M E S S A G E  
F R O M  T H E  D E A N
COE logo
RONALD W. MARX
Fall 2015
wilbur and wilma
We have a lot in store for Homecoming 2015!
ron marx
It's time for Homecoming 2015, and we have many fun activities planned for you. Visit with your old friends and spend some time with new fellow Wildcats, too. Please see the message below from Alumni Council President Dave Overstreet for all the details.
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Another fall tradition is the arrival of the college's flagship combo magazine, Imagine and Imagine Research, which should hit your mailbox in about two weeks. You'll be fascinated by our alumnus, Indiana State University Professor of Criminology Mark Hamm, one of the world's leading experts on terrorism and hate crimes.

You'll also read about Professor Perry Gilmore, who just released a book, Kisisi (Our Language): The Story of Colin and Sidiki, written as a tribute to her son, Colin, who was killed by a drunk driver at age 18. The book features a linguistic phenomenon she witnessed 40 years ago in Kenya.

It has been an emotional year for us in the College of Education. As you know, we lost beloved Professor Richard Ruiz in February. In September, we also lost Associate Professor Jeffrey Bennett, a researcher and scholar in our educational leadership program who focused on school-community relations, to cancer. Both were wonderful, engaging, and committed scholars and teachers.


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richard ruiz
Jeffrey Bennett
Naomi and Gene Karp
Richard Ruiz
We also lost our dear friend and supporter, Gene Karp. Gene was an attorney who dedicated his life to public service, including six years as the Pima County Democratic Chairman in Tucson, 18 years as the chief of staff to Senator Dennis DeConcini in the U.S. Senate, three years as an appointee of President Bill Clinton in the U.S. Department of Labor, and finally as an adjunct professor of political sciences at the UA. Gene was a passionate activist for progressive political causes. Before his death, Gene and his wife, Naomi Karp, established the Karp-Silver Family Scholarship Endowment for first-generation early childhood education students. Gene's legacy can be honored with donations to the fund here. Go to "other" in the drop-down menu and designate Karp-Silver Scholarship.

There is also good news to share:

amanda tachine
Amanda Tachine, who earned a doctorate in higher education in May, was recognized by President Barack Obama for her work in the Native American community. Read more here. Amanda also wrote an opinion piece that appeared in the Huffington Post

In the Best Colleges edition of U.S. News & World Report, our rehabilitation program ranked at number 6 in the nation, and our higher education program ranked at number 14.

This month, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas released her master plan for improving Arizona's K-12 education system. I was interviewed by Lorraine Rivera on Arizona Week about my reaction to Douglas' proposals.

I also gave a talk, A Rocky Road to Common-Core Standards for K-12 Education, to the Breakfast Club of Tucson. The club was founded in 1975 to bring together various community leaders who to share their expertise and current business news. There are almost 80 members, male and female, who represent the top leaders in our community and in their respective fields.

It seems there is no end to discussions about education, which is a good thing.
 

HOMECOMING
 BEGINS THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23

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Welcome Back to Campus for Homecoming 2015!
Message from Alumni Council President Dave Overstreet

The College of Education Alumni Council has been very busy planning Homecoming 2015, which is in one week: Friday, October 23 - Saturday, October 24. All alumni and friends of the college are invited to participate in our Homecoming 2015 events. For a complete list of all our events and to RSVP, please follow this link.

We will have a raffle to raise funds for COE scholarships and awards. Raffle items include:
 
$200 gift certificate to Tucson Appliance Company
$100 gift certificates to Arizona Inn, Gaslight Theater, and Gusto Restaurant
Tickets to Broadway in Tucson
24-inch TV/DVD player
UA fleece blanket
Plus many more items
 
Raffle tickets are one ticket for $1 and six tickets for $5. You can't win if you don't play, so stop by the College of Education tent, say hello, and join in the fun!

We've also been planning other exciting programs for alumni and students. One of our new initiatives is the creation of an Alumni Council office in College of Education Student Services. We're holding office hours Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 

Congratulations to the two Dean John Taylor Scholarship recipients, Shelby McKarns, an early childhood education major, and Jennifer Thornton, an elementary education-bilingual major. These deserving students each received a scholarship from the Alumni Council, as well as a match from the UA Alumni Association.

Lastly, I invite all alumni and those interested in supporting the College of Education to join the Alumni Council. We are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers. Please visit this link for more information and for a list of monthly meetings.
 
Bear Down! 

dave overstreet


 
 
  
Dave Overstreet, President
College of Education Alumni Council


 

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This Video Zooms In On Project FOCUS 

project focus reveal day

 

Wilma celebrated with these students when they learned

they were accepted into the Project FOCUS program.

 
Project FOCUS (Focusing Opportunities with Community and University Supports) is part of a national movement to include students with intellectual disabilities in higher education. The program supports transition-aged students, 18-22, who have intellectual disabilities in accessing the academic and social opportunities available at the University of Arizona and increases self-determination, often culminating in successful and gainful employment.

Our program is the only one in Arizona. Watch this new video about the far-reaching program.

Follow Project FOCUS on  Like us on Facebook
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 New Study about Teacher Salaries
 
chart of teacher salaries
 
A Tucson Values Teachers study, sponsored by the College of Education and the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, revealed the median annual wage for secondary teachers in Tucson, when cost of living is factored in, is more than $16,000 below the national average for secondary teachers and the lowest in a comparison of nearly a dozen major western cities, including Phoenix. Read the story here.
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Making the Dream of College Less Intimidating
 
P2HS participants

On their first day of Passport to High School, soon-to-be high school students Natalee Mercado, Kali Noudelman, Aijaz Wahab, and Rueshil Fadia (left to right) look for UA historical points of interest as part of a map-reading activity. "We focus on buildings with historical significance for this activity," says College of Education Director of Outreach Sara Chavarria, who oversees the program, which empowers graduating eighth-graders from low-income households to view their high school experience as the pathway to college. "We do this to help them see that the campus is not an intimidating place and can be negotiated by them as long as they have the right tools: a map, a good sense of direction, and good collaborative skills. It's important for the students to nurture their own future, rather than to wait for someone to make decisions for them. I love this program because it is so valuable for these students."
 
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Thanks to You, We Go to School!
 
scholarship breakfast
scholarship breakfast
Shirley Fisher, undergraduate speaker Sarsawati Chhetri,
Sara Yerger, and Marilyn Ludwig (left to right)
 
Graduate student speaker Eric Estrada-Grijalva (left), next to his father, Guadalupe Estrada, and Nancy and Steve Lynn
scholarship breakfast
scholarship breakfast
Professor Jeffrey Milem, Lysette Davis, and donor-recognition speaker Doug Woodard (left to right)
Reese and Nancy Woodling (white shirt and blue floral) with students they support through their scholarship

A record crowd of 150 guests attended the 13th Annual Scholarship Donor Appreciation Breakfast this month, where scholarship recipients meet those who make their dreams of education a reality. 

Former faculty member Doug Woodard spoke about the importance of supporting students and the scholarship he and his wife fund, the Doug & Karen Woodard Scholarship for the Study of Higher Education & Student Affairs.

Undergraduate student speaker Sarsawati Chhetri, an elementary education student and the recipient of the Vernon F. Friedli Scholarship & the Emil L. Larson Scholarship, was born and raised in a refugee camp in Nepal, and has lived in Tucson since 2008. She recalled, "On the first day of middle school in Tucson, I was alone, confused, and scared. When I tried making friends, they laughed at how I spoke English. Until the 10th grade, I never knew that there were kindhearted individuals who gave money to hard-working students for higher education. I decided to work extra hard so I could get scholarships to help pay for college. I never thought college was for me. I always thought it was for very smart and wealthy people, but I was wrong!"

Graduate student speaker Eric Estrada-Grijalva, a master's student in school counseling and the recipient of the Nancy K. & Steven W. Lynn Scholarship said his parents taught him about hard work. "My father followed construction jobs and worked in Benson while we remained in Tucson. During the first days he was there, my dad lived out of his car. He didn't have enough money for a hotel room and would clean up in a fast-food bathroom. It is this kind of work ethic and dedication that I carry today. Like all the faculty and donors at the breakfast, I want to be an extension of kindness and the culture of paying it forward."

Five new scholarships also were announced:

Shirley J. Fisher Scholarship
Matthew Georgelos Scholarship
Karp-Silver Family Scholarship
Nancy K. & Steven W. Lynn Scholarship
Richard Ruiz Memorial Scholarship

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Announcing The Erasmus Circle Scholars

erasmus logo The Erasmus Circle scholarship program was developed by the Dean's Advisory Board to create new funding support for outstanding students in education and related fields. The scholarship is funded by generous gifts by Erasmus Circle Patrons and Erasmus Circle Members. Erasmus Circle Scholars are awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

The 2015 Erasmus Circle Scholars will be honored at a special reception at the home of Dean Ronald W. Marx and Anne Marx in early November. Please join Dean Marx in congratulating the following 2015 Erasmus Circle Scholars:



Graduate Scholars
 
Kelly Allen
Geillan Aly
Lukretia Beasley-Knecht
Jennifer Catalano
Sara Frye
Corey Knox
Lauren Meyer
Victoria Navarro Benavides
Lauren Pierce
Jayci Robb
Karina Salazar
Natasha Sterzinger
Mike Szolowicz
Nicholas Tanner
Geoff Thames 

Undergraduate Scholars 

Brittany Bromley
Simone Charles
Maria Cornish
Brielle De Clercq
Holly Durr
Luisana Garcia
Ariana Hildan
Jessica McCarroll
Brianna McLaughlin
Regino Palazuelos
Anna Reimers
Fernanda Sandoval
Heather McRae Stockton
Jennifer Thornton
Nyla Wambold
Robin Zemaitis 

 
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Donor Appreciation Event at Cooper Center


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Join us as we celebrate our successful fundraising campaign to support operations and staffing at the Cooper Center for the 2015-16 school year. The event will include complimentary food and refreshments, musical entertainment, stargazing, campfire, facility tours, and more. Special recognition will be given to the Marshall Foundation, Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation, and TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez, who donated his bonus to the Cooper Center Crowdfunding Campaign (read more here), and his leadership team for their significant contributions.

Details
November 7
5 - 8 p.m.
5403 W. Trails End Road, 85745 (for driving directions, click here)
RSVP to Cooper Director Colin Waite at [email protected] or 520-626-1825

This event is open to all donors who have supported the Cooper Center. It's not too late to make a donation and join us for the evening! Click here to #SupportCampCooper with your own donation.
 
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People
 
Disability & Psychoeducational Studies
 
Professor Shirin Antia and Associate Professor of Practice Kathryn Kreimeyer finished a new book, Social Competence of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children (Oxford). They highlight multiple strategies that teachers, families, and community members can use to promote the social competence of these children. 
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Antia and Kreimeyer
  
bauman Professor Sheri Bauman was quoted in this story in the Arizona Republic: Five Reasons Why We Need to Take a Closer Look at Fatal NAU Shooting.

 



june maker Professor June Maker is the recipient of the International Award for Research from the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children. The recipient must have an international reputation for gifted education and have made significant contributions through research in establishing gifted education as a recognized field of study in education.  This year's award was given at the World Council conference in Odense, Denmark.
 



perfect Amaranth Diabetes Foundation presented a $500,000 donation to the American Diabetes Association Research Foundation to sponsor four promising projects in diabetes research, including a clinical study into the effects of sleep on managing type 1 diabetes in youth, led by Assistant Professor Michelle Perfect. Results of this study are expected to inform clinical recommendations for considering the amount and quality of sleep in diabetes management. Read more here. Perfect also was elected vice president of publications and communications for the American Psychological Association Division 16. This gives her a seat on the executive board of the school psychology division within APA.


Educational Psychology

lopez In the chaos after Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana opted to completely overhaul the city's failing public schools by putting them on the open market. However, research conducted for the Network for Public Education by Associate Professor Francesca L�pez and researcher Amy Olson found that the gap between charter and public school performance in Louisiana was the largest of any state in the country. And Louisiana's overall scores were the fourth-lowest in the nation. Read more here. Their research also was reviewed in Diane Ravitch's blog here.

Lopez also was named a coeditor for the American Educational Research Journal, the flagship journal of the
American Educational Research Association.


Educational Policy Studies and Practice

cabrera What does it mean to be white? MTV's "White People" is a documentary on race that aims to answer the question from the viewpoint of young white people living in America today. Assistant Professor Nolan Cabrera was featured in the documentary and can be found at about 18 minutes into the video. Watch it here. Cabrera also was named to the Arizona Daily Star 40 under 40, which recognizes young leaders in the community. 

ozan jaquetteAssistant Professor Ozan Jaquette testified about nonresident enrollment at a hearing regarding the University of California. He discussed studies that identify the negative consequences of an influx of nonresident students, such as the effect on underrepresented minorities. Read more here. His work also was cited in the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal.




Graduate students Charles Collingwood and Mahmoud Marei were named Jackson Scholars by the University Council for Educational Administration. This two-year program provides formal networking, mentoring, and professional development for graduate students of color who intend to become professors of educational leadership.

rhoades Professor and Department Head Gary Rhoades has been quoted numerous times recently about nontenure-track faculty members, including this article in Inside Higher Ed and this piece in Salon.


 
Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies

patty anders   wortman

Anders and Wortman

Professor Patty Anders and Associate Professor of Practice Robert Wortman were interviewed about national reading rankings for this article in the Payson Roundup.

Patrons Richard and Renee Clift with their scholarsRichard Clift, the coordinator in our Worlds of Words, created a poster that won an award at the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching Conference.

Mary Carol Combs



Associate Professor Mary Carol Combs explains how state standards change teachers' methods in this Arizona Week interview.


marquez Tucson High School anatomy and physiology teacher Sheila Marquez, who participated in our Teachers in Industry professional development option this summer, worked with Tucson Medical Center to create a hospital and classroom link. Here's more.

 



barry roth Associate Professor of Practice Barry Roth came in first place in the world (age group 60-64) in the 800 freestyle, swimming the race in just a few seconds over 10 minutes. Here's more on the swim champ. Roth also was quoted in this story about teacher shortages.


alex ruff
 
Alex Ruff sorts livestock teeth in
the UA's zooarchaeology lab.
  


Schoolteacher bones up on anthropology! Alex Ruff has taught science at Marana High School since he graduated in 2006 and was recently featured in the UA News for his work with the Arizona State Museum's Stanley J. Olsen Laboratory of Zooarchaeology as part of his Arizona Partners in Science Award from the Tucson-based Research Corporation for Science Advancement. He also is the boys' volleyball coach. Here's more.

 
See you on campus next weekend.
signature of Ron Marx
Ron Marx


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