Professor, Department of Early and Special Education; Associate Dean, Graduate College
Deborah Carter, Ph.D., joined the Boise State University faculty in the fall of 2008 as an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education and Early Childhood Studies. She has held the rank of full professor at Boise State since 2014, and in 2024 was hired as the associate dean of the Graduate College. Carter has taught and mentored graduate students for 18 years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and at Boise State. She has additionally served in a variety of administrative and leadership roles, including as a graduate program coordinator, a department chair, and an interim associate dean in the College of Education.
Carter earned a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Oregon, a Master of Science in early intervention/early childhood special education from the University of Oregon, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Exercise Science through the Lawrence Henry Gipson Honors Program at the College of Idaho. She is also a national Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Carter’s areas of expertise include school-wide and individual student positive behavior support, early childhood special education, and family involvement. Her current research focuses on implementation of program-wide positive behavior support in early childhood and integrating academic and behavioral RTI at the school level. Her work has been included in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Behavioral Disorders, and Early Childhood Education Journal.
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About Deborah Russell Carter
Deborah Carter, Ph.D., joined the Boise State University faculty in the fall of 2008 as an assistant professor in the Department of Special Education and Early Childhood Studies. She has held the rank of full professor at Boise State since 2014, and in 2024 was hired as the associate dean of the Graduate College. Carter has taught and mentored graduate students for 18 years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and at Boise State. She has additionally served in a variety of administrative and leadership roles, including as a graduate program coordinator, a department chair, and an interim associate dean in the College of Education.
Carter earned a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Oregon, a Master of Science in early intervention/early childhood special education from the University of Oregon, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Exercise Science through the Lawrence Henry Gipson Honors Program at the College of Idaho. She is also a national Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Carter’s areas of expertise include school-wide and individual student positive behavior support, early childhood special education, and family involvement. Her current research focuses on implementation of program-wide positive behavior support in early childhood and integrating academic and behavioral RTI at the school level. Her work has been included in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Behavioral Disorders, and Early Childhood Education Journal.
| 2024 - Present | Associate Dean, Boise State University ‐ Graduate College | |
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| 2014 - Present | Professor, Boise State University ‐ Department of Early and Special Education | |
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| 2011 - 2014 | Associate Professor, Boise State University ‐ Department of Early and Special Education | |
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| 2008 - 2011 | Assistant Professor, Boise State University ‐ Department of Early and Special Education | |
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| 2006 - 2008 | Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas ‐ Department of Special Education | |
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Disciplines
Research Interests
Grants
| 2010 | Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Project |
| Idaho State Department of Education | |
| Role: Co-Principle Investigator | |
| Colleague(s): W. Parrett (Principle Investigator) | |
| $308,868 | |
| 2009 | RTI and PBS Implementation |
| Idaho State Department of Education | |
| Role: Co-Principle Investigator | |
| Colleague(s): E. Johnson (Principle Investigator) & J.L. Pool (Co-Principle Investigator) | |
| $250,000 | |
| 2008 | Program-Wide Positive Behavior Support |
| University of Nevada, Las Vegas Special Education Department | |
| Research Incentive Award | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| $2,540 | |
| 2008 | Project Prevent: Enhancing Learning Opportunities Within Family Contexts for Young Learners At-Risk |
| Boise State University | |
| Research Block Grant | |
| Role: Co-Principle Investigator | |
| Colleague(s): J.L. Pool (Principle Investigator) | |
| $6,050 | |
| 2008 | Promoting Positive Preschools: Implementing Program-Wide Positive Behavior Support in Early Childhood |
| University of Nevada, Las Vegas | |
| President’s Research Award (PRA) | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| Colleague(s): R.K. Van Norman (Co-PI), S. Crozier (Co-PI), & C. Tredwell (Co-PI). K. Sayeski added after funding was approved to carry out PI responsibilities, once Carter left UNLV. | |
| $49,966 |
Courses
- ED-ECS 222: Family & Community Relations
- ED-ECS 322: ECSE Methods I
- ED-ECS 329: Child Behavior & Guidance
- ED-ECS 512: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Early Childhood
- ED-ECS/ED-SPED 517: School-wide Behavior Support Systems
- ED-ECS/ED-SPED 518: Intensive, Individualized Behavior Support
| 2006 | Ph.D. - Special Education, University of Oregon | |
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| 2003 | M.S. - Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education, University of Oregon | |
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| 2000 | B.S. - Lawrence Henry Gipson Scholar Program: Psychology and Exercise Science, Summa cum laude, The College of Idaho | |
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