Matthew Boggan

Dr. Matthew Boggan takes pride in being a lifelong learner. He is service-oriented and enjoys working with his students in the special education program. The 2024-2025 school year begins his 34th year in the field.

Boggan came to GGC in 2016 as a professor of special education after serving as coordinator of educational leadership programs (graduate) and special education programs (undergraduate) at Mississippi State University-Meridian. He currently serves as interim chair of the Department of Special Education and Social Foundations and previously served as interim chair from 2021-22. While at MSU-Meridian, he filled in for division chairs or associate deans when asked. From 2017-2018, he was the PI/director of a Community Innovations Grant designed to better educate GGC students about the abilities of adults with disabilities in Gwinnett County. As interim chair in 2021-22, he initiated approval to offer the autism endorsement at GGC. He worked closely with the Gwinnett County School District Department of Special Education to provide supportive data validating why the autism endorsement would be very beneficial to students aspiring to become special education teachers. In 2022, the autism endorsement was included in the special education program curriculum and also approved by the GAPSC to be offered as a stand-alone endorsement for interested certified teachers.  

His academic pursuits in higher education and PK-12 are focused on teacher mentoring and promoting academic achievement in the areas of special education and leadership. He has engaged in mentoring research of special education teachers and school principals. In 2016, he completed a study about the Mississippi Statewide Teaching Assessment Rubric (MSTAR) during the pilot year. The MSTAR is a statewide evaluation assessment for school teachers in Mississippi. The study including important data was shared with administrators at the State of Mississippi Department of Education for the purpose of better development of the MSTAR. In the same year, he published two other articles with an emphasis on mentoring of special education teachers and best practices for working with aspiring teachers in alternate route programming. During his last seven years at Mississippi State University, he served as PI/project director of a 2.94 million dollar United States Department of Education (USDE) grant called, “Learning and Educating through Alternative Programs (LEAP)” which awarded 151 scholarships to students interested in teaching special or secondary education at both Meridian and Starkville campuses. He worked closely with administrators in 42 high-need school districts while serving as PI in an effort to place highly qualified teachers in their districts. In 2015, he served as a keynote speaker for the TEAM AUTISM GPS Conference at the Pearl River Resort in Choctaw, Mississippi.  

Twelve years prior to beginning a career in higher education, Boggan served as a special education teacher and a K12 school administrator. As a principal, he successfully led efforts to gain school board approval to fund a new building at Weir Attendance Center (rural public, ELEM/MS/HS) in the Choctaw County School District in Mississippi. He also initiated on-site alternative behavioral programs for students with behavioral challenges as an alternative to alternative school.

Further information about Boggan and the GGC special education program can be found in these articles:

• Channel 11 News: Autism endorsement program offered for teachers, staff at Georgia Gwinnett College
• GGC news release: Georgia Gwinnett College special education major practice teaches in the classroom where he was a student
• GGC News Release: Georgia Gwinnett College launches new online degree program for special education majors
• GGC Instagram: February Feature: Majoring in Education at GGC

• Doctorate – education with educational leadership concentration – Nova Southeastern University
• Master's – special education – Mississippi State University
• Bachelor's – special education – University of Mississippi
• Post-graduate – counselor education, special education, educational leadership – University of Mississippi
• Post-graduate – educational leadership – Harvard University
• Post-graduate – elementary education – Mississippi State University
• Teacher certification areas – mild disabilities (P-12), moderate disabilities (P-12), severe disabilities (P-12), biology (6-12), science (6-12), social studies (6-12) and school administration (PK12) 

• Special education
• Teacher mentoring
• Educational leadership

Courses Taught

• Behavior Management for Students with Mild Disabilities
• Educational Environments and Planning for Students with Mild Disabilities
• Assessment and Progress Monitoring of Students with Disabilities
• Student Teaching: Professional Practice of Special Education
• Student Teaching: Planning and Assessment of Special Education
• Enhancing the Lives of Adults with Disabilities through Film, Art, and Education
• Introduction to Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis

Funded Grants

• Boggan, M., Lee, C., and Shim, Y. (2017). The GGC Next Stop Project: Enhancing the lives of adults with disabilities through Art, Film, and Education. Funded through the GGC College Community Innovations Project (CIP), GGC Center for Teaching Excellence.
• Boggan, M., Jayroe, T., Burroughs, S., Cornelious, L., Forde, C., Karriem, D., and Pope, M. (2009-2016). Learning and Educating through Alternative Programs (LEAP). U.S. Department of Education, 2.94 million.

• Boggan, M., Pope, M., Jayroe, T., & Wallin, P. (2016). Mentoring of T2T (Transition to Teaching) Alternate Route Special Education Scholars in High-Needs Schools. National Forum of Special Education Journal, 27(1), p. 1-13. 
• Boggan, M., Jayroe, T., & Alexander, B. (2016). Hitting the Target with Transition to Teaching in Mississippi’s Poorest Districts: High Retention Rates through Program Support, Resources, and Strategic Recruiting. Journal of the National Association for Alternative Certification (JNAAC), 11(1), p. 1-9
• Boggan, M. & Wallin, P. (2016). Under the Microscope: Principal Perceptions of the Mississippi Statewide Teachers Assessment Rubric (MSTAR), a Pilot-Year Study. Excellence in Education Journal, 5(2), p. 1-53.

Refereed Presentations

• Boggan, M., Kelly, M., Anderson, A., and Lisic, S., (2022). Addressing the Shortage of Special Education Teachers: Paraprofessional to Teacher Programming. National Field Experience Conference, Greeley, CO.
• Kelly, M., Mrstik, S., Anderson, A., Ebert, A., Smith, P., Mitchell, D., and Boggan, M. (2022). Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions on their Learning Experiences during the COVID Pandemic. National Field Experience Conference, Greeley, CO.
• Boggan, M. & Miller, R. (June, 2021). Resiliency Training as a tool to open young minds. Positive Behavior, Interventions & Supports Conference in Savannah, GA.
• Boggan, M. (January, 2021). Gifts Pre-Service special education teachers at GGC need to know about themselves. GGC Research Symposium, Lawrenceville, GA.
• Boggan, M., & Wallin, P. (2019). Insight and Awareness: Gifts Special Education Teachers Need to Know about Themselves. Council for Exceptional Children’s Teacher Education Division Conference, New Orleans, LA.
• Wallin, P. & Boggan, M. (2019). Know Thyself: Tools to Explore our Strengths. National Field Experience Conference. Greeley, CO. 
• Ebert, A., Anderson. A., Kelly, M., & Boggan, M. (2019). Teacher Candidates Perceptions of Field Based Experiences versus Classroom Experiences. National Field Experience Conference. Greeley, CO. 
• Boggan, M., & Kelly, M. (2018). Change of Heart, Change of Mind: The abilities of adults with disabilities. Council for Exceptional Children's Teacher Education Division Conference. Las Vegas, NV.
• Wallin, P. & Boggan, M. (April, 2018). The Best of Differentiation Arts Integration throughout the Curriculum. National Field Experience Conference, Greeley, CO. 
• Ebert, A., Kelly, M, & Boggan, M. (April, 2018). Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions of Critical Reflection as a Tool for Professional Growth. National Field Experience Conference, Greeley, CO. 
• Childre, A., Boggan, M., Kelly, M., & Page, K. (April, 2018). Bringing all of the players to the table: Enhancing special education programming and collaborating with district personnel while maximizing resources and evaluating student progress. National Field Experience Conference, Greeley, CO. 
• Boggan, M., Shim, Y. and Lee, C. (April, 2018). College Support for Adults with Disabilities after K-12: College students’ perceptions of adults with disabilities, before, during and after an independent study internship while working with adults with disabilities. National Field Experience Conference, Greeley, CO. 
• Childre, A., & Boggan, M. (November, 2017). Recruiting and Supporting Success for First Generation CLD College Students. Council for Exceptional Children’s Teacher Education Division National Conference in Savannah, GA, November 2017. 
• Childre, A., & Boggan, M. (November, 2017). Engaging in Program Enhancement: Process, Resources, and Partnerships. Council for Exceptional Children’s Teacher Education Division National Conference in Savannah, GA, November 2017. 
• Boggan, M., & Wallin, P. (April, 2017). The Educational Lifeline: New Teachers and Mentoring. National Field Experience Conference, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA. 
• Boggan, M. & Kelly, M., McKinney, B. (April, 2017). Introducing Lesson Planning and Ecological Studies to First-Semester students through practice, observations, and performance assessments. National Field Experience Conference, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA. 
• Kelly, M., McKinney, B., & Boggan, M. (April, 2017). Using Cultural Proficiency in Developing Culturally Responsive Teacher Candidates. National Field Experience Conference, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA. 
• Caillouet, R., Kelly, M., Boggan, M., Allen, P. and Swartzentruber, K. (April, 2017). 525,600 Minutes: How Do We Measure a Year in a Future Teacher’s Life? National Field Experience Conference, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA.

Other Presentations

• Boggan, M., Smith, P., and Anderson, A. (2021). Addressing the Severe Special Education shortage through paraprofessional to teacher programming: BSED in Special Education program at GGC. Presented to the Georgia Association of Directors of Assessment (GADA) annual meeting on November 9, 2021.
• Boggan, M. (December, 2015). Components for Equity and Excellence in Education: Recent Case Laws in Special Education, Teacher Resilience, and Co-Leadership. KEYNOTE SPEAKER, T.K. Martin Center and TEAM AUTISM GPS State Conference at the Silver Star Casino Convention Center in Philadelphia, MS.

• 2016 Mississippi State University, Service Recognition Award 
• 2015 Mississippi State University, Office of Research, Meridian Campus Research Award
• 2013 Mississippi State University, Leadership Academy, Faculty Leadership Award
• 2012 Mississippi State University, College of Education, Adkerson Outstanding Faculty Award
• 2010 Mississippi State University, Meridian Campus Division of Education, Outstanding Service Award
• 2010 Mississippi State University, College of Education, Worth-Bagley Outstanding Faculty Award
• 2004 Weir High School, Mississippi Department of Education Closing the Achievement Gap Award (accepted for ALL Stakeholders)
• 2003 Weir High School, Best Principal Award (Presented by Class of 2003)
• 1993 North Mississippi Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled, Employee of the Year Finalist