Tamara Lucas

Tamara Lucas is a Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations in the College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University. She was Dean of the College from 2016 to 2021, Acting Dean in 2014-15, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2005 to 2014.

Having come to Montclair State as an Associate Professor in fall 1998, Dr. Lucas has been at the University during a period of significant change, as the institution grew in size from 13,000 to 21,000 students and made the transition to its current status as a doctoral research (R2) university. She served as the first faculty University IRB Chair and was a faculty member in the first doctoral program at the University. In her various roles, she has also contributed to the development of innovative teacher preparation programs, particularly those designed to prepare teachers for urban schools. She helped create the highly-regarded Newark-Montclair Urban Teacher Residency Program.

Dr. Lucas’ scholarship explores the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students and the preparation of their teachers. She has published three books and numerous articles and book chapters. Her early scholarship examined the nature of high schools that were successful in educating language minority students. Later, in collaboration with Ana Maria Villegas, she articulated a vision for the preparation of culturally responsive teachers (Educating Culturally Responsive Teachers: A Coherent Approach, SUNY). She subsequently refined her concept of linguistically responsive teaching through multiple publications, including her 2011 book, Teacher Preparation for Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: A Resource for Teacher Educators.

Prior to coming to Montclair State University, Dr. Lucas was a Director and Senior Researcher at the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST) at Teachers College, Columbia University. She was a founding member of Education Deans for Justice and Equity (EDJE) and was a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Task Force on Teacher Education. She has served as annual conference program section co-chair for American Educational Research Association Division G and Division K and as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of New Jersey.

Explores the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students and the preparation of their teachers. 

• Preparing culturally and linguistically responsive teachers
• The education of English language learners