November 12, 2003 :: No. 102
Cal State Fullerton/UC Irvine Will
Offer Joint Doctorate in Educational Administration and Leadership
Cal State Fullerton has received approval to offer
its first joint doctoral program, an Ed.D. in educational administration
and leadership, in cooperation with UCI. Also participating in the
partnership to forge the Ed.D. program will be Cal Poly Pomona,
Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Long Beach.
“In joining with our regional partners to mount
this joint program, Cal State Fullerton stays true to its mission:
making learning preeminent,” said President Milton A. Gordon.
“This program is an important example of the university’s
objective of being a center of activity essential to the intellectual,
cultural and economic development of our region.”
The special emphasis for the joint doctoral program
to be offered at Cal State Fullerton is targeted to K-12 educational
leaders.
“Our emphasis on K-12 instructional leadership
is designed to serve those leaders who are committed and responsible
for improving student learning — these may be curriculum or
program specialists, teacher leaders, district or school site administrators
or others who demonstrate the ability to improve learning in K-12
schools,” said Roberta Rikli, dean of the College of Human
Development and Community Service. “The joint doctorate is
clearly a milestone for Cal State Fullerton.”
“Universities are increasingly being asked
to provide graduate training, and K-12 education has urgently sought
highly-trained leaders,” said Ephraim Smith, vice president
for academic affairs. “With increased accountability, testing
and assessment, state and national learning standards and curricular
changes, the need for those with doctorates in this field has never
been greater. Programs such as this encourage the CSU and UC campuses
to work cooperatively to ensure that students receive the educational
programs that are needed.”
The University of California Coordinating Committee
on Graduate Affairs, the final step in an approval process, approved
Cal State Fullerton’s participation in the program last week,
after several years of planning.
This joint doctoral program was developed to meet
increased demand for K-12 educational leaders who require advanced
knowledge in an increasing number of disciplines.
“Graduates of this new joint doctoral program
will be oriented to professional practice,” said Keith Boyum,
associate vice president for academic programs. “They will
put research into action. Our goal is to prepare leaders who use
doctoral-level understanding as a basis for planning, initiating
and assessing local reforms designed to improve educational outcomes.”
Cal State Fullerton is part of a five-campus consortium
offering this program leading to the Ed.D. with the support of an
implementation grant from the California State University/University
of California Joint Ed.D. Board. Established in November 2001, the
board has encouraged new joint doctoral programs in education to
meet the state’s educational leadership needs. Among the other
campuses participating in this joint doctorate program are Cal State
Long Beach (with an emphasis in Higher Education and Community College
Leadership), Cal Poly Pomona (emphasis in Educational Technology
Leadership) and Cal State L.A. (emphasis in Pre-K-12 Urban Educational
Leadership).
In California, doctoral degrees usually are issued
by private institutions and the University of California. In contrast,
the California State University is better known for awarding bachelor’s
and master’s degrees. This new joint Ed.D signals awareness
of the need to produce educational leaders who can act on the basis
of more comprehensive knowledge.
“Participating in collaborative efforts makes
sense because it enables us to better meet the needs of school administrators
and leaders,” said Chris Renne, associate professor of elementary
and bilingual education and co-director of Fullerton’s joint
doctoral program. “There are many well-qualified people who
want advanced preparation and, due to distances and finances, are
unable to meet their needs by attending a UC campus. This program
not only meets the needs of individual students but of California’s
educational system as well.”
“Only a handful of universities across the
nation offer programs in instructional leadership,” said Louise
Adler, chair and professor of educational leadership and co-director
of the joint doctoral program. “This new approach in addressing
issues in schools, curriculum and programs is truly cutting edge.
Blending the knowledge of theory and practice, it allows us to work
with key leaders in our schools to address often complex problems.”
Among those playing key roles in developing this
program at Fullerton were Keith Boyum, associate vice president
for academic programs; Roberta Rikli, dean of Human Development
and Community Service; Mickey Hollis, acting associate dean of the
School of Education; Louise Adler, chair and professor of educational
leadership; Carol Barnes, professor of elementary and bilingual
education; and Chris Renne, associate professor of elementary and
bilingual education.
“I think Cal State Fullerton can be very proud
of its part of the joint program,” said Rikli. “The
new agreement achieves the CSU’s goal of rapidly expanding
the availability of public Ed.D. programs. It’s a win-win
situation for everyone: the University of California system, the
CSU system and, more importantly, the doctoral students and the
thousands of K-12 students who will reap the benefits of this program.”
An information meeting on this new CSU/UC Joint Ed.D.
program at Cal State Fullerton will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov.
17 at Cal State Fullerton, in the Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Building, Room 199. For more information, call 657-278-8302 or
log on to http://hdcs.fullerton.edu/Education/jointEd.D.htm.
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Media Contacts: |
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Louise Adler at 657-278-7673 or ladler@fullerton.edu
Valerie Orleans at 657-278-4540 or vorleans@fullerton.edu
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