Faculty & Staff

PhD, Kent State University; MEd, Cleveland State University; BA, Notre Dame College

Middle Grades Teacher Education, Inquiry-Oriented Approaches to Teaching and Learning, Video Analysis

PhD, University of South Carolina; MEd, University of South Carolina; BA, University of Lagos

Dr. Coker-Kolo is the Associate Dean and Professor of Education Leadership in the John Lounsbury College of Education. She has been awarded the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship twice (2022 and 2025) and is also a two-time recipient of the Fulbright- Hays Award (2002 and 2009). In 2022, she received the Distinguished Senior Faculty Research and Creativity Award from Indiana University Southeast.

With over two decades of experience as a faculty member and administrator in higher education, she has contributed extensively to course, program and curriculum development, as well as  numerous grant-funded initiatives. During her tenure at Indiana University Southeast, she served as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on externally funded grants totaling over one million dollars.

Her research interests span a wide range of topics, including program and unit accreditation, gender and leadership in academia, middle school administration and organization, multicultural education, human trafficking, brain drain, and higher education in sub-Saharan Africa.

Her recent publication include:

• "A Critique of the teacher Professional Development Continuum from the Lens of Critical Race Theory" (2023) and The Human cost of Human Trafficking (2022), both published in the International Journal of Education, Library Communication and Technology;
• "Human Trafficking and Violation of Girls' Right to Education in Sub-Saharan Africa" (2021), published by Springer;
• A 2018 review of Mimko, M. O.'s Getting our Universities Back on Track: Reflections and Governance Paradigms from My Chancellorship, published in the Journal of Global South Studies, 35(2);
• "Deanship: The art of Service and Shared Leadership" (2018), in Hicks & Watson (Eds.), Black Administrators in Higher Education, published by Rowan & Littlefield;
• " The Role of African Universities in a Changing World" (2013). published in the Journal of Third World Studies.

She is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), the American Asssoiation of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the Association of Global South Studies (AGSS), the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), and the African Studies Research Forum. (ASRF). 

She has taught graduate-level course-both online and in person-in Educational Leadership, including Introduction to Educational Leadership, School Personal Management, Ethical an Legal Perspectives in Education, and School-Community Relations. She also serves as the director of the practicum for the Educational Leadership program.

PhD, University of Georgia; MEd, Augusta State University; BS, University of Georgia

Marginalized Young Adolescent Populations, Youth in Foster Care

Vice Chair, Middle Level Education Research (MLER) SIG, a division of AERA

EdD, University of Georgia; MEd, Clemson University; BA, Meredith College

Middle Level Education and Teacher Education, Content Area Literacy and Student Motivation, Young Adolescents' Transition from Middle to High School

Reviewer for RMLE Online, Middle Grades Research Journal and Middle School Journal, as well as the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation/Association for Middle Level Education Specialized Professional Association (AMLE/CAEP SPA) and the Georgia Lighthouse Schools to Watch. Active with the National CMLA Advisory Board and the Association for Middle Level Education Foundation Board.

PhD, Walden University; Ed.S, Columbus State University; MEd, Georgia Southern University; BA, Georgia Southern University

Organizational Effectiveness, Educational Leadership, PBIS, School Culture and School Climate, School/Continuous Improvement, Education Policy