Dr. Kathy Shaver-Wetzel’s career in education spans more than 40 years. She has been a special educator in the Tuscaloosa County Schools as well as an administrator and faculty member in the College of Education at The University of Alabama.
Although Dr. Shaver-Wetzel spent more than 20 years in the College of Education, her career in education began as a special education teacher in the Tuscaloosa County Schools. She quickly emerged as a leader and became the coordinator for schoolwide enrichment for Tuscaloosa County Schools. As a teacher, she was asked to serve as a lead for the Summer Enrichment Workshop at The University of Alabama. During this time, she also became a leader for the Alabama for the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools by serving on teams for school reviews, later serving as its assistant director. Her many contributions have been recognized over the decades, including by AdvancEd – formerly SACS and now Cognia – which bestowed her with the prestigious Excellence in Education Award for the state of Alabama.
As a gifted education specialist in public schools, Wetzel was a leader in providing instructional services to a diversity of bright students, including twice exceptional students, or those with mild disabilities who also demonstrated special gifts and talents. She led the experimental implementation of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, a national model for gifted education, in a local middle school. This encouraged teachers of talent pool classes in every subject to compact the traditional curriculum and allow any student with aptitude for a certain subject to show mastery of the curriculum in less time and, thus, free up space for the pursuit of individual interests. Through her gifted education services, Kathy developed a highly effective mentorship program, matching retired local experts in a variety of fields with students having similar interests and needing guidance in completion of original investigations.
Dr. Wetzel was also selected as a special teacher on location in New York City for gifted students performing in the Broadway production of “Les Misérables” and for those performing in a production of Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular. Nine- to ten-hour days six days a week gave her a new understanding of providing appropriate instruction to students gifted in the performing arts, and Wetzel co-authored an article in a national journal and made presentations at conferences based on these experiences.
Before beginning her position as associate dean of the College of Education, Dr. Wetzel served the College, Tuscaloosa County Schools, and Tuscaloosa City Schools as the executive of the Alabama Consortium for Educational Renewal. Through this work, she led faculty, staff, and UA students to support P-12 schools.
From 2002-2021, Dr. Wetzel served the College of Education as the associate dean for Student Services and Certification. She chaired numerous committees, such as the COE Exceptions Board and the Academic Honor Council which supported students. Throughout her service in the College, her work touched students in many ways. Through countless hours, she worked to ensure that every student had the opportunity to learn and was supported along the way. Dr. Wetzel was the “go-to” person in the COE when a student needed extra help and support. She worked tirelessly to support students, often working after hours and on weekends.
Her work went beyond the boundaries of the campus as she emerged as a key leader for the educator preparation through her service with state certification and accreditation with the Alabama State Department of Education. In addition, Dr. Wetzel served on numerous accreditation review teams for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). She also led the College as the official certification officer and liaison to the Alabama State Department of Education through 20 years of uninterrupted successful certification reviews.
In addition to this work, Dr. Wetzel has served the community through her contributions to numerous organizations that support special needs students. She has served on many boards as well as gathered volunteers and supporters to contribute to numerous initiatives.