Carol Vukelich, director of the Delaware Center for Teacher Education, has been named the L. Sandra and Bruce L. Hammonds Professor in Teacher Education. The appointment was effective Sept. 1.

Vukelich joined the UD faculty in 1972 and has been director of DCTE, which helps UD students explore their interests in teacher education and links the research and resources of the University with the professional development needs of Delaware educators, since 1996. She also serves as co-director of the Delaware Writing Project, a program in which teachers throughout the state perfect techniques of teaching writing and then instruct their colleagues in those methods.

She has published numerous articles and made many presentations on children's literacy and other topics concerning children's education. Among her honors, Vukelich has received the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Distinguished Faculty Award, both from the then-College of Education; the UD Excellence in Teaching Award; and the Order of Excellence Award from the Delaware State Board of Education.

Vukelich served as president of the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children in 1977-78, the Delaware Association for Childhood Education from 1982-84 and the Association for Childhood Education International from 1993-95.

Sandra Hammonds, CHEP '87, is chairperson of the College's Campaign Steering Committee. Her husband, Bruce Hammonds, is chief operations officer for MBNA America and is a member of the College of Business and Economics Visiting Committee.

Sandra Hammonds says she and her husband wanted to help education in Delaware by supporting a "teacher of teachers."