Grant Writing Tips

Ann Cranston-Gingras

Department Of Language, Literacy, Ed.D., Exceptional Education, And Physical Education

Ann M. Cranston-Gingras, Ph.D., is a Professor of Special Education and Director of the Center for Migrant Education. She also serves as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education. Dr. Cranston-Gingras holds a Doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction/Special Education, a Master's degree in Special Education and a Bachelor's degree in English Education. She is the Principal Investigator and Director of the federally funded High School Equivalency Program for Youth from Migrant Farmworker Families and the College Assistance Migrant Program. 

Dr. Cranston-Gingras’ research and writing focus on children who have been marginalized by schools and society including children with disabilities and those from migrant farmworker families. She is the co-author of the texts, Teaching Learners with Diverse Abilities and Rethinking Professional Issues in Special Education.

Dr. Cranston-Gingras is a past president of the National Migrant HEP/CAMP Association and is active on several local, state and national committees working on behalf of youth from migrant farmworker families. She teaches special education undergraduate and graduate classes and supervises doctoral student research. Prior to coming to USF, Dr. Cranston-Gingras taught high school in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

John Ferron

Department of Educational and Psychological Studies

John Ferron, Ph.D., specializes in the application of statistical methods to educational data. He teaches courses covering applications of regression, ANOVA, MANOVA, structural equation modeling, interrupted time series analysis, and multilevel modeling. His research interests include the analysis of single-case data, growth curve modeling, and structural equation modeling.

Dr. Ferron's work has been published in Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, Multivariate Behavioral Research, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Journal of Experimental Education, and Behavior Research Measurement

Zorka Karanxha

Department of Leadership, Policy, and Lifelong Learning

Dr. Zorka Karanxha, Ed.D. received her Doctor of Education at Lehigh University. She serves as University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) Plenum Representative and was co-editor of the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership from 2013-2019. Dr. Karanxha is the Principal Investigator of US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs, The Leadership for Literacy Intervention (LLI) Scholarship Project (2020-2024) (5 year, $1.235 million). She has been part of over $5.8 million in grant funding.

Dr. Karanxha’s research focuses on educational leadership preparation, education law, school discipline, and charter schools with an emphasis on analyzing educational leadership policies that influence marginalized communities through continued investigation of two interwoven conceptual strands: 1) Social justice leadership praxis to reduce educational inequities; and, 2) Social justice leadership to reduce inequities in legal education policy and policy implementation.

Her publications include a co-authored book, multiple book chapters, and articles in Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of School Leadership, Journal of Research in Leadership Education, Journal of Special Education, Educational Leadership Review, and Journal of Special Education Leadership, amongst others.