Education College Moving Toward
Reality
BY VALERIE ORLEANS
From Dateline (May 6, 2004)
In a move to expand leadership in teacher
preparation on campus, President Milton A. Gordon will formally
designate the School of Education as the College of Education, effective
July 1. The Academic Senate voted April 22 to recommend to the president
the formation of the College of Education.
“I am consulting with members of the campus
community for recommendations of colleagues to serve as acting dean
of what will become our eighth college,” said Gordon. “This
is another milestone for Cal State Fullerton. Even in tough budgetary
times, we must not let that stop us from positioning ourselves to
excel.”
Plans call for the acting dean to serve during the
formation years of the college, after which a national search will
be conducted for the permanent dean.
The College of Education will align Fullerton’s
organizational structure, management and leadership with sister
CSU campuses and create a streamlined institutional organization
that can more effectively respond to increasing demands on teacher
education, noted Roberta Rikli, dean of the College of Human Development
and Community Service, which houses the school.
Currently, the School of Education includes the departments
of Educational Leadership, Elementary and Bilingual Education, Reading,
Secondary Education and Special Education. A program in instructional
design and technology and the joint doctoral program in educational
administration and leadership, which welcomed its first students
in January, are part of the current school.
“We believe that by establishing a separate
and distinct college, our students will benefit from the enhanced
status of a degree program within a College of Education. We also
will be able to continue to attract high-caliber faculty to ensure
that our future students receive a first-class education,”
said Louise Adler, chair and professor of educational leadership.
The School of Education was formed in 1966-67. Prior
to that, a division of education had been the parent administrative
unit for the departments concerned with teacher preparation. In
1975, then-president L. Donald Shields, converted the school of
education back to a division within the school of HDCS. Years later
this division HDCS. Years later this division re-emerged as a school.
It is one of only 14 schools in the state (out of
approximately 120) to have achieved national accreditation. “The
school received a stellar accreditation review in 2000,” said
Carmen Z. Dunlap, chair and professor of elementary and bilingual
education.
In addition, the most recent survey conducted by
the CSU comparing the quality of teacher preparation across the
entire system placed Fullerton above the mean with ratings for most
first-year teachers as well-prepared or adequate.
“We are one of the major engines driving teacher
educa-tion in Orange County,” said L.Y. “Mickey”
Hollis, acting associate dean of the School of Education. “We
have one of the strongest programs in the state and our recent data
indicates that not only are our students qualified, they generally
exceed expectations.”
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