Meet a Colleague: Haley Sigler Haley Sigler is a professor and Director of the Education Studies program.

W&L News Office
October 21, 2026

Q. How long have you worked at W&L?
Almost 20 years! I started working part-time at W&L while finishing my Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. I transitioned to full-time around 2008, when my oldest daughter was born. She’s now a freshman at Bucknell University, which is a pretty good reminder of just how much time has passed! It’s hard to believe I’ve been here long enough to watch both my daughter and the Education Studies program grow up.

What is your favorite course to teach, and why?
EDUC 2305: Educating for Global Citizenship, our Spring Term Abroad course in Italy. My colleague Eric Moffa and I take 18 students to Castiglion Fiorentino, a beautiful small Tuscan town where we partner with a local middle school. Our students work alongside Italian teachers and students on projects connected to global citizenship and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We also explore Italian culture, history and education while comparing approaches to schooling in Italy and the United States. I love watching our students step outside their comfort zones and build relationships across cultures.

What is the most adventurous thing that you have ever done?
Taking groups of college students abroad. Nothing says adventure quite like being responsible for other people’s children in another country.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small community in rural West Virginia called Sod. Yes, that is really the name! It was named for its first postmaster, Samuel Odel Dunlap — S.O.D.

What is your favorite family holiday tradition?
Halloween in Lexington! Downtown trick-or-treat is one of my favorite Lexington traditions. I love the elementary school Halloween parade and seeing all the kids in costume. It’s one of those things that makes living in Lexington pretty special.

What do you like to do away from work?
I love traveling and spending time with my friends and family. Lately, you’ll find me traveling around rural Virginia to cheer on my middle school daughter’s volleyball team. I’ve especially enjoyed getting to visit all the small public schools tucked away in communities across the region. It’s been a fun way to explore places I might never have visited otherwise!

What song or artist could you play on repeat?
Bruce Springsteen. I’ve been a fan since high school and have seen him live multiple times, most recently with my daughter at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.  Nothing like a three-hour Bruce show!

If you could choose one series to binge-watch, what would it be?
I recently finished watching “The Bear” and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I’ve been a fan of Jeremy Allen White since “Shameless.” When he portrayed Bruce Springsteen in the latest biopic, it felt like a movie that was specifically crafted just for me.

Tell us something most people don’t know about you.
For years, I was the volunteer photographer for Rockbridge Ballet. If you saw posters advertising ballet performances around Lexington, there’s a good chance you were looking at my photographs. I spent many years as a dance mom, and although my oldest daughter is now away at college, we still connect every week to dissect the latest episode of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Anything else you’d like to share?
Lexington has been part of my story for a long time. I was teaching elementary school at Waddell Elementary when I met my husband, David, at The Palms. He was a recent W&L graduate who was coaching baseball at the university. He now works at VMI and is serving as the current mayor for the City of Lexington. I never would have guessed that a night at The Palms would eventually lead to a family, a career at W&L and a life in this community.