College of Education’s Susan Trostle Brand recognized for national education leadership

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 16, 2026 – Susan Trostle Brand, professor emerita of education in the University of Rhode Island’s Feinstein College of Education, has been recognized for her decades of service and contributions to the field of education, receiving the William C. Bagley Leadership Award from Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) National Education Honor Society this March. The William Bagley Award for Leadership Excellence is given to an individual who has demonstrated a sustained effort in leadership excellence within the honor society and the education profession at the local, national, or global level.

Brand has been an elementary and primary grade teacher and supervisor of teachers for over 50 years. She is the author of four textbooks and numerous chapters and professional articles.

Brand’s decades of work with the Kappa Delta Pi National Education Honor Society brought her to Kenya to work with students at a magnet school there.

The Exeter resident says she was honored and humbled to receive the Bagley Leadership Award, named for the society’s founder. She received her award at a national virtual Founders Day recognition on March 9. Only one recipient from this society of over 20,000 members receives this award each year.

Brand began teaching at URI in 1985. In her years of service to URI, she designed a University challenge course on education and social justice and served on URI’s Faculty Senate on the Curriculum Affairs Committee, including two years as chairperson. In 2023, Brand and her URI colleague Hyunjin Kim utilized a state grant to initiate a new program allowing non-traditional-aged teachers in Rhode Island to complete what they started and earn accelerated teaching certifications. “The power of life-long learning can never be overrated!” she said. She is a past recipient of the Multicultural Student Services Center Diversity Award.

Brand’s involvement with Kappa Delta Pi and URI’s chapter extends over decades. In her time as chapter counselor, she helped plan and lead many annual Martin Luther King Jr. campus celebrations at URI, welcoming hundreds of middle school students to campus for programs at the Multicultural Student Services Center to celebrate King’s peace-making efforts. She organized mission trips to Costa Rica, Peru and Kenya and led the chapter in hosting educational forums and career fairs at URI. They even staged school makeovers, including at Bridgham Middle School in Providence, which was featured in the New York Times. Chapter membership increased dramatically through her service and work. She also was appointed a KDP United Nations Representative and is an active member of two UN committees, including the Committee on Teaching About the UN. Brand has also served as an education trainer on sustainability for the U.S. Department of State.

Following four years of national leadership, Brand has remained active in the honor society and in her community as a leader, including work for transgender youth equality and support.

Since her retirement from URI last May, Brand has remained active in the College of Education, continuing to teach education courses virtually. She is now co-writing her fifth textbook, which addresses UN sustainability goals, and helping to prepare a webinar on this important topic for KDP.

Among the many reasons for Brand’s recognition by Kappa Delta Pi, the society highlighted the primary reason for her award, stating, “Dr. Brand is doing her part to change the world.”