Dr. William McConnell
Dr. Bill McConnell, Dean of the D. Henry Watts School of Professional Studies, holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Old Dominion University, with a concentration in environmental science education. Prior to joining Virginia Wesleyan University, he taught in public schools for 20 years, earning Teacher of the Year honors at two schools and the Chesapeake City Teacher of the Year award in 2009. At VWU, he has received the Samuel Nelson Gray Distinguished Teaching Award and the Virginia Association of Colleges of Teacher Education Inspirational Educator Award in both 2018 and 2019. Under his leadership as VWU Director of Teacher Education from 2019-2025, the Education Department found innovative ways to reduce economic barriers for those seeking to teach, significantly increased enrollment, increased the number of undergraduate and graduate education degrees, and earned national recognition for program assessment.
Dr. McConnell has served as Principal Investigator or Co-PI on over $2 million in funded grant projects, leading initiatives such as the Shared Waters Project, Environmental Explorers, and the Virginia Wesleyan Environmental Institute, which received national recognition with the 2020 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award. He was named the 2023 recipient of the VWU Faculty Award for Distinguished Scholarship and was selected as a Visiting Professor/Researcher at Heidelberg University of Education in Germany in the spring of 2025. His research focuses on STEM teaching and learning in diverse educational contexts and is shared widely through regional, national, and international venues.