Faculty members in the Franks School of Education are experienced educators. All have been involved in many positions during their public school careers, and offer you insights based on these experiences. They truly are knowledgeable, caring educators.

	Dr. Suzanne K. Van Wagner Dean of School of Education 260.665.4200 | vanwagners@tristate.edu
	Dr. Nancy L. Davis Assistant Professor of Education 260.665.4519 | davisn@tristate.edu
	Wesley I. Garner Associate Professor of Education 260.665.4295 | garnerw@tristate.edu
	Kathleen H. Pomeroy Assistant Professor of Education 260.665.4805 | pomeroyk@tristate.edu
	Dr. Sally Walker Simpson Associate Professor of Education 260.665.4212 | simpsons@tristate.edu

 

Dr. Suezanne K.Van Wagner

Associate Professor and Dean
B.S., M.S., Ph.D.

(Michigan State University)

Dr. Sue Van Wagner is the dean of the Franks School of Education. She has been involved in elementary and middle schools as a teacher, team leader, and department chair. She completed her doctorate investigating the preparation of middle level teachers. She serves on accrediting teams throughout the state of Indiana. Her professional memberships include Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Phi Delta Kappa, Delta Kappa Gamma, Asr professional memberships include Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Phi Delta Kappa, Delta Kappa Gamma, Association of Teacher Educators-Indiana, Steuben County Historical Society, Indiana Middle Level Education Association, Indiana Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, National Field Directors Forum, Indiana Field Directors Forum, and Indiana Certification Advisers. She enjoys watching NCAA football and basketball. She likes to visit the New England states, particularly Vermont and Maine.

Contact: 260.665.4200 or vanwagners@tristate.edu

Nancy L. Davis

Assistant Professor
B.S. (Indiana State University)

M.S. (Long Island University)

Ph.D. (Union Institute and University)

Dr. Nancy Davis completed her doctorate investigating language scaffolds that direct individuals into deeper states of narrative processing. She is especially interested in life review models that foster meaningful responses clarifying personal relationships. Her teaching experience covers a broad spectrum of age levels from elementary to college including nontraditional students. Additionally, as a licensed mental health professional and school counselor, she has worked in junior high and high school counseling, career counseling for business, and practices hypnoanalysis specializing in anxiety reduction and smoking cessation. She has worked to develop service learning and peer facilitating within high schools. She developed and published a handbook of life review activities for elders and hospice patients, and she regularly volunteers promoting life review in these areas. She belongs to the Association of Teacher Educators, American Counseling Association, Association for Creativity in Counseling, the Expressive Therapy Association, and volunteers for Cameron Home Care and Hospice.

Contact: 260.665.4519 or davisn@tristate.edu

Wesley I. Garner

Associate Professor
B.S. (District of Columbia Teachers College)

M.Ed. (Wayne State University)

Wesley I. Garner achieved doctoral candidate status at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI. His approved doctoral dissertation involved a psycholinguistic study of the reading process with college-aged students.
 
Wes has been in education for over 42 years in many capacities ranging from classroom teacher to central office administrator and, finally, as college/university professor. His expertise in education has led him to consult with several Michigan school districts. His work has also led him to invitations to speak across the country on reading and writing instruction. In addition, Wes has published adventure stories for adolescents and instructional articles for education professionals.
 
Professor Garner has been a Big Brother and is currently a 4-H shooting sports leader in St. Joseph County, Michigan where he makes his home.

Contact: 260.665.4295 or garnerw@tristate.edu

Kathleen H. Pomeroy

Assistant Professor
B.A. (University of Northern Colorado)

M.S. (Indiana University)

Professor Kathy Pomeroy encourages her pre-service teacher candidates and local teachers to take a multicultural stance in their elementary and secondary classrooms. She is especially interested in cross-curricular literacy applications with an eye to the implications of pertinent social justice issues in daily student-and- teacher interactions. She is also a board member of the Steuben County Literacy Coalition and trains home visitors, who undertake in-home interventions to empower parents to prepare children more thoroughly for kindergarten. She is also involved in staff development in several local school corporations. She and her husband enjoy traveling. Recently, they visited Germany and Austria. In addition, she enjoys cooking and entertaining. Each semester her classes appreciate her cuisine during “Breakfast at Professor Pomeroy’s House.”

Contact: 260.665.4805 or pomeroyk@tristate.edu

Sally W. Simpson

Associate Professor
B.A. (Colby College)

M.S. (Northern Illinois University) Ph.D. (Florida State University)

Dr. Sally Simpson shares her love of children’s literature and language arts in many ways. She coordinates a regional writing contest, reviews articles for a national publication, and reads to young children on special days. Her professional memberships include the International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English, Geography Educators Network of Indiana, Indiana Reading Professors, NCTE Children’s Literature Assembly, and Delta Kappa Gamma. She enjoys traveling and has visited many countries including Australia and New Zealand. In addition, she traveled the route of the Underground Railroad and participated in a workshop sponsored by NASA. When she is not traveling, she especially enjoys cooking.

Contact: 260.665.4212 or simpsons@tristate.edu