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Russell Sage College recently announced that Peter Stapleton, Ph.D., assistant provost for strategic initiatives, will add dean of Sage’s Esteves School of Education to his title. Stapleton brings a track record of significant innovation and leadership to the role from his many years of experience as a physical education professor and program director, chair of the Professional Education Programs, and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Russell Sage.
“Pete’s vast experience allows him to understand the challenges in everyday operations, solve complex problems in higher education, and facilitate new partnerships with community agencies,” Provost Theresa Hand said in her announcement.
Read about Stapleton’s commitment to ensuring the School of Education remains a career-long resource for its graduates, and how he sees the school continuing to grow, in this Q&A.
Please share your initial priorities as dean of the Esteves School of Education. What initiatives are you especially excited to introduce or build on?
I am excited about working alongside our faculty and staff, in alignment with the mission of Russell Sage College and the Sage Forward strategic plan, to build upon our 100-year legacy in teacher-preparation. Our programs and graduates have had a local and statewide impact. I believe there is no better time to extend our influence and reputation beyond the Northeast. Plus, as Russell Sage’s merger with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences continues to move ahead, it opens new opportunities and supports an exciting and positive trajectory.
Even with our existing, comprehensive offerings at the undergraduate and graduate level, we have a number of new programs that will be exciting to launch over the next one to two years. I am particularly excited about the momentum Professor Kelly Smith has created in her work with The Center for Positive Education and look forward to more programming on positive psychology and positive education. The college’s partnership with The Center for Positive Education, alongside our Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung Center for the Promotion of Mental Health and School Safety, provides the Esteves School of Education with two exciting centers to further engage with school systems.
How do you see the Esteves School of Education evolving to prepare educators for the opportunities and challenges of the profession today?
The systems and needs within education are vast and intertwined, ranging from workforce development to address teacher and leader shortages, to what teachers and leaders do to support their students on a daily basis. And our alumni have seen wide shifts in the education profession, depending on when they entered the workforce.
The Esteves School of Education engages in ongoing systematic review and collaboration with the wider profession to ensure our graduates enter the workforce prepared to lead classroom practices that make a meaningful difference for their students — whether that means integrating new technologies or applying new pedagogical approaches.
I see AI technologies being a major development and educators balancing the need for high technology and high human interaction as a significant metric that will differentiate educational systems.
I’ll continue to bring stakeholders in the PK-12 continuum together for discussions that lead to actions, so we can build on the successful components of the educational systems in New York and (eventually) beyond. Our educational system is complex, but when we’re able to truly place students first in our schools, we have the ability to impact generations.
After nearly 15 years in a range of faculty and leadership roles at Russell Sage, what continues to make this community a place where you enjoy doing your work?
The people in our Russell Sage College community! Within the School of Ed, we are focused on developing teachers, leaders, and clinicians who are ready to go on day one of their first job — but we also offer support and professional development across their careers in education. All of our faculty are meaningfully engaged in a variety of curricular, instructional, and professional initiatives that add to the richness of experiences students have in our program. As an institution, we support each other and continue to strive to place students first in our systems and processes.
Plus, I’ve had the opportunity to build and grow at Sage. Prior to my current roles, I served for seven and a half years as the department chair for Professional Education Programs. In that time, I was able to lead major programmatic revisions and develop new programs to address areas of need in education. Now as dean, I can work alongside our faculty and students to build upon this positive momentum throughout the School of Education.
You’re adding dean to your responsibilities as assistant provost, and you continue to teach. Why is staying connected to students important to you, particularly as you take on expanded leadership responsibilities?
The students in our programs today will become our colleagues in education, so it’s always important to stay connected. And students want to feel their own sense of connection to their faculty, program, and school. If I can be a conduit, then I’m going to lean into engaging our students throughout their time at Sage. It doesn’t stop when they graduate. Once they’re colleagues, our engagement might look a bit different, but there remain opportunities to connect as professionals.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I’m excited about the opportunity, and I’m looking forward to serving in this new role!
We owe future professionals the opportunity to build and continually develop their skills. As lifelong learners who utilize a reflective framework, they will make a difference for their students. It’s not an easy career — there will be good days and not-so-good days in teaching and leading, but with the preparation we provide, we’re all making a difference. We know we make a difference every time we hear of the success of a graduate.