(left to right, Dr. Vicki Luther and Mrs. Dawn Nowlin)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Association for School-University Partnerships (NASUP) Announces New Officers
WASHINGTON, DC, June 5, 2026
These additions to NASUP’s leadership team, elected by the association’s members in the Spring of 2026, are set to advance the association’s mission to advance “the education profession by providing leadership, advocacy, and support to create and sustain school-university partnerships such as Professional Development Schools to function as learning communities to improve student learning, prepare educators through clinical practice, engage in reciprocal professional learning, and conduct shared inquiry.”
Dr. Vicki Luther has been elected as President Elect. Vicki is a professor at Mercer University (Macon, GA), where she primarily teaches undergraduate and graduate literacy and curriculum courses and currently serves as the co-director of the Tift College of Education’s PhD program. Much of Dr. Luther’s research centers around teacher retention, induction, preparing teacher candidates for the field, and building and supporting mutually beneficial relationships between P-12 environments and educator preparation programs. She is a longtime member of NASUP and is actively engaged in the work of the organization. Currently, Dr. Luther is the co-chair of NASUP’s annual conference committee and is a member of the leadership committee. Additionally, she also serves on the conferences and program committee, the publications committee, and the research committee’s professional development working group. Dr. Luther has been a reviewer for NASUP’s School-University Partnerships and PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice for a number of years and recently received an Emerald Literati Award for outstanding reviewing. She has a passion for supporting and enhancing the work of NASUP and its membership.
Mrs. Dawn Nowlin has been elected as a board member. She is a veteran educator with over 22 years in Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland. Mrs. Nowlin currently teaches 5th grade Math and Science at Whitehall Elementary School, where she also serves as Science Coordinator and a member of the Leadership Team. She extends her impact beyond the classroom as an Adjunct Professor at Bowie State University, preparing future teachers in elementary math and science methods, work that directly informs and strengthens her own instructional practice. Mrs. Nowlin holds a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Bowie State University and a Master’s in Information Technology for Educators from Johns Hopkins University, and she is currently pursuing the Equitable Elementary Mathematics Leadership Certificate at University of Maryland. A committed mentor and educational leader, Mrs. Nowlin has served as both a Mentor Teacher and Professional Development School (PDS) Coordinator. She has helped design district Mentor Teacher workshops (Teach, Coach, Reflect) and she currently teaches those workshops as well as coordinates them for the district. She has contributed as an Assistant Editor of the PDS Partners Journal. She also co-edited the journal’s first themed issue, “For Teachers, About Teachers, By Teachers.” In recognition of her impact across school and university partnerships, she was the inaugural recipient of NASUP’s “Boundary Spanner” Award. Mrs. Nowlin has presented at annual NASUP conferences, both virtually and in person, on ten occasions and supported Bowie State University in earning the Exemplary PDS Award in 2021. She is also a member of the Anti-racism Committee. Mrs. Nowlin considers her greatest accomplishment to be her role as a wife and mother. She has been married to her husband, John, for 18 years and is the proud mother of Jackson (17) and Leila (14).
The new officers begn their work advancing NASUP’s mission this summer. The association expresses its sincere gratitude to the all elected officers and committee chairs, and looks forward to a productive year!
For more information about NASUP and its initiatives, please visit nasup.org or email info@napds.org
National Association for School-University Partnerships
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW #190-611
Washington, DC 20004
View full text of press release here.