RoSusan Bartee has been promoted to professor in the University of Mississippi's Department of Leadership and Counselor Education, becoming the first African-American to obtain a full professorship in the department. Photo by Kevin Bain.
OXFORD, Miss. – Educational leadership scholar RoSusan Bartee has been promoted to professor in the University of Mississippi’s Department of Leadership and Counselor Education, becoming the first African-American to obtain a full professorship in the department.
Bartee, who was tenured and promoted in July, joined the UM School of Education – Mississippi’s largest institution for teacher and educational leadership preparation – in fall 2006 as an associate professor. Along with her recent promotion, she serves as program coordinator for the master’s, specialist and doctoral programs in educational leadership.“For me, this is a milestone that I’m very happy about,” said Bartee, a native of Quitman. “Achieving tenure and full professor is an honor at any institution, but to come back to my home state and get to make a difference in the lives of students and others gives me pride and humility. I’m excited I can set this precedent.”
Before joining academia, Bartee served in leadership and research roles in the education nonprofit sector. She was associate director of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the interim executive director of the Fredrick D. Patterson Research Institute of the United Negro College Fund. She also taught previously at the University of Maryland and the University of Illinois.
“Dr. Bartee’s credentials speak for themselves,” said Tim Letzring, chair of leadership and counselor education. “The combination of her research expertise and experience in the nonprofit sector helps our graduate students understand educational issues in a variety of contexts. She’s become an asset to our department and her organizational skills have become of tremendous value.”
A nationally recognized scholar, Bartee is the author or editor of three books and was the recipient of the 2008 Researcher of the Year award for the School of Education. She is the editor of a book series examining capital theory in educational contexts and is also the author or co-author of nearly 40 academic publications.
Bartee received a doctorate in education policy studies from the University of Illinois, a master’s in liberal studies from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Tougaloo College.