Laura Choate Named Interim Director of LSU School of Education

March 2, 2022

BATON ROUGE - The LSU College of Human Sciences & Education named Laura Hensley Choate, EdD, as interim director of the LSU School of Education. Choate's appointment follows Dr. Neil Mathews, Patrick and Edwige Olinde Professor, announcing his retirement this year.

Choate is currently the Acting Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Services in the College of Human Sciences & Education. The director of the School of Education oversees all academic programs, undergraduate, graduate and online in the school and its mission to prepare P-12 educational professionals to be leaders, practitioners, and scholars. The college will launch a national search for the permanent School of Education director in Fall 2022.

“I am looking forward to working with Dr. Choate in her new role as interim director,” said Dean Roland Mitchell. “As evidenced from numerous nominations and recommendations from her colleagues, Dr. Choate is a leader and will steward the school during this time of transition, keeping a sharp focus on the needs of our students while innovating our programs during a critical time of change in the realm of education. I appreciate her willingness to serve and lead our school while we prepare and execute a national search.”

Dr. Choate, Jo Ellen Levy Yates Endowed Professor, has been with the counselor education program at LSU since 1999. She is the coordinator of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. Her research interests include girls’ and women’s mental health, including depression and eating disorders. She is the author of five books: Depression in Girls and Women Across the Lifespan: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals (Routledge, 2020); Swimming Upstream: Parenting Girls for Resilience in a Toxic Culture (Oxford University Press, 2015), Girls’ and Women’s Wellness: Contemporary Counseling Issues and Interventions (2008), Eating Disorders and Obesity: A Counselor’s Guide to Prevention and Treatment (edited), both published by the American Counseling Association, and Adolescent Girls in Distress: A Guide to Mental Health Treatment and Prevention (Springer Publications, 2013). She was awarded the 2016 LSU Distinguished Faculty Award, 2014 College of Human Sciences & Education Distinguished Research Award and the 2012 ACA Best Practices Award for her work in the area of eating disorders treatment and prevention. She served for 10 years on the board of the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, serving two years as Board Chair and eight years as Discipline Committee Chair.

“It is my pleasure to step into the interim director position in the School of Education and to work with our outstanding faculty, staff, and students,” said Choate.  “From our undergraduate programs in Teacher Education to our array of graduate programs in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership, Higher Education Administration, Educational Technology, Educational Research, and Counselor Education,  I'm truly grateful to play a leadership role in shaping the school as it continues to produce leaders and changemakers in our classrooms and communities.”

About SOE
The LSU School of Education (SOE) offers graduate and undergraduate programs in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Leadership and Research, and Counseling, including two completely online master’s programs. SOE offers a range of professional and academic degree programs that focus on preparing students for careers in education, research, counseling, policy formation and implementation, as well as program oversight. The School’s mission is to prepare P-12 educational professionals to be leaders, practitioners, and scholars knowledgeable in contemporary educational issues. SOE is part of the College of Human Sciences & Education. Visit the School of Education at lsu.edu/education.

About CHSE
As a college within Louisiana’s flagship university, the College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) impacts the lives of individuals in our state, nation, and the world through our research, service, teaching, and scholarship. We offer programs through our five schools: School of Education, School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, School of Kinesiology, School of Library & Information Science, and School of Social Work. The University Laboratory School (ULS) is also under the college umbrella, enrolling approximately 1,400 K-12 students. ULS was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in Fall 2015. The college is home to the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool (ECELP) which enrolls 175 children ages six weeks to four years old. The ECELP is a NAEYC accredited institution. Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education at lsu.edu/chse.

 

Contact: Mary P. Woods
Director of Communications
LSU College of Human Sciences & Education
225-578-6796 (o)
mpwoods@lsu.edu