The College of Education had a very successful representation at the 2012 American Educational Research Association's (AERA) Annual Meeting, held in April 13-17 in Vancouver.

AERA meeting highlights include:

EPOL Professor William Trent delivered the Wallace Foundation Lecture in recognition of the very important scholarship that he has produced throughout his career. The lecture, which focuses on the improvement of educational practice in American primary and secondary schools, is by invitation of the AERA’s Program Committee.

Acting Dean and EPOL Gutgsell Professor James Anderson and EPOL Professors William Trent and Anne Haas Dyson joined the class of 2012 AERA Fellows. To earn the designation of Fellow, individuals must display exceptional scientific or scholarly contributions to education research or make significant contributions to the field and be known both nationally and internationally.

Joseph Robinson, assistant professor in Educational Psychology, was again selected as an AERA Outstanding Reviewer for 2011.

An April 16 interview with Educational Psychology Professor Dorothy Espelage about school bullying was featured on AERA's Vancouver News, which previewed annual meeting sessions. In the interview, titled "International Scholarship on School Bullying: What Do We Know and How Can We Prevent It?" she explains how bullying affects children and adolescents and prevents many from achieving their full achieving their full academic potential.

Anjali Forber-Pratt, a graduate assistant in online programs who is pursuing her Ph.D. in Human Resources Education, received AERA's 2012 Disability Studies in Education Dissertation Award. Forber-Pratt, who is an accomplished wheel-chair racer, also took advantage of another event while in Vancouver: the Sun Run. Forber-Pratt, who races in the T53 division, will go for gold at the London Paralympics this summer. 

Donald Hackmann, associate professor in EPOL, won a Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award for research from the Learning and Teaching in Educational Leadership (LTEL) Special Interest Group (SIG). In addition, Hackmann's doctoral advisee, Art Fessler, received the LTEL-SIG dissertation award.

EPOL graduate student Blanca Rincon was recently selected as the AERA Division J Graduate Student Representative for the upcoming year. As a representative, she will be a member of AERA's Graduate Student Council. The mission of the council is to facilitate and promote the transition from graduate student to professional researcher and/or practitioner by providing opportunities within AERA for growth, development, and advancement.

The College's newest initiative, the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) was debuted. Under the leadership of Professors Stafford Hood and Thomas Schwandt, CREA is enjoying a very active inaugural year.

The College fully acknowledges the diligence of everyone who participated in AERA, with a special thanks to those who gave presentations and shared the invaluable scholarship of the College with their peers.

The College also hosted a reception for faculty, students, alumni, and friends on Saturday, April 14. Here are some photos:

 PHOTOS:

View photos on the College of Education Flickr.