College of Education

Jason Chiang received his Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science from Syracuse University, Master’s degree in Educational Psychology and Methodology from SUNY Albany, and Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of Toronto. As a first-generation Canadian and American, Dr. Chiang takes pride in his immigrant identity and actively participates in community activities. He is deeply in love with DFW area and everything Texas.

Informed by John Berry's ecological perspective and his work on acculturation strategies, Dr. Chiang's research involves investigating how familial, school, and cultural factors affect immigrant children’s capacity to cope with challenging educational and environmental situations and succeed.

Before moving to Texas, Dr. Chiang had previously taught at University of Akron as Assistant Professor of Instruction, and at Berkshire Community College as Assistant Professor of Psychology. He also worked briefly as a Head Start Administrator in California.

Dana Booker holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Human Development and Family Science from the University of North Texas. Specifically, Dana has researched child advocacy practices, multi-system collaborations around prevention and intervention, and parent-centered education through her work at Prevent Child Abuse Texas. Her research interests also include working with military families and military systems to identify effective academic prevention strategies for youth. Dr. Booker has received evaluation training from the American Evaluation Association and worked as the program evaluator for the Texas chapter of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). It was this opportunity that increased her passion for prevention and intervention work. Originally from Albuquerque, Dana received her B.A. in Psychology and M.S. in Educational Psychology from the University of New Mexico. Dana is married to her best friend and is a proud mom of three amazing boys.

Dr. Sarah Deemer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation at the University of North Texas. Dr. Deemer received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Kinesiology/Exercise Science from the University of Texas at El Paso, and her PhD in Exercise Physiology from Texas Woman’s University in 2017. She completed an NIDDK T32 post-doctoral fellowship in the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Deemer’s research focuses on the mechanisms contributing to the development of obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Her main focus is elucidating the role adipose tissue and skeletal muscle have on metabolic health and how this process may be modified by diet and/or exercise. Additionally, she is interested in investigating the biological factors and mechanisms that underlie the increased prevalence of obesity and metabolic disease in racial and ethnic minority populations in an effort to reduce the prevalence of health disparities and improve minority health.

Ruth McKoy Lowery, Ph.D., is Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Faculty Affairs in the College of Education. She is also  a professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. Dr. Lowery’s research focuses on children’s literature, immigrant and multicultural literature, and the adaptation of immigrant and minority students at-risk of school failure, West Indian immigrants’ adjustment in American, Canadian, and British schools; and preparing teachers to teach diverse student populations. The definitive outcome of her research is to prepare preservice and in-service teachers to create a culturally responsive learning space for all children they will ultimately teach through diverse literature integration in their curriculum. Children’s literature is an important mode of communication and when utilized, stories have the power to break down walls as readers make cross-cultural connections. Her motto “Just read” encapsulates her love of books and belief in sharing great literature with readers of all ages. Dr. Lowery has more than 100 publications including seven books. She is vice-president of the Children's Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English. Prior to coming to UNT, Dr. Lowery served as Interim Chair and Associate Chair for the Department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education and Human Ecology at the Ohio State University.

Lydia Caldwell is an Assistant Professor in Kinesiology and Health Promotion. She joined the faculty at the University of North Texas in the Fall of 2020. She earned her B.S. in Biology and M.S.E in Exercise Science from the University of Dayton prior to completing her Ph.D. in Kinesiology at The Ohio State University. During her doctorate studies, Caldwell was funded by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, where she supported research with the 711^th Human Performance Wing (AFRL) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

Dr. Caldwell’s primary research interests are centered around the physiology of exercise performance and recovery optimization. Her most current work has focused on the use of a novel recovery modality, flotation-restricted environmental stimulation therapy, to reduce biomarkers of stress and improve resiliency in military and athletic populations.

Selcuk Acar, Ph.D., is an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of North Texas. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (with an emphasis in Gifted and Creative Education) from the University of Georgia. His primary area of research interest includes divergent thinking, assessment of creativity, and the education of the gifted and talented. Prior to UNT, Dr. Acar has worked at two different centers specialized in the field of creative education: Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development of University of Georgia, and the International Center for Studies in Creativity of SUNY Buffalo State. In addition to numerous book chapter and encyclopedia entries, Dr. Acar published over 70 peer-reviewed articles primarily on creativity. He has served as a PI in a creativity measurement grant by the Institute of Education Sciences to develop a new measure of original thinking called MOTES. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor at Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. He is also on the editorial board of Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal of Creative Behavior, Journal of Advanced Academics, and Creativity Research Journal. Dr. Acar is a recipient of APA Division 10’s 2022 Berlyne Award in recognition of outstanding research by an early career scholar, UNT College of Education’s 2021 Faculty Research Excellence Award and UNT College of Education's 2023 Service Award.

Wesley Edwards is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration at the University of North Texas. His research interests include teacher and school leader career trajectories, school organizational work environments, and the politics and policy of educational leadership. Dr. Edwards has published in journals such as Educational Policy, Teachers College Record, and Education Economics.

Edwards received a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in the Sociology of Education from New York University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to pursuing his Ph.D., he was a middle school math and science teacher and teacher leader in New York and Texas. 

Dr. Hyun Kyoung (Hyunny) Ro is Associate Professor of Counseling and Higher Education at the University of North Texas.  She earned a Ph.D. In Higher Education from The Pennsylvania State University with a minor in Educational Psychology—Applied Measurement.  Prior to that, she earned a master’s and baccalaureate degree at Korea University.  Prior to UNT, Dr. Ro and worked as a faculty member in the Department of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Bowling Green State University and worked as a Research Designer and Analyst in the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis at Carnegie Mellon University.  Her research expertise includes Gender and Racial Equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education; Learning Experiences and Outcomes among Marginalized Students; and Critical Quantitative Research and Assessment.  She received multiple external grants with a total amount of $1.1 million from the National Science Foundation (ADVANCE Adaptation Track grant for gender equity on campus) and AccessLex Institute/Association for Institutional Research (law school access and enrollment among women of color).  She has been the leading author on articles that were published peer-reviewed journals, such as Journal of Engineering Education, Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, Educational Policy, The Review of Higher Education, and Research in Higher Education.