Michael J. Padilla

Michael J. Padilla is the former Director of the Eugene P. Moore School of Education and Associate Dean of EC at Clemson University, from Spring 2007 until July 2012. Before then he was Aderhold Distinguished Professor of Science Education at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Dr. Padilla was recognized with The Walter B. Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service at the University of Georgia and was presented with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Distinguished Service award in 2003. In 2012 Padilla was awarded the NSTA Robert H. Carleton award for national leadership, the association's most prestigious award. The Carleton Award recognizes an NSTA member who has made outstanding contributions to and provided leadership in science education at the national level and to NSTA in particular; it is NSTA's highest award. He has extensive leadership experience, having served as PI on four National Science Foundation and numerous US Department of Education grants for a total of over $36 million in funding. In recent years he has focused on the issue of English Language Learners through the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE) at UGA and the Clemson University Commission on Latino Affairs, both of which he directed.