Michael J. Bell Associate Professor (Early Childhood Education)
Michael J. Bell received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Curriculum and Instruction in 1989. He received his Master's degree from the Northern Arizona University in 1980 and his baccalaureate degree in elementary education from Arizona State University in 1978. Dr. Bell had been a Head Start teacher and a primary and intermediate grade teacher in public schools. He has been a school and state-level administrator of early childhood programs and his most recent administrative position was the State Administrator of Early Childhood Programs in the Governor's Office in Arizona until 1996. Prior to coming to WCU, Dr. Bell was a member of the faculty at the University of Houston - Clear Lake. Dr. Bell has published a series of articles focusing on the education of children, early childhood and elementary school curriculum. Dr. Bell continues to write and lecture on integrated curriculum planning that promotes science, math, and literacy, while promoting critical thinking, inquiry among school children. Most recently, he published articles on primary grade science and technology.

George P. Drake, Jr., Associate Professor (Special Education)
George's interests in special education include the education of students with severe disabilities, inclusive education, and behavior management. As a result, he teaches coursework in these areas for the department. During his ten years of public school teaching in New Jersey, George taught adjudicated youth in the Mercer County Juvenile Shelter, students with severe disabilities in the Mercer County Special Services School District, and math and science to homebound middle school students from the Hopewell Valley Regional Schools.He holds a B.S. in elementary education with a specialization in mental retardation from West Virginia University, a Master's degree in special education from the College of New Jersey, and a Ph.D. in education with a focus on severe disabilities and research from the University of Virginia. George's wife Linda is a teacher at the Bush Early Education Center, a school in Wilmington's Brandywine School District. George and Linda have three sons. Until he is convinced otherwise, he will continue to believe the penguin to be the best dressed of all the animals.

Corinne M. Murphy, Assistant Professor (Special Education)
Corinne Murphy received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University with a concentration in applied behavior analysis and special education. She holds a M.A. in applied behavior analysis and a B.A. in psychology and speech and hearing science, both from The Ohio State University.  Dr. Murphy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has taught children with mild to severe disabilities including those with learning delays, emotional behavior disorders, and autism. She has worked as an autism inclusion coordinator in the urban school district of Columbus, Ohio. In addition, Dr. Murphy served 6 years as a case supervisor of the Children's Hospital Autism Center, Intensive Behavioral Intervention Clinic, in Columbus, Ohio. Her research interests include language development by children with autism as well as language interventions and functional behavior assessments. Outside the academic realm, Dr. Murphy is an avid trombone player and a very emphatic college football fan. She is truly a Buckeye.

Cheryl B. McCarthy, Associate Professor (Special Education)
Cheryl earned her Doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo in Special Education. She holds a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Special Education from Purdue University. Currently, she teaches assessment and methods at the undergraduate and graduate level and supervises students and teachers working with students with high and low incidence disabilities in various schools in surrounding counties. Other collegiate assignments include advising special education majors, involvement serving on committees including the Graduate School of Education Planning Committee and the School of Education Scholarship Committee. Her previous teaching experiences involved working with various students with disabilities, including those with learning disabilities, autism, mental retardation, physical disabilities, severe emotionally disturbed, and adjudicated youth. Her research interests are in attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder, hands-on teaching methods, assessment for students with special needs, teacher effectiveness, and co-teaching strategies in inclusive settings.

Vicki A. McGinley, Professor and Chair
Dr. McGinley is currently a Professor of Special Education at West Chester University. She has taught undergraduate and graduate field and methods coursework in both low and high incidence disabilities, courses on working with the family, and courses in diversity. Dr. McGinley received her doctorate from Temple University's Department of Psychological Studies/Special Education in 1992 with a minor in Communication Disorders. In addition to a degree in Special Education, she is also certified to teach Secondary Education/English. Dr. McGinley has held a number of positions working with children from teaching in the urban public school setting to directing therapeutic programs. Besides her love of teaching others to work effectively with children, Dr. McGinley's interests are in the areas of communication and behavior disorders, inclusive classrooms and communities, and legal issues in education. She is very committed to diversity and urban education. Dr. McGinley serves as a state hearing officer in two states as well as an educational mediator.

Katherine Norris, Assistant Professor (Early Childhood Education)

Catherine Prudhoe, Professor (Early Childhood Education)
Cathy Prudhoe is Assistant Chair of the Department and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the early childhood education program.  She received her doctorate from the University of Delaware in Family Studies with a concentration in early childhood and early childhood/special education.   Her bachelor's and master's degrees are from Penn State in Individual and Family Studies and Human Development and Family Studies, respectively.  Dr. Prudhoe has taught young children in Head Start, the Penn State Child Development Laboratory, the Keene State Children's Center, and the University of Delaware's Preschool Laboratory Program. Her scholarship focuses on early literacy development and multicultural education.  Dr. Prudhoe's outside interests include attending the Philadelphia Orchestra performances and travel.

Claire Verden, Assistant Professor (Special Education)

Donna L. Wandry, Associate Professor (Special Education)
Donna received her B.S. in Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, her M.Ed. in Special Education from the University of Utah, and her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Florida. Dr. Wandry worked with children and youth with disabilities for over ten years in school and agency settings.  She taught at Central Michigan University for five years before coming to West Chester University.  Prior to that, she was the Project Director for a federal transition grant at the State Department of Education in Kansas. Her primary areas of interest are special education legislation, as well as movement from school to adult life for persons with disabilities and working in school settings to create systemic programming changes to facilitate that movement.