Jan McCarthy

Jan McCarthy is professor emerita of elementary education in Bayh College of Education at Indiana State University. She is recognized as a founder of early childhood education and established the early childhood education program at Indiana State, where the Jan McCarthy Early Childhood Education Center was named in her honor. She was the director of the Center for Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida. She chaired the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and served as president of the Council for Professional Development, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the U.S. National Committee of the World Organization for Early Childhood Education. A two-time recipient of the State of Indiana’s Sagamore of the Wabash award, McCarthy was also a member of the Bayh College of Education Dean’s Advancement Council.

updated 2025