Dr. Matthew K. Boggan

Dr. Matthew Boggan arrived at Georgia Gwinnett College in 2016, bringing with him a career deeply rooted in service to students with exceptional needs. Before joining GGC, he held dual leadership roles at Mississippi State University's Meridian Campus, overseeing both graduate-level educational leadership programs and undergraduate special education curricula – a testament to his breadth of expertise across the academic pipeline.

His path to higher education was forged in the trenches of public schools and state residential settings, where he served as both a special education teacher and a public-school principal. These formative years gave him an intimate, ground-level understanding of the challenges and triumphs that define special education – experiences he now channels into his teaching with vivid authenticity.

Since 2024, Boggan has served as chair of the Special Education and Social Foundations Department, after serving as interim chair of Special Education from 2021 to 2022. That interim tenure proved anything but temporary in its impact. During that period, he championed the development and approval of an autism endorsement at GGC – a forward-thinking initiative born from compelling data gathered in collaboration with the Gwinnett County School District's Department of Special Education. The numbers told an undeniable story: autism diagnoses among students were climbing at a significant rate, and educators needed targeted preparation to meet that demand. By 2022, the autism endorsement had been woven into GGC's special education curriculum and earned approval from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GAPSC) as a standalone endorsement available to practicing certified teachers statewide.

From 2017 to 2018, Boggan served as principal investigator and director of a Community Innovations Grant in Gwinnett County – an initiative designed to broaden GGC students' understanding of and appreciation for the capabilities of adults with disabilities. This work builds on a longer legacy of grant leadership: his previous work as a principal investigator between 2009 and 2016 generated 151 scholarships for aspiring teachers enrolled in alternate route teaching programs. These examples reflect his enduring conviction that education must extend beyond the classroom walls.

Perhaps one of his most cherished professional memories goes back to 1997, when one of his K-12 students was honored by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) with the prestigious "Yes I CAN Award" at the organization's annual national conference – selected from a competitive field of more than 2,300 nominees for remarkable growth in self-help skills. It is the kind of milestone that reminds educators exactly why their work matters.

Today, Boggan brings that same passion into GGC's classrooms, where he mentors a unique cohort of aspiring special education teachers – many of whom are already working full-time as paraprofessionals in local school districts. He draws freely from his wealth of field experience, weaving real-world stories into instruction in ways that resonate deeply with students who are living parallel journeys themselves. By all accounts, the feeling is mutual.