From Dean Kalantzis

November 30, 2006

 

Greetings to all of you,

In my first note, soon after I arrived, I indicated that my first weeks on the job here had been exhausting, at times overwhelming, and without fail, exciting. It’s now been over 100 days since my arrival and it is clear that this is simply the way of things in the College of Education.

The sheer volume of activity in this institution is truly astonishing. This building literally hums with life and with energy, every moment of every day. From the crowds of students that fill the lobbies and the classrooms starting before eight each morning, to the hundreds of staff navigating us through the University, to the groups of faculty meeting in the hallways, I simply find it impossible not to get personally excited every single time I step into the building.

Most of you know that there have been some significant challenges for us in this first semester of the year. But at every step, I have been genuinely pleased and encouraged at the collective response of all in the College to every challenge that has come before you. The character of the College of Education, of all of you, from senior faculty to new undergraduate, is showing itself to be very, very impressive.

There is great reason for excitement and optimism. The College is deep in the process of rebuilding a strategic plan to guide our progress in the coming years. Aligned with the priorities of the campus, this plan represents a major step forward in efforts to give the College a strong voice in the research, teaching and service directions the University will take in future years. In short, your work is being noticed all over the campus and it is indeed making your colleagues in other units stop and ask the question, “Where should Education fit in the work I’m doing?” This sort of thinking is opening new doors for all of us, every day – often in ways we never expect.

The dedication and passion I see here for both the College and for the field of Education is inspiring and it is humbling. It’s become obvious that all of you are ready and willing to stand up, throw the College on your shoulders and to move us forward. I’m running as fast as I can to keep pace with you.

A couple of months ago, I thanked all of you for the warm welcomes and for the continued encouragement I received. Today, I thank you for your willingness to listen to my ideas. For arguing with me when I am wrong, and for backing me when you believe I am correct. For, time and again, stepping up to the task as new challenges emerge. Thank you for making the job I envisioned in my mind last spring the one that awaited me here in the College of Education.

If, as you continue reading, you notice something we’ve missed, please let us know and we’ll make a correction or we’ll include it in next month’s note. You can send this information directly to Chris Harris.

Around the College

I. Some Meetings and Events of Note
II. Faculty, Staff and Student Awards and Achievements
III. Faculty and Staff Gifts to the College
IV. Faculty and Staff Movement

I. Some Meetings and Events of Note

During my first 100 days, one of my goals was to go to everything, meet everyone and do anything that offered an opportunity to talk about the outstanding contributions and the future plans of the College of Education. The faculty, staff and students of the College are active in nearly every facet of the University and community and do work that has enormous impact around the world. The College makes a difference – everywhere. This is the message I have tried to put foremost in every conversation and as often as I can.

September 14 – Inaugural Meeting, College of Education Board of Visitors

The Board of Visitors, a 14-member group consisting of alumni and friends, was formed in September to raise the profile of the College and to assist our fundraising efforts during the upcoming capital campaign to be formally announced this coming June. These volunteers represent a variety of professions and come from around the country. This meeting coincided with the UI Foundation Annual Meeting where substantial gifts to the College by Phil and Beverly Goldstick and by Richard Chavez were highlighted for the University community.

September 21 - Retired College Family Reception with Rupert Evans

Former Dean and Emeritus Professor Rupert Evans hosted a reception to introduce me to the many retired faculty, staff and friends of the College living in the community. It was a tremendous opportunity for me to meet so many of the men and women who have shaped the College through the years. And, it was clear that these individuals still remain closely connected to the institution and have a common expectation that the level of excellence in scholarship, teaching and service that they established must be maintained.

October 9 – 15 A week-long trip through New York, Washington DC (with Joan Tousey) and Georgia offered the opportunity to meet with a number of friends, donors and corporate and foundation representatives who have an interest in the ongoing mission of the College of Education. These meetings included:

• Marilyn Reznick, Director of Government Relations for AT&T
• Donna Riechmann (Ph.D., HRE), Director, Team Leader/Executive Education and Training for Pfizer. Donna is a founding member of the College Board of Visitors.
• Karen Egan, Education Program Officer, Carnegie Corporation.
• Lynn Okagaki, Commissioner, and Andrew White, Deputy Director of Science, Standards and Review, National Center for Educational Research
• Nancy Weaver, Director, Defense Language Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
• Anne Miller (Ph.D – C&I), Director of Strategic Education Initiatives, APQC and Ross Miller, Director of Program, Quality Curriculum and Assessment, Association of American Colleges and Universities
• Discussions on potential STEM initiative collaborations with NCSA senior management – Thom Dunning, Danny Powell, Bob Wilhelmson, Jim Myers, Terry McLaren and Professors Eric Jakobbson and John Katzennellenbogen
• American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education meeting

October 19 – Global Campus Initiative with President White, Vice President Chet Gardner, Chancellor Herman and Provost Katehi

As the new Global Campus Initiative development has proceeded over the past few months, it has become clear that the College of Education expertise and experience in creating efficient, effective online learning and teaching environments should play a critical role in the final shape of this new project. Nick Burbules, Bill Cope, Lizanne DeStefano, Scott Johnson, Norma Scagnoli, Fazal Rizvi and Sharon Tettegah joined me in an initial meeting to outline some potential future steps for the organization and shape of the new Global Campus.

October 19 – President White and Chancellor Herman Community Reception

President White, Chancellor Herman and local community leader Carol Scharlau hosted a reception welcoming me to the Urbana-Champaign community. The turn-out of community leaders, from educators to builders to bankers to social service agency directors, made it perfectly clear that our community considers education to be a vital concern. They also have high expectations for the College and the University to be a resource and a partner in helping our children to learn. While it would be flattering to think that these individuals were all there to meet me, it was perfectly clear that they were there to make a clear, public statement – they believe the College and University can make a difference in our community and they are ready, willing and waiting for the chance to help that to happen.

October 28 – Student Recognition Brunch

The College annually awards nearly $250,000 in privately-funded scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students. Nearly 100 of these students and their families were formally honored at the annual scholarship banquet held at the Illini Union. Jeanne Connell, Suzanne Lee, John Trach and Fouad Abd El Khalick, as representatives of the student awards committees presented the honors. Outside of graduation, this event, drawing over 350 people each year, is certainly the most public recognition of the academic achievements of our students. It also provides the opportunity for some of the nearly 200 individuals who provide these scholarships to see, firsthand, what a tremendous investment they have made.

October 31 – Provost Katehi Visit to College of Education

Linda Katehi spent the afternoon in the College of Education. This visit was part of her efforts to learn more about the strengths, accomplishments and ambitions of the academic units of the campus. During the visit Provost Katehi met with members of the College Leadership Team to discuss the College strategic plan, talked with a number of faculty members about research possibilities and spent an hour with several undergraduates in teacher preparation programs. The visit was a productive and successful one. She expressed great excitement about the new directions and approaches outlined in the College plans and about the critical role our faculty, staff and students can play in her vision of national and international preeminence for the Urbana-Champaign campus. As a direct outcome of these meetings, the College is in negotiations with the Office of the Provost for new funding to launch several of the strategic initiatives proposed by the College. The executive summary of the current working draft of the College plan can be found on the web at: http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/news/2006/documents/2006 College Strategic Plan Working Draft.pdf

November 1 – O’Leary Fall Lecture in Financial Management

Dr. Deborah Verstegen, the 2006-2007 O’Leary Chair in the Department of Educational Organization and Leadership delivered a public lecture on the measuring adequacy in funding of public schools. The audience included faculty, staff and students from across the campus as well as top administrators from many school districts across the state – from Urbana and Champaign to Galesburg. This visiting professorship is supported by an endowment established by Richard and Ann O’Leary. Dr. Verstegen’s lecture, and presentations by two other speakers, will be available for electronic download in early December at: http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/eol

November 2 – Goldstick Family Lecture in the Study of Communication Disorders

In its second year, this public lecture, endowed by a generous gift from Phillip and Beverly Goldstick, drew 180 faculty, staff, students and community members to hear Dr. Joe Reichle (University of Minnesota) discuss strategies for helping young children with challenging behaviors establish alternative methods of communication. Dr. Reichle’s presentation offered those in attendance practical, effective techniques built on solid research. This lecture was coordinated by the College Goldstick Scholar, Jim Halle in the Department of Special Education. The lecture will be available for electronic download in early December on the College of Education web site at: http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/news/2006/2006goldsticklecture.html

November 3 – Golden Apple Scholars – Downstate Teacher Recognition Program for 2008

The College of Education, with Chancellor Herman, is working in collaboration with the Golden Apple Foundation to establish the first-ever downstate awards program for exceptional educators. In the spring of 2008, 10 outstanding teachers from central and southern Illinois, will be honored in a televised ceremony as Golden Apple Scholars on the University of Illinois campus. Chris Roegge, Director of the Council on Teacher Education has joined the statewide steering committee for Golden Apple and will serve as the campus lead in organizing this event.

November 6 – Chicago Trip

A one day trip to Chicago yielded three particularly productive stops. A meeting with Connie Yowell, Director of Education Grantmaking for the MacArthur Foundation resulted in her request to see the College paper on our proposed strategic initiative around the Center for Education in Small Urban Communities. At a later meeting, Paul Goran, Vice President of the Spencer Foundation asked for the working version of our proposed initiative around a Forum on the Future of Public Education. A final stop gave me the opportunity to meet my University of Illinois – Chicago counterpart, Dean Victoria Chou. The same morning also gave me the chance to have breakfast with six other College of Education friends and donors.

November 14 – Meeting with Richard Williams, Education Building architect

Richard Williams, retired faculty member in the School of Architecture and the man who designed the Education Building, returned to the College and shared his recollections of the design and purpose of the building. Professor Williams’ design, mid-century modernist, marked a turning point in the University of Illinois history. The Education Building was really the first significant new construction on this campus that was not an imitation of earlier styles. It was also the first to be designed with a collaborative process that involved the faculty, staff and students, rather than a top-down approach. This facility remains a unique example of its kind in the nation and offers the College and the Campus an opportunity to preserve and rehabilitate a historic structure for the needs of a new century. Professor Williams has agreed to work with a School of Architecture studio course that will reimagine the building for our future needs.

November 16 – Student Education Association

I had the opportunity to meet with the University of Illinois chapter of the Student Education Association during one of their regular meetings. The experience reminded me immediately of just how important it is for all of us in the College to interact and communicate with our students, both in the classroom and outside of it. Learning and teaching are never unidirectional. We place great expectations on our students, both undergraduate and graduate. They, in turn, have similar expectations of us. It is our responsibility to give these young men and women the opportunities to voice their concerns, ask their questions and offer their advice on how we can improve the College.

 

II. Faculty, Staff and Student Awards and Achievements

Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, was named a University Scholar in recognition of his outstanding scholarly contributions to the university community.

Lydia Buki, Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, received a 2006 Campus Award for Public Engagement from the Office of the Chancellor.

Greg Cheathem, doctoral student, Special Education, received the J. David Sexton Doctoral Student Award from the Division for Early Childhood within the Council on Exceptional Children. This award, recognizes the contributions to young children with special needs and their families through their efforts in research, higher education, publications, policy, and information dissemination. It is the highest award for a doctoral student presented by this national organization.

Barb Geissler (Director, Office of Budget and Financial Affairs) and Kim Nystrom (Database Administrator, OET), debuted the College Business Objects Database to nearly 100 campus business affairs representatives in October. This database utility, developed by the College, offers users powerful and simple access to human resource and financial data across the University. CITES and campus are looking at how to make this utility available to all campus units.

Brad Kose, Assistant Professor of EOL, will receive the National Staff Development Council’s Best Research Award for 2006 in December.

Richard Hunter, Professor, Educational Organization and Leadership, was recently recognized for outstanding scholarship by the Southern Historical Society for his article on public school desegregation published in the issue of The Journal of Negro Education commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Carol Packard, Ph.D. candidate, Human Resource Education, has been named the "2006 Academic Professional of the Year" by the University of Illinois College of Medicine, where she works as the Associate Director of Clinical Affairs.

III. Faculty and Staff Gifts to the College

Much of the responsibility of a dean at the University of Illinois revolves around raising new funds from friends and alumni of the College. Private funding is critical in allowing the College to create new programs and to support existing ones. You read stories about many of these donors through the year and see a number of them recognized at various events. There is, however, a very special group of donors that we may not recognize often enough, nor publicly enough – our own staff and faculty. Below is a list of the faculty and staff who have made monetary gifts directly to the College of Education over the past year – it is a long one. I thank you personally and I wanted to share your names with all of the College.

Linda Alexander, Samuel K. Alexander, Jr., James D. Anderson, Richard C. Anderson, Bonnie Armbruster, JoAnne D’Alo Broadbent, Eurydice Bauer, Eric S. Buhs, Cheri A. Carlson, Janis Chadsey, Huahua Chang, Renee T. Clift, Jeanne M. Connell, Gary Z. Cziko, Lizanne Destefano, Susan A. Fowler, Janet S. Gaffney, James W. Halle, Jr., Chris Harris, Wendy Harris, Erin Hart, Robert A. Henderson, Nancy B. Hertzog, Jaquetta Hill, Carolyn A. Horsman, Stanley O. Ikenberry, Jean C. Johnson, Scott D. Johnson, George Johnston, Patricia A. Justice, Richard W. Justice, Lilian G. Katz, James A. Leach, Faye Louise Lesht, Nancy A. McGregor, Sarah J. McCarthey, Lisa E. Monda-Amaya, Susan Noffke, Michaelene M. Ostrosky, Peggy Patten, Laurel Preece, George C. Reese, E. Karen Ritchie , Anne Robertson, Barak Rosenshine, Katherine E. Ryan, Kathleen M. Ryan, Sheryl M. Scherschligt, James G. Shriner, Sharen R. Slade, Bernard Spodek, Catherine O. Thurston, Sybelle Timberlake, Joan Tousey, John S. Trach, Kenneth J. Travers, Bill Trent, Mildred V. Trent, Bill Turner, Chet Zych

* This list was provided by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations and represents gifts made between July 1, 2005 and November 20, 2006. If an error has occurred, or if you would like additional information about making a gift, please contact their office at 244-7228.

IV. Faculty and Staff Movement

David Brown, appointed Interim Head for Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Brenda Clevenger, promoted to Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Student Academic Affairs

Anthony Edwards, hired as resource and policy analyst in Office of Business and Financial Affairs

Marilyn Johnston-Parsons, stepped down as Head for Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Linda KolBusz, hired as Project Coordinator in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Deborah Lowe-Morgan, hired as Program Coordinator in the Educational Career Services Office