- Phone:
- (765) 455-9287
- Email:
- lmnellis@iu.edu
- Department:
- Office of School Partnerships
- Campus:
- IU
Leah Nellis was appointed Interim Assistant Vice President for School Partnerships in March 2024. In this role, Leah leads the IU Office of School Partnerships which provides cohesion, visibility, and support for P-12 initiatives across IU's campuses and represent IU with P-12 policy leaders. She works faculty and staff from across IU’s campuses, P-12 school partners, and education leaders and policy makers to leverage partnerships and strengthen P-12 education and opportunities for P-12 students. Leah has been part of the Office of School Partnerships since July 2022 when she joined the team to lead strategic academic programs and college and career readiness services P-12 students.
Previously, Leah was the dean of the School of Education at IU Kokomo for six years and where she is a Professor of Education. In that role, she led undergraduate and graduate programs and the development of collaborative and innovative preparation programs for educators and education professionals. She led the development of the high school education pathways program, Tomorrow’s Teachers: Growing Our Own, a teacher residency program, a collaborative graduate program in school psychology, and the integration of trainings such as Mental Health First Aid and trauma-informed practices into educator preparation programs. Leah has received and served as the principal investigator for numerous state and federal grants and is currently leading implementation of the ICHE Career Coaching Grant, IDOE 3E Grant, and the federal Mental Health Service Professionals Demonstration Grant, a $4.2 million dollar grant to prepare school psychologists for rural communities across Indiana.
Before coming to IU, Leah worked at Indiana State University for 12 years as the Director of the Blumberg Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Special Education, the program director of the school psychology doctoral program, and a school psychology graduate faculty member. She previously held faculty appointments at the University of Kentucky and Northern Arizona University. Leah has worked as a school psychologist for several years.
Leah is a member of the Indiana Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, serving as the President, a member of the Indiana State Advisory Council for Special Education Programs, and the National Association of School Psychologists Program Accreditation Board and chair of the Accreditation Advisory Council. She maintains an active research and grant agenda.
Leah holds a BS degree in Psychological Sciences from Purdue University and a PhD in School Psychology from Ball State University. She holds an Indiana School Psychologist and Independent Practitioner Endorsement as well as her National Certified School Psychologist (NCSP).