2024 Most Influential Women: Natalie Precise

Natalie Precise says she relishes the work she does as a professor and as dean of the School of Education and Child Development at Drury University.

“I love having a job that allows me to influence future educators that will then go on to influence K-12 kids for our Springfield community and beyond,” she says.

It’s a position made even more noteworthy by the fact that Precise is the first person in her family to graduate from college.

“I was raised by exceptional parents to be a first-generation college student for my family and to always strive for the best I could be,” she says.

At the age of 30, Precise completed her Doctorate in Education Leadership from the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis program, and she notes she was one of the youngest students going through the program from 2009-12, after she had earned associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in educational fields.

Precise’s research focus is on educating children with autism spectrum disorder, and she has published peer-reviewed articles from her dissertation research to contribute to the body of knowledge on the topic.

“I focused my dissertation research on a topic that is dear to me as an educator,” she says. “I researched effective strategies general education teachers can utilize in their classrooms to educate students with ASD. My goal was to be able to share this information with current and preservice educators to be able to better prepare them to work with students with ASD.”

It’s a population that Precise says she is dedicated to serving.

Her service has also extended to grant writing as dean, primarily for the Black History Summer Academy held at Drury each summer for children and adults. She notes she has also been awarded grants focused on recruitment and retention of future educators to aid in filling a teacher shortage in the state of Missouri, and she is particularly proud of the recruitment taking place at Drury’s Monett campus.

“Our enrollment has increased in the elementary education program, and our collaboration with the Monett School District has grown,” she says. “This is a population I feel compelled to help grow teachers to fill the teacher shortage for Monett and the surrounding areas.”

As dean, Precise says her focus is on recruiting students while also creating a positive working environment for faculty through regular and transparent communication. Projects she has initiated while dean include a year-long teacher internship with Nixa Public Schools, the establishment of auxiliary campuses to help students attain certification and the opening of a makerspace for students on campus.