Rate My Professor Sheri Hardee

Dr. Sheri Hardee serves as Dean of the College of Education and Professor at the University of North Georgia (UNG), a position she has held since January 2019. She joined UNG in 2009 as faculty, advancing to Associate Dean in 2015. In her leadership role, she oversees the Social Foundations and Leadership Education Department, Elementary and Special Education Department, Middle, Secondary, and P-12 Department, and the Appalachian Studies Center. Her efforts focus on boosting recruitment and retention of future teachers and educational leaders, fundraising for student scholarships and faculty research, developing innovative programs, and strengthening partnerships with communities and educational entities. Hardee has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the social foundations of education and contributes to UNG's Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program as a faculty mentor, drawing from her own experience as a McNair Scholar at the University of South Carolina, where she also worked in the program office.

Hardee earned her Ph.D. in Social Foundations in Education, Master of Arts in English, and Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of South Carolina. Her research interests center on educational leadership and enhancing access to and support in higher education institutions, with an emphasis on preparatory support in middle and high school settings. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals including Teaching Education, Critical Questions in Education, Thresholds in Education, and The Journal of Educational Foundations. Notable works include 'Teaching in the Borderland: Critical Practices in Foundations Courses' in Teaching Education (June 2012) and a book chapter titled 'Preservice Teachers Honoring Emergent Bilingual Students: Creating and Enacting Equity-Oriented Science and Engineering Activities in Elementary Grades' (2023). Additionally, she co-authored 'Defining the Third Space for Educational Leadership Preparation: A Model for Rural Contexts' (2020). Hardee participated in the University System of Georgia's 2024-25 Executive Leadership Institute and serves as President of the Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years. Under her deanship, the College of Education has secured accreditation and received high program evaluations.