Contact: Bethany Shipp

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s College of Education is a recipient of the Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement, a reflection of the university’s commitment to strengthening P-12 learning.

Given by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, or CAEP, the national recognition is based upon evidence and data trends provided by the university’s undergraduate teacher education programs that have achieved accreditation with no areas for improvement or stipulations. MSU is among only 21 educator preparation providers internationally that make up the fifth class to earn the award. Institutions selected advance excellence and equity in teacher preparation through evidence-based reporting and purposeful self-study procedures that ensure quality and continuous improvement.

The recognition is named in honor of Frank Murray, the founding president and former board chairman of the Teacher Education Accreditation Council, which was consolidated with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education to form CAEP.

“This award validates the high-quality undergraduate teacher education programs we offer through our college and the outstanding work done by our faculty, staff, students and P-12 partners,” said Teresa Jayroe, dean of the MSU College of Education. “We are honored to achieve this national recognition.”

Mitzy Johnson, assistant dean and CAEP coordinator for the College of Education, added, “This recognition was certainly a team effort and celebrates the hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence by everyone involved. Our use of inquiry, assessments and an established quality assurance system guide our programs for continuous improvement.”

MSU’s College of Education has a long-standing accreditation by NCATE and now CAEP, continuously meeting the rigorous standards set by the organization. Serving the dual purposes of continuous improvement and accountability, CAEP accreditation has been attained by 559 educator preparation providers in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Learn more about the MSU College of Education, home to five academic departments, a division of education, one research unit and numerous service units, at https://www.educ.msstate.edu.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.