Brad Teague, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Pamela Smart-Smith, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA |
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Brad L. Teague
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Pamela Smart-Smith
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Dear PAIS members,
It was great seeing many of you at the February PAIS informal chat, the recent hybrid TESOL convention, and the post-conference virtual PAIS open meeting. During these interactions, we were able to experience the innovative and inspiring ideas that our colleagues across the globe are involved in. Through conferences and other professional-development opportunities, we engage, learn, and connect as we rise to meet common challenges. Indeed, TESOL offers us the opportunity to commiserate with others while providing us with tools, resources, and new skills and knowledge that leave us feeling more empowered.
So, thank you for your contributions and for your involvement in our interest section over the past year. We have enjoyed our time as PAIS co-chairs and are happy to introduce Kate Pope, Director of the English Language Institute at North Central College (Illinois) and Laura Ray, Interim Director of the English Language Center at Old Dominion University (Virginia), who will serve as your co-chairs during the next year. We look forward to supporting Kate and Laura in their new roles.
We also wish to acknowledge Christian Gomez and Laura Shier, PAIS newsletter co-editors, for their important efforts over the past year. Our last newsletter was published in October 2021, and Christian and Laura have put together the current spring edition as a follow-up to the recent international TESOL convention. We hope you enjoy reading the two feature articles, which focus on preparation for program accreditation and advocacy for university integration. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to the PAIS leadership with your questions about or ideas for our interest section. Finally, please consider volunteering for a future PAIS position.
Sincerely,
Brad L. Teague
Pamela Smart-Smith
PAIS Past Co-Chairs
Brad Teague is assistant dean and director of the English for International Students program at Duke University. He earned a B.A. in Spanish and linguistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.A. in applied linguistics at the Universidad de las Américas-Puebla (Mexico), and a Ph.D. in teaching and learning at Vanderbilt University. His professional interests include program administration, second language teacher education, and SLA.
Pamela Smart-Smith is the Director of the AdvantageVT Master’s Pathway Program and Intensive English Program in the Language and Culture Institute (VTLCI). She brings more than 29 years’ experience as a TESOL educator and an administrator and instructor of English as a second language. She holds a Ph.D. in social foundations of education, a master's degree in public administration, and a master’s degree in education, with an emphasis on English as a second language and multicultural education. |
