coE-News: March 19, 2007 VOL. 2 ISSUE 6
VOL. 2, ISSUE 6
MARCH. 19, 2007
You’re reading coE-News, an electronic newsletter produced monthly during the academic year by the College of Education News & Publications Office to keep faculty and staff up-to-date on college news and activities. Click here to download a PDF version of this edition. You will need a PDF reader to view this document.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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DEAN’S MESSAGE
Improving the research culture at COE
Standing in for vacationing Dean Catherine Emihovich, Associate Dean for Research Paul Sindelar offers an overview of a year of progress at the Office of Educational Research. (more)
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TOP STORIES
$10M gift spurs all-out push to help Florida children succeed in school
UF’s Lastinger Center for Learning and the Miami-based Early Childhood Initiative Foundation will share a $10 million grant from the W.W. Kellogg Foundation, for efforts to improve learning by smoothing the transition to school for children who are likely to start school unprepared. (more)
UF joins effort to revamp Ed. D. degree, seeks faculty input
UF’s College of Education is joining a high-profile group of universities to rethink the Ed.D. degree, to better differentiate it from the Ph.D. and to better serve the educational needs of students who plan to be practicing educators. Faculty members can weigh in on the process at a meeting to be held March 21 at noon in the Norman Hall Terrace Room. (more)
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NEWS AND NOTICES
COE sponsors Blackout Weekend
The College of Education is proud to be a sponsor of Blackout Weekend – a new, major campus event to be held March 30-31. Created and run by the Black Student Union, Blackout Weekend will bring high school and college students from around the state to UF for a conference on the state of black student unions across the nation, a formal ball, a career fair, a speech by novelist Omar Tyree and more. For more information, write to ufbsuconference@yahoo.com or visit the BSU website here.
Teachers to share knowledge at April showcase
Teachers from around the state will join COE faculty and students to share their knowledge about school improvement at the annual Teaching, Inquiry and Innovation Showcase, to be held by the Center for School Improvement April 21 at the PKY Performing Arts Center. Now in its third year, the showcase exists to celebrate classroom teachers whose research and inquiry have helped to improve schools from within. More information is available here.
COE Viewbook wins ADDY Award
Last year, COE released a new publication designed to introduce the college to newcomers – with a personal touch. Now the COE Viewbook is among the winners of a respected ADDY Award.
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RESEARCH/GRANTS
UF professor takes common calculator to next level
Since the early 1990s, a humble little computing device has caused a quiet revolution in the way mathematics is taught in America’s middle and high schools. Now a pilot project, led in part by UF Associate Professor Stephen Pape, is taking the graphing calculator to the next level. (more)
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FACULTY/STAFF HONORS/APPOINTMENTS
Building at FAMU named for former COE professor
He worked on the NASA’s mission to the moon, helped implement the Civil Rights Act and served as a monitor for one of South Africa’s first post-apartheid elections. Now former COE professor Walter L. Smith has received one of the highest honors a university can bestow. (more)
COE professor appointed to dental journal
Professor Linda Behar-Horenstein has been appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Dental Education. One of the nation’s most influential publications on academic dentistry, the JDE publishes dental research and articles on the instruction of student dentists. As an affiliate professor at UF’s College of Dentistry, Behar-Horenstein has helped that college improve its teaching methods. Last year, she was appointed to UF’s Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars, a task force dedicated to improving teaching across the UF campus.
Repetto honored for assisting students with disabilities in transition to adulthood
For years, UF’s Transition Center has been quietly assisting hundreds of students with disabilities as they make the transition from K-12 school to the demands of adulthood. Associate Professor Jeanne Repetto, co-founder and director of the center, will be honored for her work by the Council for Exceptional Children in April. (more)
Three at COE selected for Faculty Achievement Recognition
Professor Thomas Oakland, Professor Mary Brownell, and Professor and Associate Dean for Research Paul Sindelar are among 51 UF faculty selected as Faculty Achievement Recognition honorees.
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STUDENT HONORS/AWARDS
Essay lands Ph.D. student a trip to see Oprah
Denise Payne, a Ph.D. student in the School of Teaching and Learning, was awarded two tickets to the taping of an Oprah Winfrey Show episode about the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, a newly constructed school in South Africa. Payne acquired the tickets by submitting an essay to the show, illustrating the opportunities that her education has opened her. Payne wrote that she found the South African students’ stories inspiring, and plans to share her experience with her students. The show she attended aired in February.
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PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS
Hagedorn a headliner at conference on Latino students
Professor Linda Hagedorn, chair of the Department of Educational Administration and Policy, has been invited to serve as plenary speaker at the National Capitol Summit on Latino Students and Educational Opportunity, to be held June 13-14. Sponsored by the Educational Policy Institute and the University of Maryland College Park, the conference will be held on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and will focus on the educational needs of America’s growing Hispanic population.
Jones speaks at Levin environmental conference
Associate Professor Linda Cronin Jones spoke as a member of a panel on “Incorporating Sustainability into Education” during the 13th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference at UF’s Levin College of Law, held March 1-3.
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DISSERTATION DEFENSES
Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the following dissertation defenses. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.
- Curriculum Components of Classroom Management for School Counselors
Doctoral candidate: Jill A. Geltner
10 a.m. April 4, Norman Hall Room 1205
RSVP to: Larry Loesch, lloesch@coe.ufl.edu - The Turning Hour Project: Using Literature for Suicide Education in Schools
Doctoral candidate: Patricia Xirau-Probert
10:30 a.m.- noon March 26, Norman Hall Room 1235B
RSVP to: Silvia Echevarria-Doan, silvia@coe.ufl.edu
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P.K. YONGE NEWS
PKY instructor gets Toyota “mini-grant”
P.K. Yonge science teacher Michelina “Mickie” MacDonald was awarded a $2,500 grant from Toyota’s TAPESTRY initiative, for an innovative program that brings UF genetics experts to PKY to teach high school biology students. Under the program, professors from UF’s microbiology and agronomy departments will discuss their own research and the real-life applications of genetic engineering with PKY students, and will provide field and laboratory experiences. Students will debate the ethics of genetic engineering and will conduct a literature review under the guidance of media specialists from UF’s libraries. The Toyota grant is one of about two dozen “mini-grants” the automaker offers each year to innovative, low-cost educational projects.
Road to college paved with basketball victories
Congratulations to Coach Mark Griseck and the Blue Wave basketball team for advancing all the way to this year’s state championship game in Class 3A. As state runner-up, they did their school proud – and along the way, three members of the team scored college basketball scholarships.
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IN THE NEWS
A recent sampling of “media hits” from the College of Education, many of them resulting from press releases or media requests coordinated by COE News & Publications:
Gainesville Sun – Professor and Chair Linda Hagedorn, EAP (3/6/07)
The Sun wrote a story about Hagedorn’s recent study which found that Hispanic college students show better academic performance at schools with a large Hispanic population. Hagedorn was also interviewed by WUFT-TV 5 in relation to the study.
Meridian (Miss.) Star – Professor and Chair Linda Hagedorn, EAP (2/21/07)
Hagedorn was quoted in a story about the Institute of Higher Education’s presentation of one of its Outstanding Graduate Awards to UF IHE alum Scott Elliott, president of Meridian Community College.
Associated Press – Lastinger Center for Learning (3/5/06)
The news service carried the story of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s gift of $10 million to the Lastinger Center and the Miami-based Early Childhood Initiative Foundation for efforts to improve learning by smoothing the transition to school for children who are likely to start school unprepared. The story appeared in Florida Times-Union, Orlando Sentinel, Bradenton Herald, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Gainesville Sun, Lakeland Ledger, Naples Daily News, Pensacola News Journal and Philanthropy News Digest.
Providence(R.I) Journal – Professor Craig Wood (3/7/07)
The newspaper covered Wood’s presentation of a study on education funding to the Rhode Island Legislature. Wood told lawmakers their state would need approximately $94 million in additional funding to meet the needs of its students.
Jefferson City (Mo.) News Tribune – Professor Craig Wood (2/15/07)
Wood was quoted in coverage of a lawsuit in which plaintiffs alleged the State of Missouri does not distribute its education funding fairly. Wood testified as an expert witness in the case.
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CALENDAR
MARCH 21
Educational Psychology Guest Speaker:
Joseph Torgesen, W. Russell and Eugenia Morcom Chair of Psychology
and Education at Florida State University
4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Norman Hall Terrace Room
Contact: Tracy Linderholm, linderholm@coe.ufl.edu, or 392-0723 ext. 241
MARCH 22
McNair Scholars Poster Day
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m., Reitz Student Union
MARCH 26
College Curriculum Committee meeting
2 p.m., Norman Hall Room 158
MARCH 27
COE Staff Appreciation Luncheon
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Norman Courtyard
Contact: Jodi Mount, 392-0728, ext. 250 or jmount@coe.ufl.edu
MARCH 30-31
Blackout Weekend
Contact: Black Student Union at ufbsuconference@yahoo.com
APRIL 2-6
Alachua County Schools Spring Break
APRIL 9–13
AERA Annual Convention: The World of Educational Quality
Chicago, Ill.
APRIL 11
Gator Day in the Legislature
APRIL 13-14
Spring Weekend by the Alumni Association
Contact: Jodi Mount, 392-0728, ext. 250 or jmount@coe.ufl.edu
APRIL 14
Education Alumni Council Spring Meeting
Norman Hall Room 158
Contact: Jodi Mount, 392-0728, ext. 250 or jmount@coe.ufl.edu
APRIL 14
Orange & Blue Football Game
APRIL 18-21
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Annual Convention
Louisville, Ky.
Contact: Shaira Rivas-Otero, 392-0701, ext: 242 or srivas@coe.ufl.edu
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QUICK LINKS
UF: www.ufl.edu
College of Education: education.ufl.edu
coE-News: Publications
Education Times magazine: Publications
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coE-News is produced by:
College of Education, University of Florida
Dean’s Office/News & Publications
Dean: Catherine Emihovich
Director: Larry Lansford (llansford@coe.ufl.edu)
Editor: Tim Lockette (Lockette@coe.ufl.edu)
Correspondents:
Alexander Stern, Student Writer
Marta Pollitt, P.K. Yonge
