Jill Perry

EVANS CITY — A borough woman has been named executive director of a project that will rethink the doctoral degree in education.

Jill Alexa Perry, who has worked on the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate since 2007, was named last week to the project’s top position by its board of directors.

Perry said on Monday that the initiative, which is housed at Duquesne University, has 54 universities on board and is about to add 37 more.

The group of experts is working to institute a clear distinction between the professional practice doctorate in education, known as an Ed.D., and the education research doctorate, known as the Ph.D.

The vision of the consortium is to transform the Ed.D. into the degree of choice for preparing the next generation of practitioner experts and college leaders educating those looking for a doctoral degree in K-12 education. Education doctorate students who will generate new knowledge and scholarship about educational practice or related policies, and who will have responsibility for guiding the education profession will also be impacted.

To accomplish this vision, the mission of CPED is to improve that way in which professional educators are prepared.

“The project is designed to rethink the doctorate,” Perry said.

She said the project has received a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and Perry has applied for a $1 million grant from the Institute for Educational Services.

Because she has been involved with the project since its inception while she was a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Perry was thrilled that the board named here executive director.

“This is a new era for the project, and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to lead this organization,” Perry said.