coE-News: February 15, 2007 VOL. 2 ISSUE 5
VOL. 2, ISSUE 5
FEB. 15, 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.
GOT NEWS? We want to hear it. Submit individual or unit news and calendar events of collegewide interest to news@coe.ufl.edu for publication consideration. All submissions must be in writing or via e-mail and must include contact information for follow-up questions.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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DEAN’S MESSAGE
Faculty searches. Strengthening the Ed.D. Big announcement.
Dean Catherine Emihovich offers a glimpse of what’s going on now at the college, and a hint of big news ahead. (more)
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TOP STORIES
Hispanic students perform better in schools with large Hispanic community
In recent years, college administrators have been talking quite a bit about “critical mass” – the notion that when a minority student population reaches a certain size, the culture of a campus will subtly change to become more welcoming. A study by Professor Linda Serra Hagedorn, chair of the Department of Educational Administration and Policy, indicates that “critical mass” improves minority students’ academic performance. (more)
IHE names winners of Bellwether Award
UF’s Institute of Higher Education handed out this year’s Bellwether Awards at the 2007 Community College Futures Assembly in Orlando in January. Created to recognize excellence in community college administration, the Bellwethers draw competitors from across the country. (more)
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NEWS AND NOTICES
New leaders in Development reflect college’s values
Bob Henning, COE’s new director of development, arrived on campus just this week. He joins associate director Laforis Knowles, who has already been working to maintain the college’s ties to its alumni. (more)
New journal seeks submissions
Faculty and students have until March 21 to submit work for the first issue of Florida Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, COE’s new online, blind peer-reviewed journal. Published by the Department of Educational Administration and Policy, FJEAP will serve as an outlet for rigorous research and study, quality research reviews and commentaries on leadership and administration in K-12 and postsecondary education. The journal is also seeking brief remembrances of UF’s own James Wattenbarger, known as the “father of the Florida Community College System.” For more information, go to www.fjeap.org.
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RESEARCH/GRANTS
What’s in a name?
Four years ago, UF’s on-campus child care center changed its name to reflect its research role. In this column Director Pam Pallas describes some of the research projects conducted at Baby Gator Child Development and Research Center. (more)
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FACULTY/STAFF HONORS/APPOINTMENTS
Linda Cronin Jones named Undergraduate Teacher of the Year
She co-wrote a field guide to schoolyard ecology, travels to Belize and Uganda to introduce students to environmental science, and asks her science education students to design their own model laboratories for teaching science. (more)
Education giant ‘retires’ this semester
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Paul George, a founding figure in the middle-school movement and one of the nation’s leading experts on middle-grades education, was honored Feb. 3 at a retirement banquet at the Thomas Center in downtown Gainesville. George has been involved in middle school issues since he came to UF in the early 1970s, and has been a driving force in both research and teaching here at COE. While he is officially ‘retired,’ George is still quite busy with research; just last semester he led a statewide review of middle-grades education for the Helios Foundation.
Lowery to help state review initial educator programs
Are Florida’s initial educator programs – designed to speed qualified teacher candidates through the certification process – giving new teachers all the knowledge they need? One COE professor is helping the Florida Department of Education find out. (more)
Sindelar to be honored by alma mater
Professor and Associate Dean for Research Paul Sindelar will travel to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in April to receive that college’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Recipients of this award are nominated by their peers, fellow UIUC Alumni or students, and are selected by a committee of alumni, students and faculty. According to UIUC Professor Jim Halle, Sindelar was selected for this “leadership and commitment in the area of special education personnel preparation.”
Professor teaches martial artists about peacemaking
Assistant Professor William Conwill spoke on the topic “Peacemaking: The Advanced Directive for the Martial Artist,” at the Arts of the Samurai in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 20. The dojo gave Conwill its Inochi Award, given to honor martial artists for a lifetime of dedication to their discipline. Conwill has been practicing martial arts for more than 40 years and has studied many different forms under many well-known teachers. He has competed internationally, has lobbied for more martial arts to be included in the Olympic Games, and gives his time to teach others what he has learned during his training.
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PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS
Bogged down in blogs?
Does the proliferation of classroom weblogs have your students feeling “blogged out?” You’re not alone, says Associate Professor Kara Dawson. In her article “Blog Overload,” published in February in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Dawson tells how her recent classes got bogged down in the blogosphere. You can read the article here.
COE, PKY faculty address novice teachers at UF Alliance conference
Faculty from COE and P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School offered their advice based on best teaching practices to 58 new teachers from Dade, Duval and Orange County schools in the UF Alliance’s Conference for Novice Teachers in Urban Secondary Schools Feb. 9-10 in Jacksonville. Presenters from UF included Associate Professors Rose Pringle and Colleen Swain; Assistant Professors Ruth Lowery and Cirecie West-Olatunji; and PKY faculty members Mickie MacDonald and Lakeisha Scott. The UF faculty members shared the stage with a number of other speakers, including journalist Kathleen Cushman, author of the acclaimed book Fires in the Bathroom: Advice to Teachers from High School Students. This conference was coordinated through the Alliance’s Urban Teacher Induction and Retention Network coordinated by Wanda Lastrapes.
Fu speaks at national conference on bilingual education
Professor Danling Fu spoke on “English Language Learners’ Development from First Language to English” Feb. 9 at the annual conference of the National Association for Bilingual Education. The NABE conference is billed as the only event in the U.S. that addresses “topics of interest to teachers, administrators, and parents of English language learners, including second language acquisition, bilingual education, assessment and accountability, teacher training, and special education, and grassroots activism.”
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P.K. YONGE NEWS
Great music for a good cause at PKY
Do you like the Beatles, blues, and maybe a little bluegrass? Would you like to spend your Friday night having fun – for a good cause? Tickets are on sale now for P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School’s first Music for Sports Concert, to be held Friday, Feb. 23 from 8-10 p.m at the PKY Performing Arts Center. Proceeds from the concert will help PKY build a new gym. The show features local talents such as the blues band Used Blues, fiddler Alan Stowell and Beatles cover band The Impostors. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students. For more information, contact Lily Bailey at (352) 317-8196.
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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:
Chronicle of Higher Education –Associate Professor Kara Dawson, STL (2/2/07) Dawson’s article, “Blog Overload,” appeared in the magazine. You can read it here.
Ocala Star-Banner – Associate Professor Colleen Swain, STL, (1/22/07) Swain was quoted in an article about an attempt to narrow the digital divide in Marion County Schools by providing used computers to low- and middle-income students. The story is available here.
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Marco Island Sun-Times – Lastinger Center for Learning (12/21/06) The newspaper quoted findings from a Lastinger Center study on child poverty in Collier County. The quote was part of a story about the establishment of an $11.3 million dental care/early learning center in Naples. The study was also mentioned in a Naples Daily News story about a fundraising event for the facility.
Independent Florida Alligator – Dean Catherine Emihovich(2/7/07) Dean Emihovich was quoted in a story on the searches for candidates to fill open deanships around the university. Emihovich is chair of the committee which is searching for a new dean for the Graduate School. The story is available here.
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CALENDAR
FEB. 16-17
Back-to-College Weekend — Alumni Association Events
Contact: Jodi Mount, 392-0728, ext. 250 or jmount@coe.ufl.edu
FEB. 22-23
Holmes Annual Conference
San Antonio, TX
FEB. 24-27
AACTE Annual Meeting
New York
MARCH 2
Development Board Meeting
Norman Hall, 11:30 a.m.
Contact: Kathy Dugan, 392-0728, ext. 600
MARCH 3
James L. Wattenbarger Tribute
Norman Hall Terrace Room, 2-4 p.m.
Contact: Jodi Mount, 392-0728, ext. 250 or jmount@coe.ufl.edu
MARCH 10-17
Spring Break for UF Students
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Children’s Alliance to meet in March
The newly formed Alachua County Children’s Alliance, created to foster communication between various local child advocacy agencies and groups, will hold its first monthly meeting March 16 at Reichert House, 1704 SE 2nd Ave. COE Professor Elizabeth “Buffy” Bondy, a longtime advocate of the children’s alliance concept, urges any one with an interest in children’s issues to attend the meeting. For more information, contact her at bondy@coe.ufl.edu.
Show your Gator spirit with COE shirt
The Unified Student Early Childhood Association is selling College of Education polo shirts. Shirts cost $15 if you order before the Feb.16 preorder deadline. For more information, write to usecauf@yahoo.com. To place an order, drop by the Student Services Office in G-416 Norman Hall.
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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
