About
Dr. Debora Scheffel has spent more than 25 years working at the intersection of education research, academic leadership, and public policy. She holds a PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University and has built a career that moves fluidly between the classroom, the dean's office, and the statehouse.
Education
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Cognitive Psychology —
National Institute of Mental Health
University of California, San Diego
Laboratory of Human Cognition
PhD, Communication Sciences and Disorders — Northwestern University, School of Speech
Cognates: Neuropsychology and Psycholinguistics
MA, Special Education —
University of Denver
Focus: Special Education
Career Journey
Dr. Scheffel's career began in clinical and research settings, evaluating children and adolescents with learning disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and cognitive challenges, work that took her from a post-doctoral fellowship in Cognitive Psychology at UC San Diego to clinical roles in Denver and New York. That early grounding in how children actually learn and where systems fail them has shaped every leadership role since.
From there, her career moved into higher education leadership: as an assistant and associate professor and later Director of University Assessment at the University of Northern Colorado, she helped build institutional systems for measuring what education programs actually deliver. She went on to serve as Dean of the School of Education at Jones International University and Dean of Research at the University of the Rockies, before being appointed Dean of the School of Education at Colorado Christian University in 2013, a role she still holds today.
In parallel, she spent nearly a decade in Colorado state government, directing the state's Literacy Grants and Initiatives Unit and Colorado Reading First program, and serving as Special Assistant to the Colorado Commissioner of Education on the development of a statewide literacy plan. That policy experience culminated in two elected terms on the Colorado State Board of Education, where she helped shape curriculum, literacy, and accountability standards for the state's public schools.
Institutional & Academic Leadership
Dean, School
of Education
Colorado Christian University
(2013–present)
Dean of Research
University of the Rockies
(2011–2013)
Dean, School
of Education
Jones International University
(2008–2011)
Public Service and Policy Leadership
Advance Colorado Fellow
(2024–present)
Special Assistant to the Colorado Commissioner of Education
(2009-2010)
Director, Colorado Reading First
Colorado Department of Education
(2005-2009)
Director, Literacy Grants and Initiatives
Colorado Department of Education (2002–2010)
Higher Education Teaching Experience
Colorado Christian University (2013-Present)
• EDU 300 Education Research Seminar • EDU 340 Assessment of Learning and Critical Thinking • EDU 360 Classical Education Pedagogy • SPD 250 Assessment for Students with Disabilities • SPD 455 Differentiation, IEPs, and Transition
University of the Rockies (2011-2016)
• PSY 7220 Clinical Personality Techniques: Objective Techniques • CSL 5601 Psychometrics: Tests & Measures • PSY 8185 Pediatric Neuropsychology
For more information on exact terms for each course, please contact Dr. Scheffel.
University of Northern Colorado (1999-2004)
• EDSE 616 Scientific Literacy Intervention • EDSE 323 Methods for Elementary Students with Exceptionalities • EDSE 501 The Exceptional Learner • EDSE 601 Supporting Students in the Mainstream • EDSE 609 Language Development: Disorders of Individuals With Special Needs • EDSE 729 Apprenticeship in Special Education • EDSE 505 Assessment
University of Denver (1999, 2004)
• EDUC 4060 Learning Application and Analysis • CUI 4028 Reading Assessment and Intervention Strategies • CUI 4029 Issues in Literacy
Research &
Scholarship
Dr. Scheffel is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed publications spanning literacy instruction, learning disabilities, cognitive neuroscience, and education policy. Her recent work focuses on closing achievement gaps, evaluating curriculum quality, and building teacher-preparation programs grounded in the science of reading.
Dr. Scheffel is a member of the International Neuropsychological Society, the International Dyslexia Association, and the Council for Exceptional Children, as well as an elected member and consultant for the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities (IARLD). She also serves as a hands-on consultant for STRIVE Montana, helping to bridge the achievement gap on Native American reservations, and as a joint team lead on the executive committee of the Evidence Advocacy Center. She has served on multiple journal editorial boards, and her honors include recognition through the U.S. Navy’s Educators at Sea STEM initiative and the University of the Rockies’ Hero of the Year Award for community service.