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Teachers, school counselors, child psychologists and educational leaders play a crucial role in shaping the minds and futures of students. They have the ability to inspire and motivate their students to reach their full potential. Faculty, alum, students and staff in our School of Education are dedicated to providing the highest quality education to future generations. Their hard work and dedication impact anywhere…
Welcome to the School of Education at Duquesne University! It is my honor to serve as Dean of the School of Education. We proudly prepare classroom educators, educational administrators, school counselors, mental health professionals and school psychologists.
Our guiding principles of justice, equity, and academic excellence inspire our work to increase student access and opportunities.
The Duquesne mission to serve God by serving students is embedded in all our programs. We work every day to enhance the needs of our professional disciplines and to make people aware of our disciplines' profound impact on our communities' overall well-being. We offer a bachelor’s degree, numerous master’s degrees and three doctoral degree programs in three departments. Our departments include the Department of Counseling Education and School Psychology; the Department of Instruction and Leadership in Education; and the Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership. In each department, we work to inspire and empower our graduates to make a positive impact on the world through teaching, research, leadership and service.
We believe in the transformative power of education. Together, our faculty, staff, students and alumni explore new ideas, challenge assumptions, and develop the skills and knowledge needed to lead in an ever-changing educational landscape. I invite you to learn more about the School of Education.
-Gretchen Givens Generett, Ph.D. | Dean and Professor, School of Education
The School of Education has given me a lot of experience teaching in the U.S.
I want to collaborate with Taiwanese teachers to learn about their curriculum and
see how they teach their students...This is a great way for education students to
expand our worldview and teach in different environments.
I am looking forward to expanding how underdeveloped and developing countries
can implement a process for identifying or diagnosing disabilities in students and
adopt evidence-based interventions that are culturally and socially responsive in
their education system.
Fulbright Scholars Preparing to Make an Impact
Zoe Brunick, an Early Childhood Education/PreK-4 student, asks elementary through high school students to imagine a life without teachers. The students also tell her about their favorite teachers, qualities that make a good teacher, their advice for teachers and more.
Our students visited the Tohaali Community School which serves a Navajo population in rural New Mexico. They shared experiences of learning together alongside the middle school students.
Maggie Burke shared the obstacles she overcame as a young student and how she will take that insight and her preparation in our B.S.Ed. Early Childhood Education and M.S.Ed. Reading & Literacy Education program to make an impact in the lives of young learners as a reading specialist.
Web editors from departments and schools across campus strategically refreshed key content pieces on webpages throughout the University’s website during the Spring Webathon on May 13, continuing to ensure a rich, high-quality web experience for prospective students and families.
Duquesne University President Ken Gormley has re-appointed Dr. Gretchen Givens Generett to a second term as dean of the School of Education.
Joy Chen, a May 2025 graduate, has been selected for a prestigious Fulbright award to Taiwan for the 2025 – 2026 academic year. For 11 months, Chen will teach English in a classroom setting alongside a cooperative teacher who speaks fluent Mandarin. She will plan and lead lessons, design curricula, co-host language camps and share American culture with students.
Dr. Gretchen Givens Generett, Dean of our School of Education, weighs in on the launch
of the $10M student teacher stipend program just unveiled and available to college
education students in the Pittsburgh region. School of Education Early Childhood Education
student Zoe Brunick shares her excitement. From shipping donated books before arriving in Kenya to resourcing WhatsApp to spread
digital lesson content amongst students with limited access, Dr. Rachel Ayieko's determination
and her students' tenacity brought effective mathematics education to their classroom
in Jaramongi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology. After returning to
Duquesne and sharing this experience, Dr. Ayieko's students offered technological
resources to improve access to learning. All were inspired and impacted through Dr.
Ayieko's work as Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow. "The thing I’m most proud of is being a servant in all aspects of my life—public service,
education, and not just as mayor or mom or wife or community member. We all don’t
get the opportunity to serve and connect or make a difference, so it’s important to
show up when you do.” - Dr. Kenya Johns, Ph.D.'21 | Mayor of Beaver Falls Duquesne University's Reading & Literacy Education professor and Reading Clinic Director
Dr. Carla Meyer shared on 90.5 WESA regarding new literacy standards and how reading
instruction is adapting! Duquesne University's School of Education is ensuring our
curriculum aligns with statewide standards based on the science of reading.
Featured content
$10M Student Teacher Stipend Program for PA
Solving Classroom Challenges with Creativity
It's Important to Show Up
Dr. Meyer Leading in Reading Education
Ed.D. Educational Leadership graduate student and founder of The Sisters Lifting As We Climb Network has been named a Pittsburgh Magazine 40 Under 40 Honoree. Sharnay Hearn Davis reflects, “As a woman of faith, being neighborly is in my DNA...This means going beyond who lives next door and being interested and invested in someone reaching their full potential.”
Information sourced from Zippia, the Pew Research Center, American Counseling Association, American School Counselor Association, Learn.org, Psychology Today and Duquesne's Graduate Outcomes Survey
96% of our graduates reported that their career position was related to their major. They are making an impact in the fields of K-12 education, higher education, healthcare and many other settings as educators, teachers, counselors & school psychologists, administrators, and more. 82% of our graduates who reported they will be attending graduate school, indicated that they will attend Duquesne University. This information is from the most recent graduate-reported outcomes data for our School of Education.
I know from firsthand experiences how great Duquesne’s School of Education is: preparing not just educators, but educators who are leaders serving communities, students and families.
There are many more careers out there that you can choose from. Some more lucrative, some with more flexibility, some that may feel more honored but your choice allows you to impact thousands of students. One lesson at a time! One conversation at a time! One student at a time!
When a school understands a child’s needs it can bring in the right services, provide more empathy toward the student and give the best chance for success, even if there are limitations due to chronic illness.
A large part of who I am and where I am today is a result of my experience at Duquesne and my time as a graduate student within the School of Education. I will never take the lessons learned or friends that I made for granted, and I will always be grateful for the career that I have and the privilege of helping others daily. Go Dukes!
I love being able to find ways to best support my students even if they can’t always verbally tell me what they need....My Duquesne education has helped me to become not only an advocate for myself, but for others.
I’m looking to go back to my first love, which was education. When I started class, I thought it might interfere with my work and school board responsibilities....I found that it’s enhanced everything.
I’m reminded every day of the lasting impact Duquesne has left upon me. Whether it be in my teaching, my research or my service to the profession and community, I approach counselor education from, and for, the mind, heart & spirit. This is what my professors modeled for me...and this is exactly how I continue to serve as a model for the future counselors I currently train.
After graduation, he "barely had a chance to exhale and was drafted into the U.S. Army" and served two years. After his dedication and service, Alex decided to apply at the Pittsburgh Board of Education, was accepted and worked "teaching exceptional children for about 32 years...it was a great experience and a wonderful time to do it"
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