Rate My Professor Kimberly McAlister

Kimberly McAlister serves as Visiting Professor and Acting Chair of the Department of Counselor Education in the College of Education at Sam Houston State University. She earned her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Louisiana-Monroe in 2003, M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision from Northwestern State University in 1997, and B.S. in Mathematics Education from Northeast Louisiana University in 1989. Prior to joining Sam Houston State University, Dr. McAlister held progressive leadership roles at Northwestern State University, including Dean of the Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development since 2018, Professor since 2021, Associate Professor from 2010 to 2021, Head of the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Counseling from 2014 to 2017, Head of the Department of Teaching and Learning from 2010 to 2014, Coordinator of Assessment and Undergraduate Studies from 2005 to 2010, Assistant Professor from 2004 to 2010, and Instructor from 1998 to 2004. Earlier in her career, she taught mathematics in public schools across Louisiana, including districts in Alexandria, Sulphur, and Baton Rouge, from 1989 to 1998.

Dr. McAlister's scholarly work focuses on educator preparation, teacher training, and leadership in education. Her publications include Adaptive Leadership in Educator Preparation: A Statewide Case Study (2023, co-authored with M. Lovett and D. Hebert, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies); a chapter on Clinical Prototypes: Nontraditional Teacher Preparation Programs in Rethinking Field Experiences in Pre-Service Teacher Preparation (2015, Routledge); Comprehension of English text among Saudi Arabian and American undergraduates (2017); An examination of teacher education candidates’ self-reported dispositions and characteristics in online versus traditional classes (2012, SITE conference proceedings); and Achieving mathematical concepts one word at a time (2010, Field Experience Journal). She has been awarded the Dan and Lilly Chase Endowed Professorship (2015-2017) and served as co-Principal Investigator on grants such as the $4,482,635 U.S. Department of Education Central Louisiana Instructional Partnership Residence (2018-2023). Dr. McAlister has contributed to accreditation and policy through roles like Secretary-Treasurer of the Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities (2021-2023), past President of the Louisiana Association for Colleges for Teacher Education (2020-2021), member of the Louisiana Department of Education Teacher Certification Appeals Council (2016-2018), and NCATE/CAEP site visitor (2009-2021).