Switzer named interim chair of new education department

CLEMSON, SC — Clemson University faculty member Debi Switzer has been named interim chair of the Eugene T. Moore School of Education’s new education and human development department.

The department includes undergraduate and graduate programs and course offerings in educational foundations; clinical mental health counseling; learning sciences; literacy, language and culture; school counseling; and special education.

A member of the Clemson faculty since 1990 and full professor since 2004, Switzer has focused her teaching on educational psychology, including learning and motivation theory, and tests and measurements.

She has collaborated on research projects with faculty in engineering, psychology, education, recreation, counseling, public health and business, supplying expertise in assessment and experimental design. A consulting editor for the Journal of Educational Research for two terms, she has engaged research in motivation, assessment and research design that has included the instructional benefits of virtual worlds and other technologies.

Switzer has amassed many honors during her career, including the Harold E. Mitzel Award for Meritorious Contribution to Educational Practice Through Research by the Journal of Educational Research, the Prince Award for Innovation in Teaching by Clemson’s Undergraduate Student Government and the Governor’s Distinguished Professor recognition by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.

“Dr. Switzer is a well-respected faculty member and was nominated by her colleagues to fulfill this important leadership role,” said Eugene T. Moore School of Education Founding Dean George Petersen. “I am very happy to have her as a member of the leadership team and look forward to working with her.”

Switzer received a Ph.D. in educational psychology (quantitative and evaluative research methodology) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she also earned a Master of Education degree. She spent the first nine years of her career as a secondary mathematics and computer science teacher.

Eugene T. Moore School of Education

The Eugene T. Moore School of Education trains teachers, counselors and leaders for preschool-grade 12 schools; prepares counselors for community practice; trains student affairs practitioners, leaders and faculty for higher education settings; and prepares training and development specialists for business and industry. Through its competitive undergraduate and graduate programs, renowned centers and institutes, and other initiatives, the School of Education serves as a transformative leader in systematically improving education, beginning at birth – with a particular focus on underperforming schools and underserved communities.