College of Education Rankings
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Read more about the awards and recognitions celebrating our alumni achievements.
Lynette Stant graduated from GCU’s College of Education with a MA in Teaching in 2006. Since then, Stant has gone on to teach Native American children. As a Native American herself, being able to be part of their educational journey meant a lot for her personally. In 2019, Stant was named Teacher of the Year in Arizona, becoming the first Native American to receive that honor.
The College of Education at GCU proudly prepares graduates with the skills and tools they need to go on to make a difference in educational communities around the world, helping to change the lives of their students and school communities.
Grand Canyon University and the College of Education keep you connected to all that is happening at GCU. Stay well-informed of notable awards and recognition that our faculty, students and college have been awarded. Visit GCU Today for an extensive listing of student accomplishments.
Our College of Education celebrates the achievements of students, faculty, and alumni who are making an impact in education.
Dr. Hightower is proud to serve on the Board of Trustees for GCU and is on the College of Education Advisory Board. She served as former president for the Arizona School Administrators and the Arizona Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (AzALAS), as well as a past executive committee member for the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment (AASA).
In 2023, Dr. Hightower was recognized as Arizona’s Superintendent of the Year. In 2019, she was named National Latinx Superintendent of the Year among other humbling recognitions, including Arizona School Administrators Superintendent Award for mid-sized districts.1
Dr. Juarez serves as a national Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Quality Review Team member/reviewer. Dr. Juarez dedicates his time to serving as a quality review team member for multiple colleges of education across different higher education institutions. Through this valuable service, he has had the opportunity to gather insights into best practices, stay updated on expectations and job-related skills to impart to his teacher candidates, and observe firsthand how the four AAQEP standards were implemented and put into action at various institutions.2
Dr. Sprute was recognized for five years of service on the Phoenix North Regional Council of First Things First.3 First Things First is Arizona's Early Childhood agency. The Phoenix North Regional Partnership Council makes strategic investments to support the healthy development and learning of children birth to age 5 in the region. Dr. Sprute serves as vice chair of the council and represents the educational community.
Dr. Dyer is the current president of the Arizona Neuro-Diversity Inclusivity Parent Teacher Student Association (NDI-PTSA). This organization was formed to support districts and schools in the state of Arizona in understanding and supporting neurodiversity. She also serves on the advisory board for the L.O.P.E.S. Academy at Grand Canyon University. The L.O.P.E.S. Academy provides an opportunity for individuals with developmental disabilities to experience college. She teaches classes for the Academy as well. Dr. Dyer also hosts an annual Disability Week for the university campus to increase knowledge of disability and promote inclusion.
In addition to her workload here at GCU, Dr. McCabe is a part-time child and adolescent counselor, and in this past year has successfully earned the highest certification as a fully licensed associate counselor (LAC).
Dr. Swan presented at the 2025 CEC Special Education Convention and Expo in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Swan collaborated with a Clemson doctoral student, a Washington, D.C. school counselor and a classroom teacher to present research on the implementation of trauma-informed pedagogy in a school setting to meet the mental health and well-being needs of students. Dr. Swan’s particular contribution to this session focused on her doctoral research that examined barriers to implementing these strategies in a special education classroom and what school leaders can do to address these barriers.
In 2025, Dr. Pottinger co-presented with Dr. Critchfield and Dr. Gaudiano at the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Quality Assurance Symposium on “Steering the Future: Policy and Advocacy for Transforming Educator Preparation.” This interactive session explored GCU’s advocacy strategies — toolkits, collaboration and marketing — and engaged participants in policy mapping and personalized advocacy planning to promote long-term impact at state and federal levels.
Dr. Dyer is the Branch Council Executive Committee chair and national board member for the International Dyslexia Association. She was also part of the Disability Inclusion Week and Inclusion Conference at GCU.
Nathan Hollis II is a member of the advisory council for Family and Consumer Science, and Education and Training with the Arizona Department of Education and the Canyon Center for Character Education (CCCE) Advisory Board.
Dr. Damiani, Dr. Basko and Dr. McCabe presented at the 2025 annual conference for the Association of Teacher Educators’ Special Interest Group in Classroom Management. They presented on “Advocacy in Action: Transforming classrooms with gratitude, student voices and teacher leadership.” During their presentation, they shared the work that GCU online full-time faculty and staff are doing to understand the impact gratitude, student advocacy and teacher leadership have on classroom culture.
Dr. Swan presented at the 2024 Global Research Education Association Annual conference in Shijiazhuang, China. Dr. Swan presented research and findings on the integration of trauma-informed strategies and literacy instruction to not only improve reading outcomes but to support students’ emotional and social development. This topic was selected as part of the organization’s mission to address the United Nation’s 17 Sustainability Goals, especially in the areas of quality education and good health and well-being. This presentation was to provide a solution to this particular issue. This presentation also was published for dissemination in mainland China and was translated into Mandarin in 2025.
Dr. Pottinger and Julianne Brett presented at the 2025 Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Quality Assurance Symposium on “Building Foundations: Educator Dispositions in Shaping Quality Programs.” Their session shared a framework for assessing and integrating professional dispositions into educator preparation and highlighted how GCU’s College of Education embeds these into leadership, teacher development and institutional culture to enhance program quality.
In the book “Adjunct Faculty in Online Higher Education: Best Practices for Teaching Adult Learners,” Dr. Sprute and Associate Professor Kimber Underdown published the chapter “Structural Empowerment: The Next Step for University Support of Online Adjunct Faculty,” which highlights key strategies for empowering online adjunct faculty.
Dr. Martino, Tanner Nielsen and Julianne Brett presented at the 2025 AAQEP Quality Assurance Symposium on “Second Chances, Stronger Starts: The Personal Improvement Plan for Student Teaching Re-Entry.” Their session highlighted GCU’s Personal Improvement Plan (PIP) for student teaching re-entry. Their session showcased a data-informed, collaborative approach that provides tailored mentorship, targeted modules and guided reflection to support candidates after unsuccessful student teaching attempts, ensuring fairness and future classroom success.
At the 2023 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, Dr. Sprute and Dr. Damiani presented “Retaining the Future: Exploring Innovative Solutions for Online Higher Education Student Retention,” highlighting their online student support webinar initiative designed to enhance online student retention.
Dr. Pottinger and Julianne Brett presented at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) 2025 Annual Meeting on “Setting Sail for Success: Educator Dispositions as the Captain’s Compass.” This session explored the critical role of professional dispositions in shaping effective educational leaders. Presenters shared research-based frameworks and practical strategies for integrating dispositions into educator preparation programs through coursework and field experiences.
Emily Farkas, Dr. Brandon and Julie Blair presented at the 2025 Association for Advancing in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) Annual Symposium on “Fostering Ethics: Integrating and Measuring an Ethics Assessment in Teacher Preparation.” During their presentation, the team shared the work they had done surrounding the implementation of ethics assessments in MEd educational administration/leadership programs.
Dr. Pottinger and Dr. Gaudiano presented at the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Symposium on “Empowering Learning: Leveraging AI for Smarter Test Preparation” in 2025. The session focused on innovative uses of AI tools to enhance test preparation and student success. The session also highlighted ethical considerations, best practices for implementation and strategies for integrating AI into higher education environments to improve learner outcomes.
Dr. Sprute presented at the 2024 Higher Learning Commission Conference. In her session titled "Strategies to Increase Remote Faculty Engagement via Intentional Community Building," she highlighted platforms and initiatives implemented to support online adjunct faculty.
Canyon Global Educators is a service-focused program supported by GCU’s College of Education. The initiative is led by faculty member Dr. Martino, with fellow faculty member Dr. Swan also serving as a leader for select trips. Short-term mission teams travel internationally, including to destinations such as Spain and Uzbekistan, to teach English as a Second Language (ESL). The program is designed for faculty and students who are interested in combining professional teaching experience with cross-cultural ministry and outreach. Participants engage with local communities, providing English language education while demonstrating Christian values through service and relationship building.
Dr. Gaudiano presented at the 2024 National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education (NASDTEC) Annual conference for “Crafting Futures: Navigating the Path of Apprenticeship.” During her presentation she facilitated discussion related to creating experimental apprenticeship pathways and partnering with existing state pathway options to best approach building and developing apprenticeship programs and pathways.
Dr. Sprute and Dr. Kozimor presented at the 2023 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference. In their session, “Teams Build Dreams,” they shared how faculty and staff in the College of Education at GCU are supporting online adjunct faculty.
Dr. Gaudiano serves on the Arizona Educational Foundation Governance Committee. As a board member for four years, she was selected to assist with this additional role to update governance and procedural documents, as well as advise on changes to board operations. She and the committee spearhead board effectiveness, create and administer board assessment tools, develop board profiles and identify, recruit and on-board new members.
At the 2025 AACTE Annual Conference, Dr. Sprute and Dr. Damiani presented “Building Virtual Bridges,” showcasing initiatives within the College of Education at GCU that foster community among online students and faculty.