Jenny Penny Oliver

Jenny Penney Oliver is an educational specialist, innovator and change agent in the areas of multicultural education and systemic and organizational change. As Director for Academic Initiatives for the College of Education at the University of Georgia, Jenny directs and facilitates several change initiatives within the college and community. She helped initiate and now directs the college-wide initiative in multicultural education. In place since 1995, this initiative has guided the college?s commitment, growth and focused direction in the areas of recruitment and retention of under-represented populations, faculty and staff professional development, and cultural diversity curriculum revision.

Dr. Oliver has also introduced and facilitated multicultural reform initiatives in K-12 public and private schools and communities. Funded by the Ford Foundation, Jenny collaboratively directed a multi-state project in rural school and community multicultural education reform for six years. Building on those experiences, Jenny currently co-directs a comprehensive partnership with the university, local school district, and local community toward improved academic achievement for all students in our school district (http://archive.coe.uga.edu/ccsd/.)

Jenny is a charter member and Board of Directors member of the National Association for Multicultural Education. She is also an officer of the Georgia Association for Multicultural Education. Jenny frequently presents her work in multicultural education and reform at national conferences and has published in these areas.