Dr. Debora Scheffel

Dr. Debora Scheffel was appointed in October, 2013, as Dean of the School of Education, at Colorado Christian University. Previous to her appointment at Colorado Christian, she was Dean of Research at University of the Rockies, and Dean of the School of Education at Jones International University. Previously, she held a tenured professorship at the University of Northern Colorado, served as the Director of Competitive Grants and Awards/Literacy Grants and Initiatives at the Colorado Department of Education, and served as Special Assistant to the Colorado Commissioner of Education on the development of a state-wide literacy plan. 

Dr. Scheffel has an extensive background in assessment, serving as the Director of Academic Assessment at two universities, and has been a visiting scholar in assessment at the United States Air Force Academy. She earned a Master’s degree from the University of Denver in special education, a PhD in communication sciences and disorders from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and completed a National Institutes of Mental Health postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests are in education reform policy, reading, and oral language development and disabilities in children. She has served as a national consultant in school reform efforts related to literacy since 2012.

Dr. Scheffel has worked in six states in a variety of higher education contexts, and is a published author in literacy, special education, and higher education assessment. Her professional affiliations include the International Neuropsychological Society, the International Dyslexia Association, and the Council for Exceptional Children. She is currently
serving a second 6-year term as a member of the Colorado State Board of Education representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. She has served on the editorial boards of Learning Disabilities Research and Practice and the Journal of the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. She is passionate about quality public education, a range of available educational options, and knows the value of exemplary teachers, great school
leaders, and parents who best know their children’s educational needs and potential.