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Zepeda Receives ‘Master Professor' Award from University Council for Educational Administration Writer: Angela Hains, 706.542.5889, anicole7@uga.edu Contact: Sally Zepeda, 706.542.0408, szepeda@uga.edu
College of Education faculty member Sally J. Zepeda was recently recognized as one of the top educational leadership professors among the top Research I institutions in the United States and Canada.
Zepeda, an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the department of lifelong education, administration, and policy, received the University Council for Educational Administration's (UCEA) inaugural Master Professor Award for her work as an educational leader and advocate for students, program improvement, and her research in the field of educational administration and policy.
“It's an incredibly humbling experience that comes with a sense of responsibility, because it's an award that has never been given before,” said Zepeda.
The UCEA is a non-profit consortium of higher education institutions that strives to impact educational policy, leadership, administration and to advance preparation and practice of educational leaders. The Master Professor Award recognizes a faculty member whose record is distinguished among peers as a multifaceted individual that exceeds expectations in the classroom and among peers.
The award recognizes Zepeda as a Master in several scholarly roles ranging from: professor to mentor, innovator to researcher and public service agent to leader.
Listening to the passionate professor talk about her career, it's not surprising that she was recognized as an anomaly in her field.
“Teaching is at the core of who I am and what I do,” she said, “it allows me to shape future generations of thinkers and doers and if I can just impact one person, imagine the impact as the cycle continues.”
Another part of that core is research, which Zepeda tries to couple with her teaching. Her main research interest is aimed at instructional supervision, encouraging educational administrators to support and nurture their teachers.
Zepeda's career choices have always been targeted towards benefiting children, teachers, and schools. In addition to teaching classes on educational administration and policy, she has also written eleven books on educational leadership and instructional supervision and has graduated 35 doctoral students.
“It's been quite an experience,” said Zepeda.
Indeed it has. The Master Professor has been at UGA for seven years. She earned her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction and her master's in educational administration from Loyola University Chicago and her undergraduate degree in language literature education from the College of Saint Scholastica in Duluth, MN. Prior to entering higher education, Zepeda held various administrative positions and was a high school English teacher in Illinois.
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