The College of Education has had or is anticipating several staff changes in administrative roles over the next month or so, and we wanted to update you on those changes.

Student Academic Affairs Office
SAAO has a new face in the front office. Priscilla Wood started on May 7 and will be working through part of the summer. She will be assisting with summer registration and filling in as receptionist and undergraduate office support, and can be reached at 333-2800.

Associate Dean Christopher Span is very pleased to announce Janet McGreevy as the new online programs coordinator (OPC). Janet has been working for the College for a little more than a month now, and she brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the position; the College is very fortunate to have her on staff. She was previously at the University of Illinois Foundation in the position of senior communications specialist. At the Foundation, Janet handled or aided in special projects such as strategic planning for the Foundation, and assisted various university units in fundraising/advancement, marketing, and branding efforts. Her training and experiences in online education and information technology were just as impressive. For instance in 2010, Janet earned a master online teacher (MOT) certificate from the Illinois Online Network (ION) at the University of Illinois. The program included instructional design for online courses, issues and strategies for faculty training, student assessments in online education, and technology tools for online learning. Dr. Span comments, “Every time I speak with Janet, I sense she is already putting these ideas and information to work in the College.” She has met with numerous colleagues in an attempt to be an immediate resource and spark plug for the College’s online endeavors. When the opportunity presents itself, please stop by Janet’s office (10 Education) and wish her a warm welcome to the College of Education or you may reach her at mcgreevy@illinois.edu.

Finance
The Finance group was sad to say goodbye to Iesha Johnson on May 17. Iesha, who had been with the College for 4 years, took a new position outside of the University. Her infectious smile will be missed. While the group searches for additional help, please send EPOL inquiries to Tracee Palmer and Catherine Ocen. We are currently beginning the search for a new support staff member.

Human Resources
Effective on Tuesday, May 29, Jena Pfoff will be rejoining the Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership to coordinate the student and staff awards and assist with HR & fiscal planning. Additionally, she will provide 50% time to the Academic and Instructional Services office to coordinate College course scheduling, graduate student fellowship processing and track faculty activity reporting. Jena’s office is in room 347 Education and her telephone remains 333-7703. To assist with the HR, we will be welcoming Stephanie Pickett on June 4. Stephanie comes to us from Staff Human Resources where she has gained experience with the campus HR systems, policies and practices. Stephanie will be responsible for student appointments and will be located in room 288 at the desk closest to the conference room. You can reach her at spicket1@illinois.edu.

Dean's Office
Debbie Kemphues has accepted a position in the Dean's Office in the College of Fine and Applied Arts. With a new Dean starting there, Debbie will help him acclimate to campus procedures and to ensure a level of excellence in overall administrative operations. We thank Debbie for her service to the College of Education, and we have certainly appreciated her administrative expertise, her high regard for the mission of our College and the care and support the she has provided. Susan Maxwell will be joining the Dean’s Office on Monday, September 10, as administrative assistant. Her responsibilities will include managing the Dean’s calendar, supporting the work of the College’s leadership (CoDE, CEC and Dean’s Cabinet), and generally serving as the primary point person for administrative contact for the office in collaboration with Susan Michaels and Beth Warner. She has worked on campus for 12 years, and comes to us from the College of Law where she has worked since 2005. There, she worked in the Dean’s Office, the Advancement Office, and most recently supporting the Associate Dean for Academic Programs.

Information Technology
We are sad to announce the departure of Kim Nystrom who has accepted a position in the Office of Admissions. Kim has been an invaluable resource to the College for thirteen years. Her efforts have allowed us to work more efficiently, access information more easily and organize data more effectively. With Kim’s departure in mid-June, the IT group and College leadership will be working together to determine how to meet future staffing needs.

CREA
Lauren Lichty has joined the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) as a postdoctoral research associate. She joins us from Portland State University where she was a visiting assistant professor in Community Psychology. She received her Ph.D. at Michigan State University in Ecological-Community Psychology, with a specialization in Quantitative Methods and Evaluation Sciences. 

Center for Education in Small Urban Communities
If you have not yet met him, please welcome Darrell Poe to the College. He is providing front desk and technology services to our teacher collaborators and Center staff. We are sad to say farewell to Teacher Collaborator Haeny Yoon, who has accepted a position at the University of Arizona, and Director of Operations Linda Sims, who has accepted another position working for the University of Chicago. We wish them all the best in their new roles. 

Advancement
As Joan Tousey’s retirement date of June 30 approaches, a national search is being launched for her replacement. Please mark your calendars now for her retirement party, scheduled for Wednesday, June 20 from 4-6 p.m. in the Alice Campbell Alumni Center. A formal invitation will be forthcoming shortly. During the transitional period until a new Assistant Dean for External Relations is hired, we are delighted that Dr. Patricia Justice has agreed to coordinate the activities of the Office of Advancement. A graduate of the College as well as an adjunct professor in the EOL program, Pat has been working on an hourly basis in the Office of Advancement since the beginning of the year, and brings many years of advancement operations experience from her role as Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement prior to her retirement.

Additionally, we want to wish Linda Myette the best in her new job as Director of Development and Leadership Gifts at Cunningham Children’s Home in Urbana. Linda has been a part-time major gift officer in the College since mid-December and has been involved in multiple donor interactions locally, in Chicago and the west coast. Following the hiring of the new Assistant Dean, a search will likely take place to fill that important position.

New appointments/promotions
The College would like to welcome the following new employees who have joined us since January 2012: Kelly Jo Riblet, clerk, education administration; Christine Arpin, Mary Bragiel, Deborah Brandenburg, Ryan Reyes, Kathleen Schmohe, and Steffanie Seegmiller, adjunct lecturers, C&I; Debbie Schor Plested, adjunct lecturer, Educational Psychology; Kevin Dolan, visiting media specialist, Special Education; Rebecca Ginsburg, associate professor, EPOL; Sarah Isaacs, visiting librarian, Special Education; Ann Jones, visiting project coordinator, EPOL; Janet McGreevy, program coordinator, online learning, Academic Outreach; Michael Lauren Parrish, academic advisor, SAAO; Bryan Wang, postdoc research associate, and May Xiong, assistant to the head, C&I.
Kathy Stalter has been promoted to assistant to the associate dean for academic programs.

Departures
The College wishes all the best to those who have left (or plan to leave) the College between January 1-August 31, 2012: Debbie Kemphues, Linda Sims, Jeanne Connell, Marge Jerich, Janet Gaffney, Tania Rempert, Casey George-Jackson (who will become a post-doc researcher), Iesha Johnson, Davida Bluhm, Anne Robertson, Michelle Crockett, Cynthia Reiter, Haeny Yoon, Kim Nystrom, Linda Iliff, Joan Tousey, and Linda Myette.