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January 29, 2021

Dear Dr. Yates:

I have carefully reviewed the dossier of Dr. Phillip Clay Jr. who was reviewed by the School of Education, Human Development and Consumer Sciences Unit Tenure and Promotion Committee and Chair of the School. My evaluation is also based on the guidelines in the Faculty Handbook in Section 2.7, as well as the Unit Committee and Chair reviews. I concur with the findings of the Committee and the Chair and recommend Dr. Phillip Clay Jr. for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor.

Dr. Clay has an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of the Cumberland and a M.A. in Special Education from the University of Kentucky, which are appropriate degrees for the School of Education, Human Development, and Consumer Sciences in which he teaches. Dr. Clay has been employed by KSU since 2017 on a tenure track appointment. His position is predominantly appointed as teaching in the School. He has requested to be considered for tenure and promotion based on his credentials, professional experiences, and service to the University and community at large in accordance with the guidelines in the Faculty Handbook in Section 2.7. Based on Dossier, this would be considered applying for early tenure.

In terms of teaching, Dr. Clay has extensive experience and has developed course materials and taught many courses such as EDU 310 Introduction to Exceptional Children, ESP 523 The Individual with LD: Learning Development through the Lifespan, ESP 525 Inclusion, Collaboration, Advocacy, and EDU 304 Classroom/Learning Management. Student support letters included in the dossier were strongly positive for Dr. Clay's courses and the program. He also included that he has served as a Math Instructor/Tutor/Supervisor of Tutors at KSU from 2005-2009. He instructed, tutored, and mentored incoming freshman in the Bridge Program. He served as a Special Education Teacher at Tates Creek Middle School, Bryan Station High School, and MLK Academy over a period from 1999 to 2017.

In terms of scholarly and creative Activity, Dr. Clay provided a number of documents entitled the “African American Males and College Readiness,” “Student Behavior African American Males,” and “The Miseducation and Misunderstanding of the African American Male Student.” Although the amount of scholarly work listed in the dossier was limited in number, the primary focus of Dr. Clay’s position has been teaching and not research.

In terms of University and community service, Dr. Clay has held an abundance of service and leadership roles both inside and outside KSU. He has served as the KSU Special Education Director (2017-2019), Coordinator of Disability Resource Center (2017-present), Director of