Dr. Shari S. Stoddard grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. She received a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the University of Michigan in Oil Painting and Ceramics, a Master of Science degree from Indiana University in Art Education, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Indiana University in Curriculum and Instruction with a cognate area in Art Education. She has taught art education at Indiana University, the University of South Carolina, and Ball State University. Dr. Stoddard's resume contains an extensive list of papers presented at international, national, regional, and local conferences on topics such as including aesthetics and art criticism in elementary school curricula, cooperative learning strategies, and reflective thinking. Her chapter Including Aesthetics in a Second Grade Curriculum: It Can Be Done is included in the book Teaching Art in Context: Case Studies For Preservice Art Teachers. Stoddard received the 1998-1999 Mary McMullan Teacher Incentive Grant from the National Art Education Foundation. In 2000 Dr. Stoddard joined the faculty at Central Washington University as Director of the Visual Art Teaching program. She received the Western Region Binney & Smith Crayola Dream-Maker Grant in 2001-2003 and exhibited winning student art work in the Sarah Spurgeon Art Gallery. Dr. Stoddard started a student chapter of the National Art Education at CWU in 2003 and began Friday Children's Art Classes as part of the Visual Art Teaching program in 2006. During the summer of 2005 Dr. Stoddard was chosen as one of twenty-four artists to spent four weeks in the International Artist Residency program in Balatonfured, Hungary directed by Beata Szechy. Her work was exhibited in Balatonfured, Budapest, and Vienna. During December, 2005 Dr. Stoddard was chosen to participate in a residency program at Mount Bruce in New Zealand. Dr. Stoddard is recognized as both an educator and as an artist.