Academic Degrees

• James Madison University, Ph.D. Strategic Leadership, Educational K-12 Leadership
• James Madison University, post Master’s Certificate in College Student Personnel Services
• Antioch University Seattle, M.A. in Education
• State University of New York at Binghamton, B. S. in Biology

Professional Experience

Dara Hall began supporting JMU teacher education students and College of Education programs through her work in the Education Support Center in 2005. Dara currently oversees recruitment and retention in teacher education, including processes and policies related to admission into teacher education, field experience, and licensure, and in 2022 she added centralized advising services. She serves on numerous committees at the state, university, and college levels, including chairing the Professional Education Coordinating Council, acting as the administrative lead for the MidValley Consortium Mentorship and Clinical Experience Team regional partnership (which helps to facilitate training for clinical faculty to mentor student teachers), and serving as the Clinical Experience Chair for the Virginia Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators. Dara’s work has been recognized as the recipient of honors such as the JMU Provost’s Award for Excellence in Outreach & Engagement in 2021, Bluestone Award for Outstanding Advising in 2019, and 2018 Association of Teacher Educators Distinguished Dissertation in Teacher Education Award. Prior to working at James Madison University, Dara was a curator, educator, and wild animal keeper for four zoos around the country.

Primary Research Interests

• Culturally responsive mentorship and clinical faculty development
• The continuum of mentorship during field experience
• Program evaluation and accreditation in pre-service teacher preparation
• Recruitment and retention for the teaching profession
• Cooperative teaching and experiential learning
• Best practices in academic advising for teacher education