Melody Tankersly

Affiliated Faculty

Melody Tankersley, PhD, is a professor of special education at Kent State University. After earning her doctorate degree from the University of Virginia, she was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, a program affiliated with the University of Kansas. Prior to beginning her graduate studies, Dr. Tankersley taught students with emotional and behavioral disorders, a population of students who continue to be the focus of her instructional and scholarly endeavors. Dr. Tankersley focuses her scholarship on issues related to identifying and using evidence-based practices, positive behavioral programming, the prevention of emotional and behavioral disorders, and parent interventions. She has published more than 70 professional journal articles, chapters, and texts and addressed more than 200 national and international audiences. Dr. Tankersley and her colleague from the University of Hawaii, Dr. Bryan Cook, were recently awarded the James M. Kauffman Publication Award, presented by the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education for a scholarly work that results in knowledge leading to exemplary special education practices