Elaine Richardson, Professor Emerita of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and former director of the Academic Success Center, was honored virtually at the National College Learning Center Association’s (NCLCA) annual conference as a Fellow of the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA).
Richardson was the first director of the Academic Success Center, which received numerous national awards. She continues to publish and present on learning assistance collaborations across campus; much of her earlier work focused on Universal Design and building programs to enhance academic performance and retention.
After serving as president of NCLCA, Richardson led the development of NCLCA’s Centers of Excellence Certification program. She continues to serve NCLCA as a certification reviewer and on the Past Presidents Council. In 2019, Richardson received the NCLCA Lifetime Achievement Award and, in 2020, was named to Clemson’s Emeritus College.
The vision of the CLADEA is to “provide leadership and a unified voice to advance the profession of postsecondary learning assistance and developmental education.” The naming of CLADEA Fellows is the organization’s way of formally recognizing the excellence of the very best practitioners, policymakers, researchers, teachers and administrators within the postsecondary learning assistance, developmental education and tutoring. Selection as a Fellow represents the highest honor conferred upon professionals in this field.
Although there are approximately 100,000 educators in the field, only 67 have been named Fellows since 2000.