Dr. Bob Spires hired as assistant professor of education in the School of Professional & Continuing Studies

Dr. Bob Spires, whose research agenda includes instructional methods and the educational work of international NGOs among underserved populations, has joined the faculty of the University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies as assistant professor of education in the School’s Graduate Education program. He left a tenure-track position as associate professor of education at Valdosta State University in Georgia to join the faculty of the School.

His extensive scholarship on international education and teaching includes recent articles published in the International Journal of Education, the Asia Pacific Journal of Social & Behavioral Sciences, the International Journal of Education Reform and FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education. His scholarship also includes the book Preventing Human Trafficking: Education and NGOs in Thailand published in 2015 by Ashgate Publishing.

Spires has been a frequent contributor to the Teachers Autonomous blog since 2015, covering such topics as educational research methods, high stakes testing in public school classrooms and the pending crises of a teacher shortage in the US. He has also presented at numerous national and international conferences, including the Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking, the Comparative and International Education Society Conference and the Global Education Forum.

Spires serves on the board of Love Without Boundaries, an authentic international charity that provides hope and healing to orphaned and vulnerable children, and their underserved communities, through its education, nutrition, medical, and foster care programs. He also serves as a research consultant with the Hong Kong-based Project Share and as chair of the board of director of Easel School in Poipet, Cambodia.

Prior to joining the University of Richmond, Spires served as a professor at Valdosta State University and a middle school social students and language arts teacher in Athens and Watkinsville, Georgia.