Campus welcomes two new professors
Introducing Dr. Hoover
This is Prof. Theresa Hoover’s first semester teaching at Wilson College. She was hired in April, and started working over the summer. She said she chose Wilson College mostly because it is small.
“Getting to know students is the most important to me. I came from Penn State University which has about 40,000 students. The scale of that school was so big, so I never got to know students,” she said. Hoover stated that instead of just interacting with students in class, she can support and interact with them outside the classroom as well. “I really like this school.”
Hoover always wanted to teach. When she was in middle school she met a girl who had trouble learning. After meeting that girl, Hoover learned more about children with learning disabilities in high school and decided that she wanted to help those with special needs.
Hoover did her undergraduate work at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. She earned a BS in elementary and Special Education in 1990. She earned her Master’s degree in Special Education with a concentration on inclusion from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in 1996. After earning her Master’s degree, she taught part-time at Shippensburg University, while also teaching elementary students. She earned her Ph.D in Special Education from Penn State University in 2010. After earning her Ph.D, she taught at Penn State for over three years.
Hoover’s biggest goal at Wilson is to start a Special Education certification program so that students who are working toward their teaching certification can also get a Special Education certification. She added that it will hopefully happen in the next year. Hoover hopes to teach a semester-long class on how to work with parents and family.
“I really want to stay here for a long time and make a difference in the education program. I am looking forward to meeting more students and becoming more active on campus,” Hoover said.
Introducing Dr. Michael
Dr. Eric Michael began at Wilson in August 2013. He is the director of the Master of Education program and also teaches undergraduate education courses. He is currently teaching EDU 206 Educational Psychology.
“I chose Wilson College because I’m from the area. To me, giving back to this community and this area is important, especially in the area of education. I think education is the key in a foundation to a good community, so I want to make sure that I build a good educational foundation in this community,” Michael said.
Michael grew up in Chambersburg and went to Shippensburg University before earning his Ph.D from the University of Pittsburgh. He has 35 years of experience in Education at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. He was also an adjunct professor at Shippensburg University, Wilkes University, and Duquesne University. Dr. Michael added that he wants to grow the number of students in the Master’s degree programs.
Dr. Michael decided to study education very early. “My grandmother was a teacher, so I started to follow her steps. I chose to go to Shippensburg University and majored in elementary education. I’m glad that I made that decision,” he said.
Dr. Michael thinks that Wilson College is unique because of its faculty’s relationships with students. “We know every student in here. I think that building relationships and making students feel comfortable provides direction for them in their future careers. So, personal touch has a lot to do with the success of Wilson College and why Wilson students like it here,” said Dr. Michael. “The world of education is changing very rapidly. There’s going to be a lot of challenges for those teachers in the classroom in the future because of technology and the changing demographics of students. There’s a lot of challenges out there. But I think there are a lot of rewards too, because students are our future. So we need to prepare them well.”