In Memoriam: Jane Marie Gleason, 1949-2020

Jane Gleason, professor emerita of education at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, died at her home in Cary, North Carolina, on Independence Day. She was 70 years old.

A native of Washington, D.C., Professor Gleason grew up in Maryland. She went to East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, with the intent to study nursing but she switched her major to education, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1971. She worked for Wake County Public Schools as an elementary math supervisor while she obtained a master’s degree in education from East Carolina University. She then worked as an adjunct professor of education at North Carolina State University. Dr. Gleason earned her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Gleason joined the faculty of Meredith College in 1989, as an associate professor. She remained on the faculty at the college for the rest of her career, finishing her final semester in May 2020.

“Jane was my biggest supporter and cheerleader, as she was for so many,” said professor Jennifer Olson, current chair of the department of education at Meredith College. “I will miss her immensely. The department, college, and teacher education in North Carolina have lost an amazing educator.”