College of Education

Dr. La Vonne I. Neal is Dean of the College of Education at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She describes herself as a person who enjoys challenges that require her to move quickly and traverse difficult obstacles. Indeed, her record of accomplishments as an athlete, businesswoman, educator and leader proves her to be a woman of her word.

Neal is a teacher-educator whose work in the design and implementation of culturally responsive teaching methods has earned wide recognition both among educators and in the popular press. For example, her research on the correlation between African American male students' walking styles and their placement in special education courses has been featured in USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, DiversityInc.Com, and radio and television stations across the country.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Neal was 16 years old when she set an American record for the 80-meter hurdles. This accomplishment, along with many others, would lead to her induction into the Pennsylvania High School Track and Field Hall of Fame. Track and field afforded her the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the United States, Europe and the former Soviet Union, igniting her intellectual curiosity and giving her visceral appreciation for the beauty and diversity of the world and its people. That curiosity, coupled with success in both the academic and athletic arenas reinforced her understanding of the value of multiple intelligences.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from LaSalle University in Political Science, Neal entered the United States Army as a 2nd lieutenant and later earned the rank of captain, specializing in military intelligence. There she gained experience in leadership and strategic planning and that she successfully applied as a manager for such leading corporations as Johnson and Johnson Inc., Kraft Foods Inc., and Miller Brewing Company Inc. Neal's professional experiences and personal commitment to the development of human potential converged when she decided to become an educator. She enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin and received a Master of Education degree, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Special Education with an emphasis in multicultural education.

Neal served five years as a secondary level public school social studies teacher for Round Rock Independent School District in Texas and was grade-level academic team leader for four years.

Neal became a teacher-educator when she joined the faculty at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX and was the director of the university's secondary education teacher certification program. She has also served as a consultant to several schools and school districts in Texas and around the country seeking to institute culturally responsive curricula and teaching methods.

Education

Ph.D., Special Education
The University of Texas at Austin - 1997

M.A., Special Education
The University of Texas at Austin - 1993

B.A., Political Science
LaSalle University - 1973

Scholarship

Dr. Neal is currently the co-editor of the Black History Bulletin (BHB), an association for the study of African American Life and History (ASALH) publication for teachers.

>> View Black History Bulletin
http://www.asalh.org/bhb.html

>> Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH) main page
http://www.asalh.org

Selected Video

Interviews

Moore, A.L. (Producer), Neal, L. I., (Director). (2004).
Their cries went up together: Brown et al. v. Board of Education/Nancy Todd-Noches.
Available from A. Frank Smith, Jr. Library Center, 1001 E. University Ave., Georgetown, TX 78626

>> View MP4
(may take up to 30 seconds to load)

Selected Print Publications

Journal Articles

Neal, L. I., McCray, A. D., Webb-Johnson, G. C., Bridgest, S. T. (2003).
Effects of African American movement styles on teachers' perceptions and reactions
The Journal of Special Education, 37(1), 49-57.

>> View PDF
Neal, L. I., Webb-Johnson, G. C., McCray, A. D. (2003).
Movement matters: The need for culturally responsive teaching
The Journal of the New England League of Middle Schools, Spring 2003, 28-33.

>> View PDF
Neal, L. I., Moore, A. L. (2003).
When bad things happen to good people: Human rights at the core
Social Studies and the Young Learner, 15(3), 1-4.

>> View PDF
McCray, A. D., Sindelar, P. T., Kilgore, K. K., Neal, L. I. (2002).
African American women's decision to become teachers: Sociocultural perspectives
Qualitative Studies in Education, 15(3), 269-290.

>> View PDF
Hayes, J., Fernandez, M., Bowser, A., Neal, L. I. (2002).
A razor-sharp analysis of the movie "Barbershop"
Multicultural Education, Winter 2002, 61.

>> View PDF
Neal, L. I., McCray, A. D., Webb-Johnson, G. C. (2001).
Teacher's reactions to African American students' movement styles
Intervention in School and Clinic, 36(3), 168-174.

>> View PDF
McCray, A. D., Vaughn, S., Neal, L. I. (2001).
Not all students learn to read by third grade
The Journal of Special Education, 35(1), 17-30.

>> View PDF
Neal, L. I., Moore, A. L. (2004).
Their cries went up together: Brown et. al. v. Board of Education then and now
Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 20(1), 5-13.

>> View PDF

Textbook Chapters

Bui, Y.B., Moore, A.L, and Neal, L. I. (2006).
Chapter 2: Cultural, linguistic, and instructional diversity
Exceptional Children in Today's Schools: What Teachers Need to Know (pp. 34-56), Denver, CO: Love Publishing Company

>> View PDF
McCray, A. D., Webb-Johnson, G. C., Neal, L. I. (2003).
Disproportionality of African Americans in special education: An enduring threat to equality and opportunity, In C. C. Yeakey & R. D. Henderson (Eds.),
Surmounting all odds: Education, opportunity and society in the new millennium (pp. 455-485), Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

>> View PDF

Selected News

Print

A Walk Across Cultural Lines
April 23, 2001
By Tamara Henry (USA Today)

>> Read article
Watch Your Step -- or You Might Get Stereotyped
May 14, 2001
By Bo Emerson, Staff (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

>> Read article

Television

Walking Into Trouble?
KXAN-TV Austin, Texas

>> View MOV

Press Kit

Official Biography

With Picture

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Without Picture