Career Night to showcase variety of career paths in education

Source:
Jodi Mount
Alumni and Events Coordinator
College of Education
jmount@coe.ufl.edu
392-0728, ext. 250

Writer / Media Relations
Tara Goodin, Student Writer
UF College of Education, News & Publications
(352) 392-0726, ext. 323

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — You knew an education degree from the University of Florida could help you become a top-notch teacher – but did you know it could also open the door to a career in public policy, mental health care or college administration?

Several of the most accomplished graduates of UF’s College of Education – including a National Teacher of the Year and advisor to the U.S. Department of Education, a major university dean of education and the superintendent of one of the nation’s largest school districts — will come to campus to talk about careers in and outside the traditional classroom in the Alumni Association/College of Education Career Night. Everyone is invited to the one-hour event, starting at 7 p.m. Oct. 5, in Reitz Union Room 282.

“Career Night is an opportunity for the students to learn about a variety of career opportunities available to them with a degree from the College of Education,” said Catherine Emihovich, dean of the UF College of Education.

A panel of speakers representing a variety of education-related careers will speak on potential career paths including school and education administration, school counseling, mental health, education improvement and leadership, and teaching at all levels.

Speakers include:

  • Ronald Blocker, superintendent of Orange County Public Schools. Blocker holds a master’s degree in counseling and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UF. In 2000, he was named superintendent of Orange County Public Schools, the nation’s 11th largest school district. His work to pass a half-cent sales tax for school construction led to  $4.5 billion in funding for school construction and renovations of older schools. Under his direction, the school system initiated the League of Education Excellence, a program to improve the performance of high school students.

  • Sandra Bowman Damico, dean of the University of Iowa’s College of Education. Damico received her Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education from UF. Her research has focused primarily on school organization and policies and their impact on the achievement and behavior of adolescents. She currently is studying leadership in higher education.  She has served as director of the Division of Educational Studies at Emory University before assuming her current position in 1999.  She also spent 10 years as a professor at UF’s College of Education.

  • Robert Bleck, veteran educator, researcher and therapist. Bleck received his Ph.D. from UF in 1977. He founded the Source Completion Therapy Center in Plainview, NY, and works as the center’s director. Bleck authored the book “Give Back the Pain,” in which he provides historical examples to help people see and understand their own behaviors. Bleck is a former professor of counseling and psychology at the Long Island University’s C.W. Post Campus, Queens College and Hofstra University.

  • Terry Dozier, director of the Center for Teacher Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Education. Dozier received a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Social Studies Education at UF. In 1985, Dozier was named U.S. National Teacher of the Year. She later served as the senior advisor on teaching to the U.S. Secretary of Education. In her current position at the Center for Teacher Leadership, Dozier works with teachers throughout Virginia to promote and develop teachers as leaders.

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