Jennifer Grisham-Brown
Professor
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Jennifer Grisham-Brown is a professor in the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education program and faculty director of the Early Childhood Laboratory school. She is co-author of two books on blended education in early childhood education (Blended Practices in Early Childhood Education and Blended Assessment Practices in Early Childhood Education – in press). Her research interests include authentic assessment, tiered instruction, and inclusion of children with significant disabilities. Dr. Grisham-Brown is co-founder of a children’s home and preschool program in Guatemala City called Hope for Tomorrow, where she accompanies students for the education abroad program.

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Lee Ann Jung
Associate Professor
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Lee Ann Jung, PhD, is an associate professor in the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education program. Before joining the faculty in 2002, Lee Ann worked in the field of special education for 10 years as a teacher and administrator. Since 2002, Lee Ann has served as the higher education representative on Kentucky’s governor-appointed Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) for early intervention, which she chaired for several years. Lee Ann is associate editor for Young Exceptional Children, has served as guest editor of Topics in Early Childhood Special Education in 2009 and is an editorial board member for these journals as well as Journal of Early Intervention. She has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and has received in excess of 3 million dollars in funding to support personnel preparation and research. She is author of the book, Grading Struggling and Exceptional Learners, published by Corwin Press. Lee Ann is a frequent national presenter and consultant on topics of IEP and IFSP development, measuring and reporting achievement of exceptional learners, consultative service delivery, and routines-based intervention. Lee Ann is a 2001 graduate of Auburn University.

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Katherine McCormick
Professor
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Dr. Katherine McCormick is a Professor in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education and holds the James W. and Diane V. Stuckert Service-Learning Professorship. Dr. McCormick came to UK in 1998 from Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. She attended Auburn University for her Ph.D. and the University of Alabama Birmingham for advanced degrees in School Psychology. While in Alabama Dr. McCormick worked as a classroom teacher of young children with developmental delays and also worked as a school psychologist. She also directed a rural migrant program, and taught at-risk adolescents and youth in an alternative school program.

Dr. McCormick is active in teaching, research and service. While in Georgia, Dr. McCormick was appointed by the Governor to chair the Georgia Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Intervention. In Kentucky, Governor Beshear appointed her to the Early Childhood Authority. She serves on numerous college and university committees as well as state and national boards including editorial board membership for the premier journal in her discipline, the Journal of Early Intervention.

Dr. McCormick is a successful researcher in the fields of early intervention and early childhood special education. She has participated as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on numerous projects funded by private foundations or state and federal agencies. Research with other colleagues at UK includes a 3-yr research and evaluation project of the Kentucky primary program and a 7-yr federally funded project to study transition for young children with disabilities and their families across the early childhood years. She disseminates her work regularly through publications and presentations.

Current research interests include transition for young children, assessment and accountability practices, community engagement, and service-learning.

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Kim Townley
Associate Professor
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Dr. Townley currently is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood in the College of Education. Dr. Townley has been involved in the field of early childhood development and education for over thirty years. Her work began in South Carolina as a public school kindergarten teacher. Dr. Townley has served as a Child Development Associate instructor for Head Start, as a validator for the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, and has been a faculty member and Director of early childhood laboratory schools at Chadron State College, the University of Nebraska and the University of Kentucky. In her tenure as a Laboratory Director, she implemented full-day programming for infant/toddlers, evening child care, and the blending of a public Pre-K program.

Most recently Dr. Townley served for three years as Director of the Division of Early Childhood Development at the Kentucky Department of Education and five years as Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, coordinating development and implementation of Kentucky’s KIDS NOW Early Childhood Initiative, which was unanimously passed by the General Assembly in 2000 and is funded with 25% of Tobacco Settlement Dollars. The KIDS NOW early childhood initiative works across state agencies and with the public and private sectors to support families within communities so each child reaches their fullest potential.

Throughout her career, Dr. Townley’s research has encompassed the broad domain of environmental influences on the development of young children. As part of this research program she has investigated the burnout of teachers, the effectiveness of the Kentucky Preschool Program, and peace education.

Dr. Townley has been recognized for her work through awards from the March of Dimes, Kentucky Child Now, Children’s Inc., the Kentucky School Age Coalition, the Kentucky Interagency Coordinating Council, Family Place: A Child Abuse Treatment Facility, the University of Missouri, and the University of Kentucky.
 

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