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Founding Board

The WSU Charter Academy was the first university charter school in Utah, established in 2013. The following Founding Board members were instrumental in creating and moving forward the vision of establishing a premier, early-learning program for our community: Jack Rasmussen, Ph.D.; Chloe Merrill, Ph.D.; Carol VandenAkker, MS; Camie Bearden, MEd; Fran Butler, Ph.D.; Claudia Eliason, Ph.D.; Carole Haun, M.S.; Jared Lisonbee, Ph.D.; Jack Mayhew, Ph.D.; Wei Qiu, Ph.D.; Peggy Saunders, Ph.D.; Paul Schvaneveldt, Ph.D.; Sherrie West, M.Ed.; Ray Wong, Ph.D.

Jack L. Rasmussen
PhD
Dean and Professor
jrasmussen@weber.edu

Chole D. Merrill
PhD
Associate Dean
Professor, Child and Family Studies
Director, Packer Center for Family and Community Education
cmerrill@weber.edu

Carol VandenAkker
MS
Administrative Assistant
Business Administrator, WSU Charter Academy
carolvandenakker@weber.edu

Camie Bearden
MEd
Principal, WSU Charter Academy
Assistant Director, Packer Center for Family and Community Education
cbearden@weber.edu

Fran Butler
PhD
Professor, Special Education Methods, Learning Strategies & Content Enhancement, Mathematics Education
fbutler@weber.edu

Claudia Eliason
PhD
Professor, Reading
celiason@weber.edu

Carole Haun
MS
Past Director Melba S. Lehner Children's School, Early Childhood Development
(Emeriti)
chaun1@weber.edu

Jared Lisonbee
PhD
Assistant Professor, Early Childhood
jaredlisonbee@weber.edu

Jack Mayhew
PhD
Associate Professor, Special Education
jmayhew@weber.edu

Carrie Ota
PhD
Assistant Professor, Early Care and Education, Early Childhood Education and Child Development
carrieota@weber.edu

Wei Qiu
PhD
Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Development
weiqiu@weber.edu

Peggy Saunders
PhD
MEd Program Director
Associate Professor, Instructional Strategies and Classroom Management
psaunders@weber.edu

Paul Schvaneveldt
PhD
Department Chair, Child and Family Studies
Professor, Family Studies, Family Literacy, Marriage Education, Latino Families
pschvaneveldt@weber.edu

Sherrie West
MAEd
Assistant Director, Melba S. Lehner Children's School
swest@weber.edu

Ray Wong
PhD
Professor Emeriti, Diversity
rwong@weber.edu