Christine Christianson is the inaugural assistant director of assessment and accreditation for the Virginia Tech School of Education. She begins her role on July 1.
 
In this position, she will continue the school’s long-standing record of attaining accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), Council for Accreditation of Counselor and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
 
“I’m pleased to have this opportunity to work with Virginia Tech faculty, administrators, alumni, P-12 partners, and other stakeholders to strengthen program improvement and continuous improvement processes in the school,” said Christianson. 
 
Christianson comes from Ferrum College, where she was a faculty member for seven years, and for three of those years, she was director of teacher education. Among her accomplishments at Ferrum, Christianson designed, implemented, and managed a comprehensive and integrated assessment and program evaluation system that would produce valid and reliable data in order to meet the accreditation requirements of multiple agencies. Additionally, she was the lead project manager for the revision of initial licensure programs and for the development of two new online graduate degrees.
 
Christianson earned a master’s degree in English from Radford University and a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction from North Carolina State University. Her research interests include teacher preparation, data-driven instruction, and trauma-informed pedagogy.
 
A Virginia native, Christianson began her career in education in 1997 as a secondary English teacher. Her interest in assessment and evaluation practices evolved through her work in New Zealand from 2007-2009, where she worked for Bay of Plenty Polytechnic as the assessment and evaluation advisor to faculty.
 
She went on to become a teacher educator in 2011 during her doctoral studies at North Carolina State University.
 
“Dr. Christianson’s extensive experience, track record, and vision for this position set her apart from other candidates,” said Nancy Bradley, associate director of the Office of Academic Programs for the Virginia Tech School of Education.
 
Christianson said she is looking forward to the next phase of her career at Virginia Tech.
 
“I will gain valuable insight into the School of Education’s programs by collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to develop and sustain a culture of assessment,” said Christianson. “Additionally, beyond the assessment and accreditation role, I will work alongside literacy faculty and teach content area reading for secondary education licensure students. This is so important because it will help me closely engage with the students we serve.”