Research, Impact and Achievements: May 2025

College of Education  

The College of Education proudly congratulates seven of our outstanding faculty members and an alumna for receiving honors from the American Educational Research Association. The following COE faculty were celebrated during this year’s annual AERA gathering:   

Congratulations to our world-class COE faculty for being recognized as leading members of their fields! 

Educational Leadership and Policy 

Linda Garcia • Assistant Professor of Practice 

Executive Director of the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) Linda García was named an international honorary member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society last month. PTK is the first honor society created to celebrate the academic achievements of students at associate degree-granting colleges. This is the highest honor that the organization gives to non-members and only the 48th time in the group’s 107-year history that it has been awarded as it is not awarded annually but rather only as PTK members deem someone has shown extraordinary leadership and contributions within the community college sector. 

Kinesiology and Health Education  

Brian Farr • Professor 

Brian Farr, clinical professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education and director of the Athletic Training Program, has been selected as one of The 2025 Texas 10 by the Alcalde, the official publication of the Texas Exes. Since 2011, the Alcalde has featured this distinguished list of top teaching awards submitted by nominations from UT students and alumni.

Audrey Stone • Associate Professor 

Department of Kinesiology and Health Education Associate Professor Audrey Stone was awarded the 2025 Henry Pickering Bowditch Award by the American Physiological Society. As part of being an awardee, she delivered a lecture at the APS Summit in April. This lectureship is awarded to a member of the APS who is 42 years old or younger and in the first eight years since beginning a faculty or staff research scientist position for their early-career physiological research excellence. It particularly celebrates the recipient’s original and outstanding accomplishments within physiology. APS is dedicated to connecting a global, multidisciplinary community of biomedical scientists and educators in favor of advancing scientific discovery, understanding life and improving health.   

Jan Todd • Department Chair 

Department of Kinesiology and Health Education Chair Jan Todd’s early lifting career, which led her to her former Strongest Woman in the World title, was featured in author and journalist Bonnie Tsui’s latest book—On Muscle. The book examines muscles and what they mean to us through a mix of science and culture, immersive reporting and personal narrative that takes readers on a journey which includes Todd’s story, along with stops in the Nevada desert and a Double Dutch club in Washington D.C.   

Special Education 

Carrie Lou Bloom • Assistant Professor 
Jeffrey Palmer • Research Associate 

National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) co-director Carrie Lou Bloom and research associate Jeffrey Palmer recently published new research in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted deaf college students, in a study titled Disparate Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Deaf College Students. Their study analyzed national data to examine whether deaf students were more likely than hearing students to leave college during the pandemic, despite receiving similar levels of institutional support. The findings highlight the critical need for colleges to move beyond basic compliance and build systems that foster true belonging for all students, especially during times of crisis. 

Bloom is also an assistant professor of practice in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. Her work focuses on centering deaf people in decision-making, challenging deficit-based narratives, and driving systemic change to create more equitable outcomes. 

Jessica Toste • Associate Professor 

Department of Special Education Associate Professor Jessica Toste has been named the new editor-in-chief of The Reading League Journal, which aims to connect the science of reading with educators’ professional practices. Her focus in her new role will be to close the gap between academic research and classroom practice and make evidence-based strategies more accessible to educators nationwide. The journal is a publication of The Reading League, an organization that focuses on advancing the awareness, understanding and use of evidence-aligned instruction in reading education.