Dr. Devon Brenner, director of the SSRC and professor of teacher education in the College of Education. Brenner’s research focuses on rural teacher recruitment and retention and rural education policy. Brenner is PI on the NSF-funded collaborative research grant Teacher Preparation for Rural Teacher Persistence and Retention (TPR)2, a collaboration with 14 rural serving institutions across the US, and recently co-authored the rural teacher education textbook,Teaching in Rural Places: Thriving in Classrooms, Schools and Communities. Brenner coordinates the Mississippi Education Policy Fellowship Program, a state chapter of a national program that trains education leaders to engage in education policy and advocacy and co-edits The Rural Educator, journal of the National Rural Education Association.