M E S S A G E  
F R O M  T H E  D E A N
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BRUCE JOHNSON
September 2018

ANNOUNCING ONE OF THE LARGEST GIFTS
IN THE HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE
bruce johnson
I have some great news to announce: We just received one of the largest gifts in the history of the College of Education. A $1 million gift has been made to support our Worlds of Words, the largest collection of global literature for children and young adults in the nation, and the second largest in the world.

The gift was made by the collection's director, Professor Kathy G. Short, and her husband, Jerry Short, who wanted to endow the director's position in order to ensure that Short's successors are leading scholars who can further advance the collection.

In recognition of Short's efforts to create and grow the collection, I have asked her to be the first holder of the chair, which has been named the Founders Endowed Chair in Education for Global Children's and Adolescent Literature.

Fostering intercultural and international understanding is a priority for the University of Arizona, said UA President Robert C. Robbins.

"Increasingly, our students, and the future students of the teachers who graduate from the UA, must be prepared to collaborate with people from all over the world," Robbins said. "Because of the Shorts' gift, and through this incredible literature collection, the university and the College of Education are positioned to lead in this area. I am very grateful to the Shorts for their amazing generosity." More.

Nancy MacLean Tour:  Democracy in Chains

maclean

A new educational policy center is about to take shape in the college. The Educational Policy Center will focus on K-12 policy issues and, although the center is not finalized quite yet, we are already scheduling events. Our first speaker is Nancy MacLean, a professor of history and public policy at Duke University and the author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America.

democracy now invitation



You're Invited to Sample Desert Foods
at the Desert Foods Fiesta!

don guerra throwing flour in the air


The Cooper Center for Environmental Learning will host a free exploration of Indigenous, natural, and local foods at its fourth-annual Desert Foods Fiesta on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"One of the things we do in our education and research programs with kids is explore the different dimensions of nature, including the ways that we rely on the natural world," said Cooper Center Director Colin Waite. "The Desert Foods Fiesta is another approach connecting with nature -- through touch and smell and taste. Even if these foods are somewhat novel for most of us today, they've always been key to wildlife survival in our desert environment, and traditionally they've been vital food resources for Indigenous populations."

College of Education alumnus Don Guerra, founder of the now famous (as in New York Times!), Tucson-based Barrio Bread, will speak on his choice to use heirloom grains, including Sonoran white wheat, in building his Tucson bakery business. Guerra began sourcing the grain locally following a USDA $50,000 research grant for sustainable agriculture that helped local farmers revive this once prolific heirloom variety suited to the arid Southwest.

The fiesta includes:
  • Guided nature walks led by Cooper Center educators
  • Mesquite pancakes with prickly pear, pomegranate, or maple syrup ($8/plate)
  • Workshops on making prickly pear treats, processing olives, and harvesting rainwater
  • Solar telescope viewings, roving musicians, and information on solar cooking, natural compost, community-supported agriculture and more
You can purchase advanced tickets for the pancake breakfast here.

View your invitation here.
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Sunset Hikes and Yoga

woman doing yoga during sunset


Stressed? Tired? You had better pay attention to this, then!

The Cooper Center, in partnership with Campus Recreation and with financial support from the Green Fund Committee, is offering a series of sunset hikes and yoga. Evenings begin with an easy 30-minute guided hike, followed by one hour of yoga with a certified instructor in our beautiful Sonoran desert at 5403 W. Trails End Road.

Come to any or all four dates, and bring water. The sessions are free and include a free shuttle at Campus Rec to and from Cooper!

Saturday, September 22
4:30-6:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 13
4-6 p.m.

Friday, November 16
3:30-5:30 p.m.

Saturday, December 1
3-5 p.m.

Call 432-238-8479 for more information.
 

Cooper Center, UA South Team Up
on Citizen Science Program for High Schoolers

air bubbles

A new hands-on science curriculum, co-developed by the University of Arizona and launching in three Southern Arizona high schools this fall, engages students in citizen science projects to measure air quality at various sites in and around Tucson. More .
 
Message from the Alumni Council

flags spelling out wildcats on football field
We're putting everything in place for Homecoming 2018!

Yes, we're just about one month away from Homecoming 2018.  More on that later, but first, check out what the Alumni Council is doing:

The College of Education Alumni Council is here on campus, helping and supporting students, fostering a belief that we can help make a difference for those who are following in our footsteps.

wine bottle and glass
The new school year is now in full swing, and we have many exciting opportunities to highlight at Homecoming this October 25-27. We welcome all alumni, family, and friends to join us at the Annual Wine Harvest Reception, where we will honor the 50th reunion of the Class of 1968 and Rufus Glasper '95 , our Alumnus of the Year (read more about this stellar grad below).

The reception will be in the Education Building (west patio) on Friday, October 26, from 5:30-7:30, finishing just in time for you to head over to the bonfire. All College of Education alumni are invited to attend at no charge!


Of course, we hope to see you all at our Tailgating Tent on the Mall, starting four hours before kickoff on Saturday, to watch the parade and spin the prize wheel!



Bear Down!

dave overstreet
David Overstreet '80 '86
Alumni Council President
 

Meet Rufus Glasper, Our Alumnus of the Year

rufus glasper

Rufus Glasper believes that community colleges are the "economic engine for the state" of Arizona. He's in a position to know. He has an unusual set of credentials -- he holds a doctorate in higher education finance, and he's a certified public accountant. And, as chancellor emeritus of the Maricopa Community Colleges (2003-2016), he directed one of the largest community college systems in the country.

Glasper has worked in education since he graduated from Luther College in Iowa more than 40 years ago. He majored in business administration and minored in business education, played football, wanted to teach business education and coach high school football. He had a job lined up doing just that when he saw a recommendation letter from one of his college professors saying that he didn't have what it took to succeed in the competitive world of business. He was so angered that it changed his life plan, and he took a job in the business office of the high school where he was planning to teach and "stayed on the finance side" of education. 

He worked his way up to director of financial planning and budgeting for the Chicago Public School System and earned a master's degree in school business administration from Northern Illinois University. When he wanted to study for a doctorate, he chose our Ph.D. program in higher education finance at the UA because it allowed him to take classes both in the College of Education and the Eller College of Management.

The UA program, he says, also allowed him to delve into theory. "I had been in the education business for 17 years. Practically speaking, I knew how to do it, but at the UA, I got a theoretical framework."

Glasper even served as co-chair with former Gov. Janet Napolitano on the P-20 Council, a state task force that aimed to strengthen the public school curriculum from preschool to graduate school.

Today, Glasper is president and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College, a nonprofit dedicated to improving student and organizational learning through innovation, experimentation, and institutional transformation.

Is it any wonder we've named him our Alumnus of the Year?

 
The College's New University Fellow

kasper
University Fellows are the UA's most highly recruited and stellar graduate applicants. The College of Education is proud to announce University Fellow Julie Kasper. Kasper is working on a doctorate in educational leadership. As an undergraduate at the UA, she earned degrees in sociology and women's studies. She earned a master's degree from Columbia University Teachers College and is a national board certified teacher in English as a new language. She taught English as a second language in K-12 schools in Japan, New York City, and Tucson for 16 years before focusing on research related to immigrant and refugee education. The 23 Fellows (13 female, 10 male) comprise a richly diverse and accomplished group from four continents. View all their bios here

 
There's Only One in Arizona
sad child

stephanie macfarland
We are proud to be the only public state university to offer  a degree that prepares students to work with children who have intense behavioral and emotional issues

T his degree is offered in the College of Education, and Assistant Professor of Practice Stephanie MacFarland is the director of the teacher preparation program.

Other universities offer a more general approach to special education or focus on mild to moderate disabilities.

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KJZZ, the NPR member station in Phoenix, produced a story on Arizona's limited university programs for special education teachers.  More .

Libros = Books

lacey nehls reading a book
UA senior Lacey Nehls reads Un nido para Fito, one of the 12 books reviewed in the inaugural issue of WOW Libros.

Worlds of Words has launched WOW Libros , an online journal of refereed reviews of children's and adolescent books originally published in Spanish. The journal highlights the excellent children's books published in Spanish around the world and provides access to those books. 

The reviews are written in Spanish with a short summary in English. The first issue highlights children's books from Mexico, part of our WOW and Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies collaboration with the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, with the reviews written by bilingual students in the elementary education program, supported by Assistant Professor Carol Brochin.

The first journal issue can be accessed for free here.

 
Our Teachers in Industry Student at Roche

hilary working at roche

As part of our Teachers in Industry program, Hillary Ward, a Roche Tissue Diagnostics intern, helped to reformulate a chemical solution widely used in tissue diagnostics to make it environmentally friendly.

In addition, through Teachers in Industry, Hillary will receive a master's degree with a focus on STEM. She and other math and science teachers work toward their degrees or professional development credit while teaching full time. During summer breaks, teachers get real-world work experience in STEM fields, earning industry wages, while support from the Thomas R. Brown Foundation pays for much of the cost of their tuition.

Read the full story on the Roche blog here.

 
Maya Gonzalez: Gender Matters

maya gonzalez


The College of Education and the UA Institute for LGBT Studies invite you to a conversation on why talking about gender matters in the College of Education.
 
Please join us Thursday, Oct. 25, from 3-4 pm in WOW (room 453 in the College of Education) for a presentation and conversation with Maya Gonzalez, an artist, progressive educator, and award-winning children's book illustrator and author. Her work focuses on art and story as powerful tools of reclamation and transformation both personally and culturally.

Gonzalez will discuss what educators should know about gender especially for trans, non-binary, and LGBTQ youth and how this knowledge is vital to shaping pedagogical practice. She will discuss how not attending to gender and LGBTQ issues in pedagogy and practice may inhibit student learning, and what one's role as a member of a college of education ought to be in forwarding gender-inclusive practices.

Gonzalez also will give a presentation and workshop for all students in the College of Education on the same day from 4:30-5:30 pm. 

Additionally, in partnership with the Pima County Library and the Parents of Transgender Youth Support Group, on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 9-11 a.m., Gonzalez will lead a bilingual Rainbow Storytime and Community Conversation at the Valencia Public Library. This event is free and open to the public. Families are strongly encouraged to attend.

View your invitation here

PEOPLE
 

Dean's Office
 
bruce johnson
Professor and Dean Bruce Johnson was quoted in this Arizona Daily Star story on teacher vacancies, which remain a problem for Tucson schools.



Disability & Psychoeducational Studies
 
bauman
Professor Sheri Bauman was interviewed by KGUN9, Tucson's ABC affiliate, about how parents can best protect their children from bullying. More.




sulkowski
Associate Professor Michael Sulkowski is tied for 16th in a list of the most productive school psychology faculty members in the United States, according to the Journal of the Trainers of School Psychologists.



 
Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies

tsosie-begay

Tia Tsosie-Begay '02 '05 is one of three teachers featured in the film, Teaching in Arizona. She is a member of the Navajo Tribe from Northern Arizona who came to Tucson from the Navajo Reservation in 1998 to earn her bachelor's degree from the UA. She graduated in 2002 with a degree in elementary education and again in 2005 with a master's degree in educational leadership. She teaches grades 1 through 4 at Los NiƱos Elementary and  says her most satisfying days are when she feels that a student is able to articulate learning in their own words. She also strives to find ways to fund her students' personal libraries because she believes that books should be in everyone's home.

Tsosie-Begay also was featured in this story on scholastic.com .

barry roth
Arizona Superintendent Diane Douglas tapped a young-earth creationist to serve on a committee tasked with revising the state's science curriculum standards on evolution. Joseph Kezele, the president of the Arizona Origin Science Association, is a staunch believer in the idea that enough scientific evidence exists to back up the biblical story of creation. Douglas appointed him to an eight-member special working group at the Arizona Department of Education that completed a final review of the draft evolution teaching standards on August 30.  Also on the eight-member committee is our very own Associate Professor of Practice Barry Roth, one of the directors of Teach Arizona. Read what Roth had to say in this Phoenix New Times article.


gramajo and sherman
In August, UA alumnae and sisters Mariana Sherman '08 (Eller) and Judith Gramajo '18 (College of Education) traveled to Paris to compete in the beach volleyball category for the Paris Games 2018. They proudly represented Team Argentina and won the silver medal as they played against Team USA in the A Division finals.  Gramajo, who majored in literacy, learning, and leadership, also is leading an initiative to create more access to sand volleyball in Tucson.



Until next time,
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Bruce Johnson
 

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