Dr. Dawn Hunter

Dr. Dawn Hunter is a nationally recognized expert in the field of special education. She is an Emeriti Professor of Education in the Attallah College of Educational Studies. During her 30 years at Chapman, she taught doctoral, masters, credential, and undergraduate students.  In addition, she also served as the Director of the Ph.D. Program in Education, the Program Coordinator for Special Education Programs, Assistant Dean, and Associate Dean.

Dr. Hunter has won numerous awards for her teaching. Some of her teaching awards include the “Outstanding Teaching Professorship Award” (the highest faculty teaching award at Chapman University), “Chapman’s Best Class” (nominated by students and presented by the Office of Housing and Residential Life) for her class titled “The Philosophy of Helping,” The National Society of Leadership and Success - Excellence in Teaching Award, Dean’s Teaching Merit Fellowship, and the Valerie Scudder Award.

Dr. Hunter was one of the creators of the Ph.D. in Education Program and served as the Director of the Ph.D. Program for seven years.  She has chaired/co-chaired 26 dissertations and served as a committee member on 20 dissertations. She currently is serving on two additional dissertation committees.

Dr. Hunter has publications in the areas of inclusive schooling, building collaborative partnerships, positive behavioral support strategies for students with challenging behaviors, changing attitudes toward people with disabilities, post-secondary options for students with disabilities, vocational and leisure skills training, policy development, and systems change. The third edition of her book The Road Ahead: Transition to Adult Life for Persons with Disabilities was published in 2014. Dr. Hunter’s most recent research interests are in the areas of understanding the role of compassion and empathy in education, and effective teaching pedagogy in higher education.

Prior to her work at Chapman, Dr. Hunter served as the Branch Chief of the Severe Disabilities Branch (SDB), U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs in Washington D.C. In this position, she was responsible for the administration of national discretionary projects (e.g., research, demonstration, technical assistance, outreach, systems change, information dissemination, training) funded under the Program for Children with Severe Disabilities, the Services for Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness Program, the Regional Resource Center Program, and the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY). In addition, she was responsible for developing policies, regulations, national priorities, and strategies for facilitating innovative and effective educational practices and services for children with disabilities. Dr. Hunter represented the U.S. at numerous international events sponsored by OECD or UNESCO.

Dr. Hunter's experience also includes teaching high school students and adults with severe disabilities; designing and coordinating educational, vocational, residential, and recreational programs for students with disabilities; and monitoring the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at the federal level. She has served as an expert witness, protecting the legal and civil rights of people with disabilities, on numerous federal court cases. In addition, she has made countless presentations to parents of
children with disabilities, professional organizations, teachers, administrators, policy-makers, and governmental agencies both within the United States and abroad on a wide range of topics relevant to serving children and adults with disabilities. Dr. Hunter has also provided technical assistance and support to school districts, State educational agencies, federal agencies, and other countries in developing and implementing effective educational policies and practices.

Since retiring in May 2024 Dr. Hunter has continued to do guest lectures at Chapman, assist faculty and students with their academic writing, and make presentations to community organizations on a variety of topics. In addition, she serves on the Executive Board of the Retired and Emeriti Faculty Association of Chapman University.  She also serves on the Board of Directors for Casa de Amma and is currently assisting in creating a loss, grief, death, and dying curriculum for adults with disabilities, staff, and families.  In her free time, she enjoys making ink notecards for project WRITE NOW! based in Mesa AZ which provides letter/note writing assistance for people who are housing insecure and wish to reestablish connections with their families and friends.