Message from the Dean

I am honored and privileged to be working with some of the most dedicated teacher educators in the country. All of us are committed to the Barry mission and excited about how it is realized in teacher education. We all believe that teaching is society’s most important profession, and we are dedicated to working with our students to prepare them to be inclusive, caring and highly competent teachers who understand that their job is not only the teaching of mathematics or reading but the teaching of children.

As Dean of the Adrian Dominican School of Education, my job is to work with other faculty members to establish the high-quality programs and curriculum that will best help us to achieve our mission. It is also to help solve problems when they arise, and to prevent them from arising wherever possible by establishing processes and procedures that work for our students, our faculty, and the profession we serve. In other words, my job is to do whatever needs to be done.

When I’m not working, you may find me lost somewhere in South Florida while I become acquainted with my new home. It may take many years of Florida sun to overcome the 32 years I spent chilling in Canada, and I mean that literally. Fortunately, it is not only the sun that is warm. The people I have met so far are welcoming and helpful. I live in a condo with my 18 year old Siamese, Spike, and my 4-year old Himalayan, Isabella, both rescued cats. I like to read, to cook, to play Scrabble, to swim and to dance. I am also a writer, and to learn more about that, visit my personal website at http://terrypiper.net

Terry Piper, Ph.D., Dean and Professor