Department of Special Education Faculty and Staff
Dr. Thomas Gibbon
Office: Shippen 125
Phone: (717) 477-1498
Department Chair & Associate Professor
About Dr. Gibbon:
Thomas C. Gibbon is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education at Shippensburg University. He earned an EdD in Developmental Education from Grambling State University, Louisiana, and a Masters in Special Education with Special Education Teaching Certificates from McDaniel College, Maryland. He has published or presented about the following: transition to adulthood and higher education for students with disabilities; sexual harassment and safety of SWD; sexual education for SWD; multicultural competence for pre-service teachers; teaching children with chronic illness; inclusion; family advocacy for transition services; self-regulated learning; interventions for college students on academic probation; summer bridge programs; others.
Dr. David Bateman
Office: Shippen 101
Phone: (717) 477-1460
Professor
About Dr. Bateman:
David F. Bateman, Ph.D., is a professor at Shippensburg University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education where he teaches courses on special education law, assessment, and facilitating inclusion. He is a former due process hearing officer for Pennsylvania for over 580 hearings. He uses his knowledge of litigation relating to special education to assist school districts in providing appropriate supports for students with disabilities. His latest area of research has been on the role of principals in special education. He has been a classroom teacher of students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disability, and hearing impairments, and a building administrator for summer programs. Dr. Bateman earned a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Kansas. He has recently co-authored the following books: A Principal’s Guide to Special Education, A Teacher’s Guide to Special Education, Charting the Course: Special Education in Charter Schools, and the forthcoming Current Trends and Legal Issues in Special Education.
Dr. Jacquelyn Chovanes
Office: Shippen 213
Phone: (717) 477-3031
Assistant Professor
About Dr. Chovanes:
Jacquelyn Chovanes, Ph.D., is thrilled to be an assistant professor at Shippensburg University. Dr. Chovanes earned a master’s degree in special education from the University of Pittsburgh and taught elementary, middle and high school students with severe and multiple disabilities, learning disabilities, autism, and emotional and behavioral disabilities in Alaska, Michigan, Maine, and Pennsylvania prior to earning a doctorate in special education at Lehigh University. Dr. Chovanes’ research interests include data-based individualization for students with intensive needs, peer mediated social communication interventions for students with autism, culturally responsive teaching, and positive behavior support strategies for classroom management.
Dr. Anne Papalia
Office: Shippen 229
Phone: (717) 477-1345
Associate Professor
About Dr. Papalia:
Dr. Anne Papalia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education. She holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from Penn State University, an M.Ed. in Counseling from Alfred University, and an M.Ed. in Special Education and a B.S. in Special Education/ Elementary Education from the State University of New York at Geneseo. Dr. Papalia’s academic interests are in learning disabilities, reading instruction for students with disabilities, Duane’s Syndrome, and Animal Assisted Therapy. Her recent publications and presentations involve school emergency planning for students with disabilities, service dog in schools, and therapy dog use with children with disabilities. Dr. Papalia trains and owns therapy dogs, shows her Labrador Retrievers in obedience and agility, and judges dog obedience trials.
Cindy Poe
Office: SPH 127
Phone: (717) 477-1591
Department Secretary
About Cindy:
Cindy Poe is the Department Secretary at Shippensburg University for the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education, the Wood Honors College, and the Shippensburg University Superintendent Study Council. Cindy graduated from the Central Pennsylvania Business School with an Associate’s Degree in Office Administration in 1996 and excelled in the field before beginning her career at Shippensburg University in 2009. Cindy is an asset to the department, mentors the department’s student workers and Graduate Assistants, and supports the department’s professors. Cindy is a loving cat mom of two and a dedicated Shippensburg community member.
