Hoover resident named education dean at University of Montevallo

Hoover resident Courtney Bentley Cunningham has been named the new dean of the College of Education at the University of Montevallo, the university announced today.

Cunningham has served the past 17 months as associate dean of programs for the School of Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Before that, she worked eight years at the University of Montevallo, including three years as an assistant professor and five years as an associate professor, according to her biography on LinkedIn. She also spent nearly two of her last years at Montevallo as director of the university’s Malone Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Cunningham also spent two years as an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida and three years as an assistant professor at Troy University.

She is scheduled to begin her new duties as dean at Montevallo on June 1.

Cunningham, in a news release, said she is thrilled to return to Montevallo.

“The University of Montevallo is such a special place, and I’m deeply honored to be named dean of the College of Education,” she said. “I believe that the college is uniquely positioned to strengthen Alabama communities by providing transformative health, human science, and educator preparation programs. I see tremendous opportunities to both build new and grow existing partnerships and initiatives that will positively impact our region.”

James McDonald, the University of Montevallo’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the university’s national search for a new dean of education garnered many outstanding applicants, but Cunningham rose to the top.

“Her breadth and depth of experience, a collaborative and engaged leadership style, and impressive scholarly accomplishments were critical factors that stood out,” McDonald said. “I am excited to welcome an outstanding administrator back to the UM community and look forward to working with her as we continue to strategically grow the institution.”

Cunningham earned her bachelor’s degree in history from Auburn University in 1995, a master’s degree in secondary history education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 1998 and a doctorate in curriculum and teaching from the Teachers College at Columbia University in 2005.

She also serves as president-elect of the Alabama Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, chairwoman of the Advancing Multicultural Learning Committee of the National Association for Multicultural Education and a member of the Alabama Professional Learning Commission.

She lives in Hoover’s Bluff Park community with her husband, Mark Cunningham, and this year served as president of the Bluff Park Elementary Parent Teacher Organization.