About the Directors
Leslie Murrill is professor of education at Roanoke College, where she has taught since 1992. She has served as co-director of the Margaret Sue Copenhaver Institute since its beginning. Dr. Murrill currently teaches children and Adolescent Literature, Elementary and Middle School Reading and Language Arts. She began her teaching career as a fifth-grade classroom teacher in Temple Hills, Md., and later instructed Title I Reading in Lafayette, Ind. She received her M.Ed. from Purdue University and her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. She has authored articles and book reviews in The Education Forum, Kappa Delta Pi Record, Reading in Virginia, the SRATE Journal, and has published a book chapter. Murrill has presented at venues such as the National Reading Conference, National Teaching Academy, Kappa Delta Pi Convocation, National Staff Development Council, International Children's Literature Association and American Educational Research Association. Her current professional interests focus on middle school literacy instruction and the role of professional development as a source of growth and renewal. Murrill and her husband, Todd, are the parents of two sons and two daughters.
Dr. Karin Kaerwer is an education faculty member at Roanoke College. Prior to her role at the college, she was a public educator for 11 years and concurrently wrote curriculum at the district and state levels, worked closely with the Virginia Department of Education to create state-wide resources, contributed to projects with other higher education institutions, and presented professional development seminars for teachers throughout Virginia. After joining the education faculty at Roanoke College, Karin received her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction: Education Foundations at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on equity in education, increasing educator diversity, critical education policy analysis, race and education, and coalition building. She is a firm supporter of public schools and believes education is the linchpin of U.S. democracy and that it is undergirded by the invaluable contributions of our nation's public-school educators. Karin is honored to support educators through her work with Dr. Leslie Murrill in curating each year's Copenhaver Institute