Dr. Sharon Evans, the outgoing director of Education Services at the College of Education, has been a fixture at The University of Texas at Austin for over 40 years, forging relationships between the college and schools and communities. She began working in the college as a doctoral student in teacher education and early childhood education in 1981. She then served as a faculty member and cohort coordinator for more than 13 years before becoming director, managing field experiences, program admissions and evaluations, career engagement and state certification.
During her tenure, Dr. Evans served on the Applied Learning and Development (ALD) and Teacher Education Committees, providing oversight, input and data from field experiences and certification. As certification requirements changed over time, she ensured curricula changes and adjustments to fieldwork, supervision, and record-keeping and reporting were made as smoothly as possible. As part of her many successes in this role, she also developed a strong relationship with the Texas Education Agency (TEA), leading certification efforts for the college’s very first TEA site visit.
”I can’t begin to express the enormity of my gratitude for this good fortune,” she said. ”I have thrived professionally and personally here, for which I will always be thankful.”
In 2023, Dr. Evans received the prestigious Award for International Leadership in Education from Education 2.0. in Dubai, UAE. She has authored and co-authored several papers and publications on early education, teacher retention, at-risk student populations and research-based teacher skills. She also served as President of the Texas Association of Teachers of Young Children.
Dr. Evans effectively crossed all Forty Acres equipped with the knowledge and fortitude that only someone of her academic breadth and caliber can experience.
”As I begin my new journey, I leave this chapter with such great pride of having played a small role in paving the way for the current eminent direction of this college,” she said.
As we reflect on Dr. Evans’ many accomplishments and years of service, we welcome the college’s new director of Education Services, Dr. Katie Tackett. She was most recently a faculty member and undergraduate advisor in the Department of Special Education and will continue to teach undergraduate courses.
As Dr. Tackett adjusts to her new role, she will serve as the lead liaison between school districts and colleges of the University. Dr. Evans is confident that Dr. Tackett’s leadership will only enhance the college’s strength and commitment to our students.
Dr. Tackett expressed her deep gratitude for Dr. Evans and her team, who she worked with in her previous role for 11 years. “She’s just a wealth of institutional knowledge in terms of working with students, working with school districts and working with teachers,” Dr. Tackett said. “She’s been such an asset to this college.”
As incoming director, Dr. Tackett said she’s looking forward to working across departments and supporting other teacher preparation programs and educator programs. “I want to feel like I’m able to contribute more to the college as a whole,” she said.
Dr. Tackett plans to establish a proactive relationship going forward with the TEA and the State Board of Education (SBOE) to ensure that the college and the state agencies are working together.
”We need to make sure that our educator prep programs here at UT are meeting the demands of what Texas needs for teachers so that our faculty can be innovative and do what they do best, while still meeting all the rules and regulations,” she said.
Dr. Tackett acknowledges that it’s a hard time to be in teacher preparation considering the teacher shortage crisis, teacher attrition and the rise of uncertified teachers.
”We know there is a need for teachers,” she said. ”The teaching profession seems to be getting harder and there seem to be more hurdles that teachers need to go through. We just need to innovate and change.”
