Melissa L. Clayton

Dr. Melissa L. Clayton is the Assistant Director of Learning Technologies & Online Education in the Koehler Center for Teaching Excellence. In this role, she directs the learning technologies and online education team, providing data-informed decision-making to support the frontline faculty support for TCU's learning management system and its associated learning technology tools. Dr. Clayton also plans insight-driven programming for her unit, including events surrounding the roll out of new LMS features. She ensures TCU is maintaining compliance with NC-SARA and SACSCOC requirements, including overseeing TCU's online teaching certification program. She is Quality Matters certified and has a strong background in instructional design, as well as more than twelve years of experience teaching a variety of college courses across all modalities on D2L, Canvas, and Blackboard.  

Originally from Ellisville, Mississippi, Dr. Clayton attended Ole Miss, where she earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Personnel Services. She later completed an M.A. in English from the University of Texas at Tyler. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington, where her dissertation research focused on perceptions of vertical transfer student stigmatization at the university level.

Throughout her academic journey, Dr. Clayton has been recognized for her leadership and academic excellence. She received the 2019 Love of Learning Award from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and the 2018 Leadership Award from UT Arlington’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department. From 2016 to 2019, she was also awarded the department’s Enhanced Graduate Teaching Assistantship and Graduate Fellowship.