November 2018 THE COLLEGE INSIDER NEWS ABOUT FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS OF THE UA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Welcome, New Staff!

Diana Peel is the new graduate coordinator for the Department of Educational Policy Studies & Practice. She joins the College of Education after 15 years of administrative and coordinative program experience in non-profits, business, and education. For nearly a decade, she served the UA Honors College community as events coordinator and was on the Honors Inclusive Excellence and Diversity Committee, which developed the Honors plan used in all areas of the college, including curriculum, developmental advising, administrative policies, recruitment, and student life programming.

Corey Knox is an education researcher and the senior program coordinator of broader impacts at the College of Education. Knox has more than 20 years of experience conducting community-based research and developing programs that connect pressing social and environmental issues. Her doctoral research in science and environmental education illuminated important lessons related to the ways the community members, teachers, and scientists view and frame school-based learning in science and social studies curricula related to environmental issues. As a curriculum developer and theorizer, she is interested in the ways that formal and informal learning communicates social and environmental justice issues and prepares youth and communities for addressing issues of sustainability and social justice.

Appointments

Former Senior Academic Advisor Angela Botello moved into a new role as recruitment coordinator at the College of Education. In her new role, she focuses on recruiting and retaining undergraduates in teacher education and will build and maintain relationships with K-12 schools and districts, community colleges, community organizations, and other strategic partners. She will play a key role in establishing and making progress toward immediate and long-term enrollment goals. Congratulations, Angela!

Faculty Presentations

Nolan Cabrera at TEDxUofA Associate Professor Nolan Cabrera discussed white immunity and working through the pitfalls of white privilege discourse in his TEDxUofA talk. In his talk, he explores how whiteness creates social immunity from racism for white people. Furthermore, Cabrera links the historical formation of whiteness in the United States to contemporary times, ultimately calling for white people to develop greater racial empathy and responsibility. View his TEDx talk here .

Z Nicolazzo visits University of Texas, Austin and Pacific Northwest College of Art This October, Assistant Professor of Trans* Studies Z Nicolazzo visited the University of Texas, Austin to present her talk The Internet is Basically my Hometown: Using Digital Space to Explore Transgender Identity Formation . Nicolazzo discussed her new research project called Digital Me: Transgender Students’ Exploration of Self and Community Through Digital Media . Nicolazzo also traveled to Pacific Northwest College of Art to teach her workshop Teaching While Marginalized: What Our Bodies Teach Us About Critical Pedagogy. The workshop, centered around the idea of embodied pedagogy, encouraged audience members (faculty members, teaching assistants, and graduate students) to self-reflect on their own localized experiences as educators. Together, participants actively explored how to navigate student resistance of marginalized identities in classroom settings.

Understanding the experiences and success of first-generation Latinx students  Assistant Professor of Disability & Psychoeducational Studies Desiree Vega and her doctoral student, Jaclyn N. Wolf, presented at the First Generation Southwest Symposium at Northern Arizona University on September 28. The presentation, College Enrollment and Persistence of First-generation Latinx Students , focused on the college-going experiences and success of first-generation Latinx college students. They also discussed the need for educators to understand their experiences and be equipped with the skills to help these students successfully transition.

In the News

Julie Kasper in The Hechinger Report: Supporting refugee students through their teachers and schools  Julie Kasper , a doctoral student in Educational Policy Studies & Practice, explains the importance of preparing teachers of refugees in her article When the Nation Closes its Doors to Refugees, Schools Can Open Them . She discusses her involvement with the Carey Institute for Global Good and the new Refugee Educator Academy in development to provide learning opportunities for 10,000 refugee educators worldwide. In the article, Kasper considers the significance of our actions to support these children and teachers: “Research indicates that high-quality teachers in every classroom are the key factor in children’s learning. This is especially true for refugee children, who are often many years behind their peers in grade-level knowledge, are working to master the English language and are tasked with healing from past trauma — including being uprooted because of conflict — while also acclimating to a new country and culture.” Read the full article here .

Research & Education Programs

Earthkeepers meets Resplandor International  This past summer, Dean and Professor Bruce Johnson visited Resplandor International , located just outside of Guanajuato, Mexico, to host a workshop on the Earthkeepers program. Led by Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, & School Psychology Associate Professor Todd Fletcher, the international organization’s goal is to make education accessible for underserved communities. After Johnson's workshop, College of Education Alum Paty González Sotelo led the development of a  Spanish curriculum for Resplandor ’s two-week annual summer camp, where 63 children ages 9-12 were in attendance. The resulting curriculum, Amigos de la Tierra , or Friends of the Earth , was a great success in the camp. Resplandor will continue incorporating activities from the Earthkeepers program as Johnson makes plans for the next stages of implementing the full program.

More than 160 undergraduate student teachers placed for spring 2019  Together with UA school site coordinators and the Department of Disability & Psychoeducational Studies, Director of Field Experience Maggie Shafer placed 163 undergraduate student teachers for the spring 2019 semester. This includes three students at Baboquivari Unified School District, three students at Casa Blanca School in Gila River, and 14 students who are planning to student teach internationally in cities like Guanajauto, Mexico, Rosendal, Norway, and the Liang Province in China. Shafer worked closely with Community Liaison Rebecca Zapien to place the 44 students majoring in early childhood education. Other undergraduate students are pursuing their elementary certification, 36 are earning an English as a second language endorsement, 13 are majoring in special education, and 11 are earning a dual language endorsement.

Faculty members come together for Graduate Training in Applied Statistics  Graduate Training in Applied Statistics seeks to help students find courses in statistics that meet their research goals and fit their academic background. Faculty from the college's Department of Educational Psychology , School of Anthropology , Department of Psychology , and Academic Program of Family Studies and Human Development are collaborating to better prepare graduate students as researchers, research consumers, practitioners, and educators with a foundation in quantitative methods. This collaboration provides access to a wider array of statistics courses, most using the same software, and allows students to choose courses that best match their career goals. The hope is that these efforts inspire interest in advanced quantitative and mixed methods. Visit gtas.arizona.edu for more information.

What's new?

Environmental Learning course coming this spring  Announcing the spring 2019 TLS 431/531 Environmental Learning course on Mondays from 4:15-6:45 p.m., taught by Dean and Professor Bruce Johnson and Associate Director of the Cooper Center Constantine Manoli .  This course includes: Programs and programmatic history Comparisons of philosophy, theory, and instructional approaches Goals, objectives, and evaluation of different programs International and U.S. history and policy related to environmental learning Major research paradigms, questions, major thinkers, and perspectives in literature Major professional organizations, possible career paths, and goals

The Cooper Center is on the ‘Gram The Cooper Center recently launched an Instagram account so followers can stay current on all of their upcoming events and projects. The account will be maintained and updated by the Cooper Center’s new Cooper Campus Outreach Team , which seeks to spread awareness about sustainability and eco-friendly practices throughout the UA campus. Follow their work and efforts on Instagram at @coopercentertucson .

Stay “in the know” at the College of Education  Looking for another way to learn about upcoming events at the College of Education? Check out the new “College Happenings” bulletin board in the student services area. You’ll find details about upcoming presentations, new courses, and events like UA Homecoming. Please note that department approval is required to post on the bulletin board.

The College of Education establishes a diversity committee   The newly formed College of Education Diversity Committee works to promote and celebrate diversity throughout the college’s community. The main role of the committee is to propose and implement recommendations related to diversity for the dean and college council to review. The committee seeks to enhance diversity by: Developing educational or professional development programming related to diversity Cultivating representation by recruiting and retaining diverse faculty, staff, and students Creating an environment for College of Education community members to express diversity-related concerns Additional duties of the committee include annually reviewing the college’s Diversity Action Plan and executing university-mandated activities related to diversity. The 2018-2019 Diversity Committee Members are : Rachel Barton, Dean’s Office, Classified Staff Resource, nonvoting (Fall 2018) Julio Cammarota, Professor, Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies (2-year term) Virginia Gonzalez, Classified Staff Representative (2-year term) Sandy Durazo, Classified Staff Representative (2-year term) Bruce Johnson, Dean’s Office, Dean, ex officio, nonvoting (Fall 2018) Sung-eun Jung, Assistant Professor of Practice, Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies (3-year term) Elizabeth Pope, Assistant Professor of Practice, Educational Psychology (3-year term) Linda Shaw, Professor, Disability and Psychoeducational Studies (2-year term) Ana Luisa Terrazas, Appointed Professional Representative (2-year term) Nicholas Wilson, Graduate Student Representative (2-year term) Jaclyn Wolf, Graduate Student Representative (2-year term) Z Nicolazzo, Assistant Professor, Educational Policy Studies and Practice (3-year term)

Across Campus

Meet the new UA football coach  Okay, so she’s not the new coach, but Project SOAR Director Mary Irwin (third from the left) was selected to be a guest faculty football coach at the UA football game on October 6 against the California Golden Bears. The Guest Faculty Program was developed to provide faculty and staff with an inside look at the operations of C.A.T.S. Academics, the academic support unit to student-athletes. Participation included a tour of Lowell Stevens Football Facility and meeting with UA President Robert Robbins and Vice President for Athletics Dave Heeke . Of course, the best part of the night was the front row seat to Saturday’s game.  Congratulations on your selection, Mary!

Striking talent Hats off to Emma Mendenhall , program coordinator for the college's Office of Development and Alumni Relations, for her beautiful photo of Old Main (below), which was featured in a full-page layout in the recent issue of the Arizona Alumni Magazine . Not only is she a program coordinator here at the College of Education, Emma also runs her own photography business. View more of her work at emmamendenhall.com .

UA Cares  The 2018 UA Cares campaign has begun and continues through November 30. Participation is easy; you can contribute through payroll deduction, personal check, or credit card. You can sign up through UAccess or with a paper pledge form, which can be printed from this link and returned to Emma Mendenhall. Any form of giving is greatly appreciated. Fill out your pledge form here . Visit uacares.arizona.edu to learn more.

Tweak your speak at UA Toastmasters  Interested in improving your public speaking skills? UA Toastmasters meets every Friday from noon to 1 p.m. in the College of Education, Room 312. Consider joining to practice your public speaking in a fun, laid-back, and supportive atmosphere. Meetings are open to the general public, including UA staff, students, and people outside of the UA community.

Submit Your Research Grad students, faculty, and staff: We want to highlight and promote your research! To feature your research on our Research Highlights page, complete and submit the form at the link below. Please contact Mary Werner ( marywerner@email.arizona.edu ) with any questions.  SUBMIT MY RESEARCH PROJECT

Submit Your News Be sure to send in your news! We're interested in workshops, publications, new faculty and staff, stellar students to feature, and awards. Just push the button below to submit. I HAVE NEWS!

Spotlight on Stellar Students! Natalie Aileen Larez comes to the University of Arizona from Douglas, Arizona, a small town southeast of Tucson on the border of Mexico. With two older brothers, a younger sister, and a handful of younger cousins, she set out to pave a path as a first-generation college student. She started at the UA as a public health major but she quickly realized she wanted to make a shift while working for the College Academy for Parents . Her job there was to co-facilitate a classroom of children, guiding and teaching children about college readiness. While working there, she encountered many children who had experienced childhood trauma, and found that this trauma prevented them from succeeding in school. She was blown away by how intelligent these children were, but realized that they weren’t provided with the resources or emotional support to thrive. “No one has ever told these children that they’re smart,” she says. When she realized how prominent childhood trauma is and how it affects children, whether they’re 5 years old or 22, she made the decision to pursue both a Bachelor of Science in family studies and human development and a Bachelor of Science in literacy, learning, and leadership, which is what led her to the College of Education. With a research interest in childhood trauma and how it affects school outcomes, she works with Assistant Professor Michelle Perfect as a research fellow in school psychology and she works as a research assistant for Assistant Professor Eric Smith in educational psychology. To help motivate and engage other first-generation college students, she participates in UA student support programs, including the First Cats Initiative and the Academic Success and Achievement Center . Outside of the UA, she volunteers with Casa de los Niños and a number of local Tucson elementary schools to serve as a source of support for children who might not think of college as an option. With plans to graduate this May, Larez is applying to grad schools to study school psychology or development psychology. She eventually wants to conduct research that will support policy change in large institutions, like hospital systems, legal systems, and education systems, so that children of trauma can flourish in all areas. Her ultimate goal is to ensure that children who have been through trauma are provided the support and resources needed to go to college. Larez has big goals for the future and it is because of the support from her family and community that she knows they’re attainable. Throughout her academic career, she has been met with guidance from her advisors, support from the AWARDSS program ( a training program of research mentorship, graduate school preparation, and networking), and encouragement from a number of campus resources, like the Guerrero Center and the Thrive Center , where she works. These resources offer her the same support that she seeks to offer younger children in her community. The biggest driving force for her academic career, however, is her family. She says her degrees and academic pursuits are ultimately for her younger cousins who will soon follow in her footsteps to higher education.

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