Dr. Andrea D. Jasper

Andrea Jasper, Ph.D., is the dean of the School of Education where her efforts focus on collaborating with faculty and staff to provide fresh thinking and innovative strategies to address the opportunities and challenges that exist within the school. Her administrative experience includes demonstrated leadership within college and university settings and professional associations. Jasper has served as a graduate coordinator, department chairperson and associate dean before assuming her current role as dean.

Jasper has had various experiences working with, and advocating for, individuals with exceptional needs. Prior to earning her Ph.D. at Purdue University, she worked as a special education teacher at the secondary level and a paraeducator at the elementary level. She is very passionate about the field of special education and her previous years of experience at the K-12 level contribute to her effectiveness as a teacher educator, leader and role model for others.
She has a strong record of teaching at the higher education level and in P-12 schools. She also has a solid record of research. Her research interests focus on learners with low-incidence disabilities and emotional behavioral disorders, classroom management and instructional strategies. She has authored or co-authored over 25 publications and has presented her work more than 70 times at multiple international/national, state and local conferences. Jasper is committed to excellence in teaching, research and service and demonstrates her commitment through her leadership and continued activity as a teacher educator and a scholar.

Jasper is involved with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), in which she served as president in 2023. She has been a member of CEC since 2008 and has served in a variety of leadership positions within the organization including chair of the Diversity Caucus of the Teacher Education Division (TED), treasurer of the Division for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners (DDEL), reviewer on the Editorial Board for the TEACHING Exceptional Children journal, and a member-at-large on the CEC Board of Directors. Jasper also served on the presidential line for the Michigan CEC state unit and is a member of the Georgia CEC state unit.

As a leader, Jasper is deeply committed to equity and inclusion. She believes in the importance of being student-centered and student-focused. Her commitment to student success is a result of her personal experiences. Consequently, her choice to be student-centered and her commitment to student success are more than a passion, but an ethos that has been consistent throughout her academic career.

One of Jasper’s strengths is her ability to establish and maintain positive and productive working relationships with others. As a relationship-oriented leader, she is attentive to the concerns of others and fosters collaboration and trust through transparency and open communication. Her collaborative leadership style has allowed her to build influence with others.