Liz Harrelson Magill, Ph.D.

Dr. Liz Harrelson Magill is a clinical assistant professor of teacher preparation. She also serves as the secondary certificate coordinator. Her areas of research include teacher education, social studies education, and the socio-political contexts of schooling. Specifically, her work explores how social studies education, broadly, and critical historiography in particular, impact the ways teachers and students engage in the production, maintenance, and unsettling of historical knowledge in classrooms. She is especially interested in how these curricular and disciplinary convergences are implicated in the struggle for educational justice and civic flourishing. 

In 2025, she earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching from Baylor University and was awarded the university’s Outstanding Dissertation Award for the social sciences. Prior to her current position, Dr. Harrelson Magill served for 15 years in public education in California and Texas. Her roles included social studies and AVID teacher/coordinator, instructional coach, and professional development school (PDS) site coordinator. At Baylor, she has taught courses including elementary and middle/secondary social studies methods, issues in curriculum development, and principles of mentoring. She also works with pre-service teachers in their field placements through the teaching associate seminar and as a clinical teacher field supervisor. 

In addition to her Ph.D., Dr. Harrelson Magill holds a B.A. in history from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an M.A. in education from the University of California, Davis.