336-256-0153
Email: m_friend@uncg.edu
Judith A. Niemeyer, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University
Areas of Interest: Special Education Research & Early Childhood & Family
Dr. Judy Niemeyer received her degree from Vanderbilt University in the area of Special Education with a concentration in Early Childhood and Families. She teaches courses in the undergraduate interdisciplinary Birth-Kindergarten (B-K) program, graduate program in Birth through Kindergarten Interdisciplinary Studies in Education and Development (BK:ISED), and the Special Education program. She has a special interest in issues related to including young children with disabilities in regular early childhood settings and family involvement. She is currently the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department and Coordinator of the BK: ISED program.
Contact Information:
Office: 204 Ferguson Building
Phone: 336-334-3447
Email: janiemey@uncg.edu
Ada L. Vallecorsa, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh
Area of Interest: Special Education
Dr. Ada Vallecorsa is the Associate Dean of the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She also holds an appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Specialized Education Services in the School of Education. Dr. Vallecorsa teaches graduate level courses in learning disabilities, instructional practices for students with mild disabilities and special education research. She also has been involved for a number of years in development of distance learning programs for teachers, which are both satellite- and internet-based. Dr. Vallecorsa's research has primarily focused on issues related to the development of writing skills among students with learning disabilities and the use of alternative approaches to assessment in special education.
Dr. Vallecorsa is the co-author (with Naomi Zigmond and Laurie U. deBettencourt) of Students with Mild Disabilities in General Education Settings: A Guide for Special Educators (Merrill, 1999). She is also co-author (with Naomi Zigmond and Rita Silverman) of Assessment for instructional planning in special education (Prentice-Hall, 1983) and co-author (with Laurie deBettencourt and Elizabeth Garris) of Evaluation of special education programs (1992). She has written numerous articles dealing with the education of students with disabilities, particularly those with learning disabilities, that have appeared in Exceptional Children, Education and Treatment of Children, Teaching Exceptional Children, Learning Disabilities Forum, and other professional journals. Dr. Vallecorsa serves as an editorial consultant for Exceptional Children and is the president-elect of the North Carolina Council for Exceptional Children's Teacher Education Division (NC-TED).
Mary V. Compton, Ed.D.
University of Virginia
Area of Interest: Education of the Deaf
Mary V. Compton received her doctorate from the University of Virginia in Communication Disorders and her master's degree in Education of Deaf Children from Smith College. A licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, Dr. Compton teaches courses in language development, language and deafness, and auditory-oral communication development. Dr. Compton received the UNCG Non-tenured Faculty Alumni Teaching Excellence Award in 1996. Dr. Compton's current research focuses on communication development and auditor-oral learning in young deaf and hard of hearing children. She has published articles in American Annals of the Deaf, Education and Treatment of Children, and Journal of Interpretation. Dr. Compton is a manuscript reviewer for The Volta Review and she is the immediate Past-President of the Association of College Educators: Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Contact information:
Contact information:
Office: 317 Fergsuon Building
Phone: 336-334-3771
Email: mvcompto@uncg.edu
back to top
Nicole Dobbins, Ph.D.
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Area of Interest: Emotional/behavior disorders, autism, administration.
Dr. Nicole Dobbins received her PhD from the University of Nevada Las Vegas in the area of Special Education, with concentration in emotional/behavioral disorders, autism, and administration. Her scholarship has focused on the effectiveness of educational strategies, social skills training for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities, social skills instruction provided to general and special education teachers in their pre-service and in-service training, effective classroom management, multicultural education, and school-wide discipline. She has presented on these topics at several national conferences over the last few years.
Her professional experience includes working as a special educator teacher and project facilitator. As a classroom teacher, Dr. Dobbins has provided instruction in self-contained classrooms for elementary and secondary students with emotional/behavioral disabilities, learning disabilities, and mental illness in schools primarily located in diverse neighborhoods in which the majority of the families lived in poverty.
Dr. Dobbins has taught at the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as mentor educators teaching in the disability areas of emotional/behavioral disorders, autism, mental retardation, and early childhood special education. As a mentor, she has provided teachers with classroom support in the areas of behavior management, academic/behavioral assessment, and curricular design.
Contact Information
Office: 203 Ferguson
Phone: 336.334.4645
Email: n_dobbin@uncg.edu
Belinda J. Hardin, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Areas of Interest: International Early Childhood Education & Special Education
Belinda J. Hardin received her doctoral degree in Early Childhood, Families, and Literacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Hardin is an experienced public school teacher (regular and special education) and author of numerous publications for professionals and parents working with inclusive preschool services. She has directed local and national projects serving children with disabilities and their families, including the ARCH National Resource Center for Respite and Crisis Care Services. Currently, Dr. Hardin teaches courses in the undergraduate interdisciplinary Birth-Kindergarten (B-K) program. Her research interests include cross-cultural studies examining issues related to quality services for young children in inclusive settings both in the US and Latin American countries.
Contact information:
Office: 318 Ferguson
Phone: 336-256-1083
Email: bjhardin@uncg.edu
Stephanie Kurts, Ph.D.
Areas of interest: teacher preparation for inclusion, preservice experiences that impact teacher attitudes and beliefs toward inclusion, and peer coaching.
Dr. Stephanie A. Kurtts received her Ph.D in Curriculum and Teaching from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1998 with an emphasis in inclusive and special education. She received her M.A.Ed. in Special Education at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC in 1975. She is an experienced special education teacher who has worked in the classroom at the elementary, middle, and secondary level.
Dr. Kurtts has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in instructional methods for children with disabilities, assessment for children with disabilities, issues in special education, and consultation and collaboration. She has been a facilitator of on-line courses for teachers receiving add-on licensure in learning disabilities and behavioral and emotional disabilities. In addition to teaching, she has extensive experiences with planning and implementing programs for community service agencies for special needs populations including directing a North Carolina Department of Human Resources grant providing collaborative programs for individuals with mental handicaps.
Dr. Kurtts has presented papers and published on preparing preservice teachers to meet the needs of children with disabilities in inclusive settings. Along with Dr. Ada Vallecorsa, she recently presented on online teacher preparation for the national conference of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children. She has frequently presented papers at the national meeting of the American Education Research Association, the Eastern Educational Research Association, the North Carolina Teacher Education Forum, and the international conference on Technology and Individuals with Disabilities-California State University, Northridge. Her most recent article on peer coaching with preservice teachers appeared in Teaching Education, an international education journal
Dr. Kurtts’ research interests include teacher preparation for inclusion, preservice experiences that impact teacher attitudes and beliefs toward inclusion, and peer coaching.
Office: 208 Ferguson Building
Phone: (336) 256-1080
Email: sakurtts@uncg.edu
back to top
Dr. Ben Smith, Ph.D.
Areas of interest: applied behavior analysis, positive behavioral supports.
Dr. Benjamin W. Smith is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Specialized Education Services. He received his Masters of Science (1998) and Ph.D. (2000) from the University of Oregon. His areas of interest are applied behavior analysis, positive behavioral supports, functional behavioral assessments, social skills instruction, and school variables related to the development of stable patterns of antisocial behavior. Prior to joining the department in the Fall of 2006, Dr. Smith was the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Smith currently teaches several courses related to positive behavior supports, behavior disorders as well as courses related to the undergraduate teacher training program. He recently completed a four-year federally funded project investigating the effective assessment of, and interventions for reducing the occurrence of coercive escalation patterns between teachers and students. He works with several school districts on effective implementation of PBS models of school-wide discipline, and regularly presents nationally. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and licensed Special Education teacher.
Contact information:
Office: 209 Ferguson Building
Phone: 336-334-3448
Email: bwsmith@uncg.edu
back to top
Glenda Torres, M.A.
Georgia State University
Area of Interest: Education of the Deaf
Glenda S. Torres received her Masters Degree in the Education of Deaf Children from the Georgia State University and holds a Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC) from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). She has taught deaf and hard-of-hearing children at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels for 12 years and has been a professional interpreter for more than twenty years. As coordinator of the Educational Interpreter Preparation Program, she teaches classes in American Sign Language and educational interpreting and supervises interns in the field. Each summer, Glenda conducts a summer institute in cooperation with NC Public Schools to provide training for interpreters currently working in the school system.
Contact information:
Office: 316 Ferguson Building
Phone: 336-334-3772
Email: gstorres@uncg.edu
back to top
Mr. Sam Parker
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Areas of interest: Interpreter training, theatre
Assistant Clinical Professor, Mr. Parker is a Licensed Professional Interpreter for the deaf holds a CSC certification with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and has worked as a community interpreter across the nation for the past 25 years. As an instructor Sam has presented many workshops nationally for the past ten years and has taught workshops on Grammar, Classifiers, Theatrical Interpreting, Sign to Voice Workshops and Voice training utilizing the Linklater Technique. Sam’s passion is acting and theatre and he has studied theatre and acting for the past 20 years. He has a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in acting with an emphasis on voice. His studies in acting have availed him the opportunity to travel to many cities in the country and has also studied acting at the Royal National Theatre in London. Sam’s passion for theatre and performing has lead to his one man show entitled “A CODA’S Life...” that is based on his life experiences growing up with deaf parents. He has performed for audiences deaf and hearing all over. In addition to all of these accomplishments Sam also has directed productions at The Raleigh Little Theatre. His past production credits include: Mother Hicks, A Secret Garden, and Children of a Lesser God which took away the awards with Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cameo and Best Production at the Cantey Awards. His teaching style influenced by his theatrical training is unique and has a no nonsense approach. Sam has incorporated his theatrical training with his interpreting experience and has interpreted many theatrical performances in Washington DC, Los Angeles, and, New York.
Office: 323A Ferguson Building
Phone: 336-256-1217
Email: sdparker@uncg.edu
back to top
Ms. Lynne Allen
Area of Interest: Interpreter Training and Deaf Education
Ms. Allen is a graduate of UNCG, receiving a BS in Deaf Education and a MEd in Elementary Education. She has been both a teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and an educational interpreter for the past 20 years. Lynne has taught in the Interpreter Training program and the Deaf Education program at UNCG.
Contact information:
Office: 211 Ferguson Building
Phone: 336-256-1370
Email: lballen@uncg.edu
back to top
Teresa C. Little, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Areas of interest: Special Education
Dr. Teresa C. Little received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching while attending the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2003. Both her undergraduate ( Greensboro College) and graduate (Appalachian State University) degrees are in Special Education. Before beginning her career in higher education, Dr. Little taught students with autism, intellectual disabilities, behavioral/emotional disabilities, and students with learning disabilities. Additionally, her classroom experience includes teaching students at the elementary and high school levels.
Dr. Little’s areas of interest include accessing the general curriculum for students with disabilities, developing a functional curriculum for students with low incidence disabilities, and providing staff development to general education teachers regarding inclusion practices.
Contact Information:
Office: 320 Ferguson Building
Phone: 336.334.3770
Email: tclittle@uncg.edu
Ms. Karen DeNaples
Areas of interest: Deaf Education, Deaf Culture
Ms. De Naples received her Master's Degree from the Educational Specialist Program from the University of Rochester/National Technical Institute for the Deaf. This program provided dual certifications: one to teach deaf children from birth to high school and the other to teach secondary school deaf students in the major area of concentration from undergraduate school which, for Ms. De Naples, was science. She also has a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an Associate's Degree in Computer Programming from GTCC.
Her professional experience includes work as a computer programmer, a teacher for deaf children, and coordinator of library services for the deaf and hard of hearing. She taught at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City, the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton, NJ and the Central NC School for the Deaf in Greensboro, NC. Ms. De Naples has served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Communication Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Greensboro. She has participated in the Collaborative Early Intervention National Training e-Resource (CENTe-R) project with UNCG by sharing her experiences and expertise in early intervention services and deaf families. She has also taught sign language and about deafness-related issues to parents of young deaf children.
Karen De Naples, who is deaf/hard of hearing, has a deaf family and a dog who understands sign language.
Contact Information:
Office: 245A Ferguson Building
Phone: 336.334.9881
Email: kmdenapl@uncg.edu
Ms. Judith Labath
Areas of Interest: Interpreting
Judi Labath received her undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and her masters in Applied Linguistics from Boston University. She is a certified interpreter through Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) with over 25 years of experience in community, educational, and conference interpreting. She has served on the national ethics committee for RID as well as on state and local RID chapter boards. In the past, she worked with the ASL Linguistic Research Project, consulted Russian Language Interpreters developing a professional code of conduct for medical interpreting, and provided ADA training in the Deaf community. In addition to teaching ASL and interpreting courses for interpreter preparation programs and related fields in Illinois and Alabama over the last fifteen years, she has provided seminars and workshops at state and national RID conferences on ethics, professional and skill development, and teamwork. Currently she is teaching ASL and interpreting classes at UNCG.
Contact Information:
Office: 245A Ferguoson Building
Phone: 336.334.9881
Email: jelabath@uncg.edu