l-to-r) Petra Hesse, Hardin Coleman, and Catherine O’Connor. Photo by Michael Spencer

News

BU Wheelock Celebrates Retirements of Four Longtime Faculty

David Chard, Hardin Coleman, Petra Hesse, and Catherine O’Connor have “left an indelible mark on our college”

BU Wheelock announces the retirement of four long-time faculty members whose leadership, scholarship, and service have had a significant impact on the college. David Chard, Hardin Coleman, Petra Hesse, and Catherine O’Connor are stepping down after decades of collective service as educators, leaders, and researchers, as well as transformative impact in their fields.

“We are honored to celebrate the remarkable careers of these four members of our faculty,” says Dean Penny Bishop. “Their leadership, scholarship, and commitment to educational equity have left an indelible mark on our college and the broader fields of education and human development. Each has helped shape BU Wheelock, and we celebrate their legacy with deep respect and admiration for what they have achieved.”

David Chard

David Chard is a professor of special education and dean emeritus. During his time as dean of BU Wheelock (2018–2024), he led the college through a significant vision setting and strategic planning process resulting in a Guide Star focused on equity and justice. Under his leadership, BU Wheelock raised more than $21 million in student scholarship and faculty support, including three new endowed professorships. Previously, he was president of Wheelock College before its merger with Boston University and the founding dean of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU in Dallas, Texas.

Hardin Coleman

Hardin L.K. Coleman is a professor of counseling psychology & applied human development and dean emeritus of BU Wheelock. He prepares professional school counselors to apply an ecological systems perspective to their work. He is also faculty director for the Center for Character & Social Responsibility. His research is focused on systems changes that improve equitable access to high quality learning for all.  As dean (2008 –2017), he focused on how a school and university can use research to refine the practice of education through training educators and partnerships with schools.

Petra Hesse

Petra Hesse, a clinical associate professor of applied human development, focuses her research on children’s emotional development and emotional education, children’s political socialization and political education, and children’s media and media literacy education. Trained in developmental and clinical psychology and international relations, she teaches courses on the human life cycle, social-emotional development, abnormal and counseling psychology, children and the media, and children’s political socialization. Most recently, she has developed an internship program for undergraduates interested in counseling psychology and applied human development.

Catherine O’Connor

Catherine O’Connor is a professor of education and linguistics. Her work in education explores the teacher’s role in creating inclusive, equitable, and conceptually fruitful classroom discussion. She has focused on the role of discussion in support of student reasoning in literacy and mathematics learning in a variety of school settings, leading to funded research projects, research publications, and materials for teachers. Her work in linguistics includes over 40 years of documenting Northern Pomo, a dormant indigenous language of California. Recently, she has worked with members of the Pomo community to create four years of high school classes in the language. Since 2010, she has served in several roles at BU Wheelock, including department chair, associate dean for faculty, associate dean for doctoral studies, and as dean ad interim from 2017 to 2018.