Former ETS executive to head teacher education association

Black Issues in Higher Education, April 21, 2005

WASHINGTON

Dr. Sharon P. Robinson has been named president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, known as AACTE. A former senior executive of the Educational Testing Service and former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, Robinson is the first African-American woman to serve as the association's chief executive officer.

Robinson's appointment ended a seven-month national search that began last July when David G. Imig announced plans to retire after 25 years as the association's chief executive.

Robinson began her career as a teacher in Lexington, Ky. She worked as director of the National Center for Innovation at the National Education Association in the early 1990s. From 1993 to 1997 she served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

In 1997 she was named vice president of the Teaching and Learning Division of the Educational Testing Service. From 1999 to 2002 she served as senior vice president and chief operating officer at ETS. And, from 2002 to 2004 she was executive vice president of ETS and president of the ETS Educational Policy Leadership Institute.

"I am very happy to join AACTE and I look forward to working with its member institutions to foster excellent teaching," Robinson said. "I thank the AACTE board for this opportunity to lead the association at this important time. Never has the need for high-quality teacher preparation been greater. Today's schools of education play a critically important role in responding to new demands for improved student achievement and greater accountability. This is an exciting era for schools of education, and I am eager to begin working with AACTE's membership and staff to meet the challenges ahead."

Robinson received her bachelor's, master's and doctorate from the University of Kentucky.