BURLINGTON/LINCOLN — Katharine Shepherd, Ed.D., a professor and interim associate dean in the College of Education and Social Services (CESS) at the University of Vermont, was endowed in a formal investiture ceremony on Feb. 7 as the inaugural Levitt Family Green and Gold Professor. Shepherd is a Lincoln resident.
Following remarks from UVM President Tom Sullivan and CESS Dean Scott Thomas, Shepherd was presented with a medallion in front of a packed room of family, friends, colleagues and students in the Memorial Lounge of the Waterman Building on the UVM campus in Burlington. Recognition of the importance of endowed positions for senior teachers and researchers through a formal investiture ceremony — now a revered campus tradition — is one of the highest honors the University of Vermont can bestow on its faculty members and the generous donors who make it possible.
In addition to her appointments at UVM, Shepherd is the project director and co-principal investigator for the U.S. Department of Education’s grant for Transformative Leadership for Special Education Administrators and the co-author of a recently published book called “The Art of Collaboration: Lessons from Families of Children with Disabilities.” The Higher Education Consortium for Special Education recently honored her with its coveted leadership and service award.
A distinguished researcher and well-loved teacher, Katie Shepherd received her B.A. in American Studies from Middlebury College and earned her M.Ed. in Elementary and Special Education as well as her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Vermont.