Dr. Stephanie Hart Named to Lead WT’s Center for Learning Disabilities

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — A longtime teacher of children with special needs has been selected as the new director of West Texas A&M University’s Center for Learning Disabilities.

Dr. Stephanie Hart, who joined WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences in 2022, was named to the position in May.

“The Center has a long history of serving parents and teachers of children with special needs,” Hart said. “It has always been important to me in my career to be able to help parents and teachers learn how to support these students, and I am excited to be even more involved with the outreach and research we do at the Center.”

With her appointment as director, Hart also will be named WT’s Lanna Hatton Professor of Learning Disabilities.

The Center for Learning Disabilities was established to meet the needs of students with learning disabilities and their parents, as well as assisting teachers in understanding disabilities and possible strategies to help students cope and learn in the classroom. It was designated a Center of Excellence by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in 2013.

Hart currently teaches in WT’s educator preparation and educational diagnostician programs, including courses in behavior management, low incidence disabilities, collaboration, adolescents, and foundations of special education. She also has served on the CLD’s planning committee and advisory board.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Hart will use her professional leadership experiences to plan programming on topics that will interest and engage the various CLD constituents,” said Dr. Betty Coneway, head of WT’s Department of Education and the Geneva Schaeffer Professor of Education. “With Dr. Hart's guidance, the WT Center for Learning Disabilities will continue to positively impact the lives of individuals living with learning differences and respond to the needs of families and educators who support them.”

Hart steps into positions previously held by Dr. Michelle Simmons, who will remain on the faculty.

“We extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Simmons for her dedicated service as the director of the CLD for the past several years,” Coneway said. “She has done an exceptional job of leading the CLD. and we will be eternally grateful for her service.”

Simmons said she looks forward to seeing the continued growth of the Center.

“It has been an honor to serve as director in collaboration with university stakeholders, faculty, current and future educators, and students and their families,” Simmons said. “The Center for Learning Disabilities is passionately committed to supporting students with learning differences and their families and I am proud WT and The Texas A&M University System are represented by this student-focused center.”

The Center offers services for parents, through education, support groups and resources; for students, through workshops designed to support and promote success; and for teachers, through offering understanding of disabilities and effective teaching strategies.

The Center hosts the annual Helen Piehl Distinguished Lecture for educators and the general public, and it supports faculty and student researchers by administering the Richard and Mary West Traylor Research Grant in Learning Disabilities.

Hart has provided teacher coaching in behavior management to school districts across the Panhandle, and she previously served as director of Texas Tech University’s OnRamps dual-enrollment program. She also provides support to community organizations, including the J.T. & Margaret Talkington YWCA and the Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research.

Hart’s research interests include autism, applied behavior analysis, observational assessment, and single-subject design. She has conducted research in a variety of school-based settings, from pre-K to university levels. She recently completed a project funded the National Science Foundation to study the effectiveness of teaching assistants in undergraduate physics courses.

WT’s commitment to serving students is central to the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

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