Hegde selected for Darden Distinguished Professorship
The East Carolina University College of Health and Human Performance and Department of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) are proud to announce that Dr. Archana V. Hegde, a scholar in the disciplines of human development and early childhood education, has been selected for the esteemed Nancy W. Darden Distinguished Professorship. This honor recognizes Hegde’s productivity in research, teaching and service to date, as well as her capacity to continue to make a positive impact through her scholarly activities.
Hegde’s career at ECU began in 2005 and she is currently a professor in HDFS as a respected leader in the field of early childhood care and education, enhancing her expertise on topics such as quality childcare, teacher professional development, STEM education, early childhood mental health and topics salient to the LGBTQIA2+ community. She has served as coordinator of the master’s in curriculum and instruction birth through kindergarten education concentration for the past 11 years. In addition to her face-to-face and online teaching, publications and extensive external funding record, she has trained professionals and consulted on various topics in human development and early childhood at the state, national and international levels. She was invited as a plenary speaker by the National Council of Educational Research and Training with the Government of India to give a talk on “Understanding Early Childhood Care and Education Initiatives in the United States of America and its Relation to Quality,” and currently serves on the National Head Start panel of experts. She is the founding member of the North Carolina Infant and Child Mental Health Association, past chair of N.C. Birth through Kindergarten Consortium and serves on two of North Carolina’s largest advocacy groups — N.C. Institute for Child Development Professionals and N.C. Coalition.
Dr. Archana Hegde, in purple, is pictured with other members of the “More PEAS Please” statewide grant team during a 2023 professional development session in Raleigh. (Contributed photo – by Charlie Dickens, CharlesDickensPhotography.com)
As part of this Nancy W. Darden Distinguished Professorship, Hegde will conduct international research in India, examining Asian Indian teachers’ beliefs and practices as it relates to Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), a fundamental concept that was developed by the U.S. National Association of Education of Young Children. This mixed method study brings to focus Asian Indian teachers’ understanding and practice of DAP from a cultural lens. Additionally, in the second part of the study, ECU HDFS will be utilized as a pilot site to develop and implement trauma-informed modules that align with their early childhood classes. This project is a collaboration with the Duke Center for Child and Family Health, and other faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students and other external agencies will be involved in the implementation process. The ultimate goal is to disseminate this work at the state and national levels, with a potential to replicate.
HHP’s five-star, NAEYC-accredited child development center was named in memory of Nancy Whitfield Darden in 2012. In 2007, ECU Women’s Roundtable named Darden, a 1956 ECU graduate, one of the 100 Incredible ECU Women. The purpose of the Nancy W. Darden Distinguished Professorship in human development and family science includes to: strengthen collaborations and partnerships, support work that has a focus on strengthening children, youth and families, and to promote excellence within HDFS.