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School of Education Welcomes New Faculty Members at Retreat

09/03/2021

In late August, the School of Education celebrated the opening of the fall 2021 semester with faculty and staff gathering at the White House Jesuit Retreat Center. The event offered an opportunity to welcome five new faculty members.

Five new faculty members at SOE 2021 retreat

Left to right:  Jonathan M. Turk, Ph.D.; Karen I. Hall, Ed.D.; Christa Jackson, Ph.D.; Kelly Ivy and Fr. Michael  P. Caruso, S.J., Ed.D. at White House Jesuit Retreat Center. 

Father Michael P. Caruso, S.J., Ed.D.

Rev. Michael P. Caruso, S.J., Ed.D., joins the educational leadership program as an associate professor. Fr. Caruso recently completed a ten-year tenure as President of Saint Ignatius College Preparatory School in Chicago, Illinois. While at Saint Ignatius, Father Caruso was known as a visionary and energetic leader committed to strengthening the Catholic, Jesuit mission and revitalizing the school’s academic programs, diversity efforts, fundraising, and community outreach.
 
Prior to becoming president of Saint Ignatius, Father Caruso served as a tenured faculty member in Catholic Educational Leadership at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles where he held a number of leadership positions including department chair, director of the Catholic School Administration program, and director of the L.E.A.D. Center which focused on equity, advocacy and diversity.  

To learn more about Father Michael Caruso, S.J., Ed.D., click here.

Kelly Ivy

Kelly Ivy joins the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program as a visiting faculty member this fall. As a new faculty member in the School of Education, Ivy will teach courses in and help coordinate the expanding SLU MAT program, which places alternatively-certified teachers in public school classrooms in St. Louis and surrounding communities.

Kelly Ivy has a broad array of teaching experiences and skills, including supervising preservice teachers and counseling STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) students at the collegiate level. Under the direction of Dr. Andrew Brantlinger, Ivy will earn her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of Maryland, College Park in the fall of 2021. Prior to her doctoral studies, Ivy earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Howard University.

To learn more about Kelly Ivy, click here.

Christa Jackson, Ph.D.

Saint Louis University’s School of Education welcomes Christa Jackson, Ph.D., to the teacher education faculty.

Prior to joining SLU, Jackson was an associate professor of mathematics education in the School of Education at Iowa State University. Prior to that appointment, Jackson worked as an assistant professor in the Department of STEM Education in the University of Kentucky from 2010 through 2014. 

Jackson earned her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in mathematics education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Before entering higher education, Jackson taught for a decade in the public school system in Springfield, Missouri.

To learn more about Christa Jackson, Ph.D., click here.

Jonathan M. Turk, Ph.D.

Jonathan M. Turk, Ph.D., joins Saint Louis University’s School of Education as an assistant professor in the higher education administration program.

Prior to joining SLU, Turk was director of research for the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, DC, where he has held leadership and research positions since 2014. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at George Mason University and serves on dissertation committees in the College of Education at Oregon State University as a courtesy faculty member. He is the principal investigator of several grants and has authored or co-authored several research reports and briefs during his tenure at ACE. Turk’s areas of specialization include college student success and completion; community colleges; higher education policy; and quantitative methods.

To learn more about Jonathan M. Turk, Ph.D., click here.

Karen I. Hall, Ed.D.

Karen I. Hall, Ed.D., joins the educational leadership program as an assistant professor this fall.

Hall is an accomplished educational consultant and academic leader with extensive experience providing equity-focused leadership and directing academic program administration. Hall retired from the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District this year after serving as its superintendent since 2012.

She started her career as a distinguished educator and academic program administrator evaluating curriculum, maximizing learning opportunities, and employing innovative education methods throughout several school districts. Hall has been instrumental in assessment forecasting, analysis, and strategic planning while mentoring, coaching, and supporting educators to ensure professional development and equity-focused student progress.

To learn more about Karen I. Hall, Ed.D., click here.

For more information about Saint Louis University’s School of Education, please visit our website.