M E S S A G E
F R O M T H E D E A N
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As I visit with alumni and friends of the college, I often am asked about the state of education in our country and the health of the UA and the college. Despite much of the negative media attention, I can assure you there are many reasons why we should be proud of many of the accomplishments of America's education system. To be sure, we have our challenges and there is much work to be done. But you can feel confident that our college is actively working to create innovations that have strong support in research and that can work in the real world of education practice.
In September, I was part of a PBS broadcast that addressed the high school dropout crisis. PBS presented a seven-hour broadcast and outreach event, American Graduate Day 2013. This "call-to-action" telethon, based from WNET's Tisch Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City, profiled more than 20 national community partners. A locally produced segment included an introduction by UA President Ann Weaver Hart plus 14 interviews featuring Southern Arizona educators, education administrators, and community partners.
American Graduate Day is the centerpiece of American Graduate: Let's Make It Happen, a national public media initiative that leverages the power and reach of public television to help communities across America address the high school dropout crisis and keep students on the path to graduation. Find out more here.
One of our favorite events each year is the College of Education Scholarship Donor Appreciation Breakfast, which was held this month in the Student Union. Grateful undergraduate and graduate scholarship recipients meet the donors who support their quest for an education.
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Schreen V. Marvin (left), an elementary education student and the recipient of the Vernon F. Friedli Scholarship, was the undergraduate speaker at the breakfast. Amanda L. Parkman, a master's student in Educational Policy Studies & Practice and a recipient of both the Rollah E. Aston Scholarship and the Dean's Education General Scholarship, was the graduate speaker. Nancy Woodling, an advisory board member and a scholarship donor, spoke about the importance of supporting students and education.
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Be sure to check your mailboxes at the end of the month for the latest edition of Imagine and Imagine Research, the college's annual two-magazines-in-one publication.
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Enjoy the beautiful fall weather at the Cooper Center
Head out to the gorgeous piece of desert known as the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning for an open house on Saturday, November 16, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Festivities include:
- Adopt-A-Wash Award from Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias
- Performances by TUSD musical groups
- Manzo Elementary School Farmer's Market and composting demo
- National Optical Astronomy Observatory night sky viewing
- Bike-blended smoothies with restaurateur Ari Shapiro
- Tours
- Storytelling
For more information, contact Colin Waite.
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HELP US BEAT ASU!
Be sure to like us on Facebook, especially since we're trying to beat ASU'S
Facebook numbers!
So far, ASU has 1,502 likes, we have 762, and NAU has 110. Put us in first place where we belong!
Just click on the button below and like us.
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Violence in Schools & Communities:
Crisis Prevention, Intervention, and Response
 This spring, we will offer a new course, Violence in Schools & Communities: Crisis Prevention, Intervention, and Response, which examines school violence, crisis intervention theory, and strategies to use with children and adolescents in schools. For more information, contact Assistant Professor Katie Eklund.
Record Attendance for Annual Conference
 The Annual Conference for the Southern Arizona Association for the Education of Young Children, held in early October in the Student Union, brought out record numbers of attendees and dignitaries. More than 650 conference goers heard from Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, United Way-Tucson President and CEO Tony Penn, United Way-Tucson Director of Early Childhood Professional Development Naomi Karp, Dean Ronald W. Marx, and other community leaders in early childhood education. The conferees also received a special message from U.S. Congressman Ron Barber. This was the eighth year for the conference, a College of Education partnership.
Cultivating Diverse Talent in STEM
We recently were awarded a National Science Foundation grant to study innovative methods to identify gifted students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), especially among underserved Hispanic and Native American students in Arizona. Partnering with Sunnyside Unified School District, Tuba City Unified School District, Greyhills Academy High School, and Shonto Preparatory Technology High School, the University of Arizona BIO5 Institute and Colleges of Education, Pharmacy, and Science will compare methods to identify gifted students in STEM. Students identified as exceptionally talented will be nurtured in a summer biomedical research program and in school-year activities in their schools and communities. The study also provides insights into how students from different backgrounds respond to research experiences in biology, toxicology, engineering, and medicine.
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Erasmus Circle Graduate Scholars
 The Erasmus Circle at the College of Education is a society of individuals whose support is critical to building excellence. Named for the Renaissance scholar whose work in education changed humanity, The Erasmus Circle provides significant unrestricted financial support that helps to advance the initiatives of the dean in scholarship, teaching, and research. One of these initiatives is to provide scholarships through The Erasmus Circle Scholars Program.
Erasmus Circle Scholars, many of whom have made contributions to their communities, the College of Education, and the University of Arizona, are outstanding students who show promise in their areas of study and research.
Congratulations to the following students who have been selected as the 2013 Erasmus Circle Scholars:
Graduate Scholars
Caitlan E. Allen Patrons: Steven & Danielle Thu
Travis M. Cornegay Patron: Fay McCormick
Meg Cota Patron: Kris Bosworth
JerMara Davis-Welch Patrons: Richard & Renée Clift
Luz Jimenez Quispe Patrons: Jeff Milem & Rose Santellano-Milem
Matt T. Matera Patrons: Reese & Nancy Woodling
Roxanne Scott Patrons: Wright & Virginia Cortner
Anya Sobolevs'ka Patron: Tom Nolan
Jodi M. Wolff Patron: Barbara Myers
Undergraduate Scholars
Kimberly A. Braun Patrons: Ron & Anne Marx
Payton G. Goett Patron: Jinx Patterson
Carlynne E. Hamman Patron: Vanna White
Rebecca L. Kish Patron: Emily Meschter
Schreen V. Marvin Patron: Evelyn Carswell-Bing
Holly M. Phillips Patrons: Russell & Barbara Miller
Rachel N. Sandler Patron: Barbara Cropper
Carolyn R. Schulter Patron: Walter Doyle
Mariel A. Wilk Patrons: Jerry & Kathy Short
Please contact Director of Development Rick Zurow at 520-621-7143 if you'd like to join The Erasmus Circle.
Changes in Chandler
 Our educational specialist degree in school psychology in Chandler is changing a bit, based on feedback and what we have learned since starting the program in 2012. The program will be lengthened to 33 months (internship included) while retaining the advantages of convenience and student-friendly class meeting times that characterized the program since its start. Courses will continue to be offered in a convenient venue in downtown Chandler with newly renovated classrooms, abundant free parking, and easy freeway access. Beginning in 2014, cohorts will start the program during the fall semester. During the first year, graduate students will take two classes (three credits each) in the fall and two classes (three credits each) in the spring. These classes will be offered in the evening and will allow graduate students the option of maintaining outside employment that first year. The second year of the program requires a full-time commitment from graduate students, including two summer sessions. The third year requires coursework during the first summer session followed by a full-time internship with a school district that starts in July or August. Contact Marsha Spencer for details.
And, if you're looking for a job, keep in mind that U.S. News & World Report places school psychology No. 14 on its 100 Best Jobs list.
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Out of Thousands
 Our college came in at number 27 on the Online College Database, which ranks thousands of colleges and universities.
Now There's an App for That
 While teaching a distance-learning course, Disability & Psychoeducational Studies Associate Professor of Practice L. Penny Rosenblum started looking for a way that students could practice abacus computation skills and get feedback outside of class. She then began work on UAbacus, an iPad app that allows students to practice their skills on a virtual Cranmer abacus. Rosenblum plans to use the app in her 2014 spring semester class to help students improve their skills so they can better educate blind children to perform math calculations using an abacus. Read the full story here.
A New Type of Outreach
A new movement is underway to shift the way in which the UA engages its community partners in outreach initiatives funded by research grants. Where academics of the past sometimes limited their outreach projects, the move today is toward tailored, multi-year culturally responsive initiatives that serve a range of people throughout Arizona and beyond. Our Director of Outreach Sara Chavarria collaborates on an initiative that does just that. Read more here.
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PEOPLE
Disability & Psychoeducational Studies
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and Professor Sheri Bauman was interviewed on Arizona Week about bringing bullying to an end. Watch the interview here.
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Between 10 and 15 percent of schoolchildren in the United States have dyslexia, a neurobiological disorder that results in challenges with word recognition and spelling, often leading to problems with literacy. Yet not all states have enacted legislation or even training practices to aid those with dyslexia. Read this interview with Professor Nancy Mather and Martha Youman of the UA's Center for English as a Second Language.
Senior Courtney Ryan was selected to the U.S. National Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team. She wants to work in rehabilitation with people with physical disabilities and plans to pursue a master's degree in disability studies.
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Assistant Professor Aisha Shamburger Rousseau, who worked as a therapist for abused youth with psychiatric disorders, was elected to the national board of directors of the National Council on Rehabilitation Education and will represent the western region.
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Educational Policy Studies & Practice
Newly hired Assistant Professor Jill Koyama was selected to be a Public Voices Thought Leadership Project Fellow.
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During the summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a more limited role for racial preference in college admissions but did not fully overturn the affirmative action law. The court ruled 7-1 in Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin to return the case to a lower court for further work, saying there should be a narrower use of race in deciding college admissions. Professor Jeff Milem, who participated in research used in this and previous higher education affirmative action cases, was interviewed on Arizona Illustrated about the case. See the interview here.
Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies
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Anthony-Stevens
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Assistant Professor of Practice Vanessa Anthony-Stevens wrote a guest blog about Project SEED, an in-service professional development program designed for educators serving indigenous elementary schools in Mexico. She is the program coordinator of Project SEED.
Doctoral student Lisa Felix, who focuses on environmental learning, was named a Carson Scholar and is the first student in the College of Education to receive the honor. The Carson Scholars Fund is dedicated to the vision created by Rachel Carson who, through her writings and work, alerted the world to the dangers of chemical pesticides and launched our modern environmental movement.
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Professor Luis Moll was selected as a new member of the Laureate Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education. He joins the ranks of outstanding educators that began with its first Laureate, John Dewey, in 1924. Limited to 60 living persons, the Laureate Chapter is comprised of men and women who have made distinguished contributions to education. Since its founding, 293 eminent educators have been named to the chapter, including such notables as Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jean Piaget, and George Washington Carver.
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Associate Professor Jessica Summers was awarded a Faculty Seed Grant for her research project, Self-Determination and Teen Pregnancy. The program is extremely competitive and involves evaluations by both peer and lay review panels.
Until next time,
Ronald W. Marx
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1430 E. Second Street, Tucson, Arizona 520.621.1462
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