Happy Holidays from the College of Education!

Dear Friends of the UA College of Education:

Before this year comes to an end, I'd like to wish you health, happiness, and prosperity in the new year.

We value our College of Education friends, alumni, faculty, staff, and -- of course! -- students, and we thank you for being a part of this wonderful college. We look forward to the coming year and the hopes and opportunities it brings.

I'd also like to fill you in on some college news. We have many good things planned for the new year.

Kindness Corridor

bens bells mosaic In March, we will install a mosaic in the east lobby of our building. The mosaic was designed by an undergraduate art education student in the School of Art, with the final selection based on a competition through the School of Art and the College of Education. The mosaic is inspired by the Ben's Bells project (www.bensbells.org), which is run by our former colleague, Jeannette Mare. The mosaic will be part of the Ben's Bells Kindness Corridor (www.bensbells.org/KindnessCorridor). The Kindness Corridor is a series of kindness-themed mosaic art and murals created by local artists, students, and community members. The whimsical, brightly colored public art pieces symbolize community connection and support through kindness and are created by a diverse group of Tucsonans. Our mosaic will brighten the lobby and, once the Kindness Corridor is established, bring visitors to our building as they look for these hidden pieces of art around town.

New Assistant Dean of Finance

Susan Richards

We're happy to tell you about our new assistant dean of finance. UA Assistant Director of Enterprise Information and Analytics Susan Richards will be joining us in January. She previously was the director of Business Intelligence in the MOSAIC Project and assistant department head and operations manager in the UA Deptartment of Chemistry. She has 13 years of experience as a chemist in industry. She holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in England and an M.B.A. from Temple University.
Stop by and introduce yourself!

An Evening with Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky, a world-renowned linguist, intellectual, and political activist, will be speaking at the University of Arizona. An Evening with Noam Chomsky will feature a talk on the state of higher education, followed by a question and answer session. The lecture, Education for Whom and for What?, will be held on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in Centennial Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. More details here.

Student, Swimmer, Speaker

Photo credit: Arizona Athletics

Lacey John, better known by her maiden name, Nymeyer, excelled on the UA women's swimming and diving team and won silver in the 400-meter Free Relay at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. She's also a College of Education alumna and a first-year master's student in our Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice. Last Saturday, she served as the UA Winter Commencement speaker. Here's more.

Three New Programs in Chandler

Carl and Brenda Dickason

We are putting all the pieces in place to begin three master's degree programs in Chandler, which will begin in May. We begin reviewing applicants next month.

You can click on the name of each program to get more info:

Teach Arizona

Fast-track Ed.S. in School Psychology

MASTER-IP

Speaking of MASTER-IP, read this delightful story about Carl and Brenda Dickason, a couple that decided to pursue their graduate studies together and now are graduating together -- in the first MASTER-IP cohort to graduate!

Our Amazing Students

Smiling for the camera at the Arizona Council for the Social Studies Conference

Fifteen of our outstanding elementary education majors traveled to ASU West in late October for the annual Arizona Council for the Social Studies Conference.

Erasmus Circle Undergraduate Scholars
(Photo by Jen Ryder)

Also, in our last issue, we told you about our Erasmus Circle Scholars and included a photo of the graduate scholars. Now, here's a photo of the undergraduate scholars. Congratulations!

Raytheon Honors Education

During a recent celebration of Raytheon's 60 years in Tucson, several speakers praised Raytheon for its commitment to improving education, including its support of Tucson Values Teachers and a three-year-old internship program that places middle- and high-school teachers in summer jobs. The internship program (MASTER-IP) is a collaboration of the UA College of Education and Tucson Values Teachers, with funding from Science Foundation Arizona. Besides Raytheon, participating companies include the UA/Biosophere 2, Texas Instruments, and Sundt Construction. Read more here.

Cyberbullying = Hot Topic