In one week, fall will arrive (the season, that is — no fall temperatures here yet!), and we have exciting events and much news to share about what we’re doing this fall semester.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Pathways to Teaching, an innovative teacher-preparation program that invests in future educators for local schools. The program, a collaboration between the college and Sunnyside Unified School District, supports Tucson-area residents who have a relationship with Sunnyside in earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with an ESL endorsement.

Participants receive both a tuition scholarship and a stipend.

UA classes will be held at SUSD school sites, and students also receive hands-on experience with an experienced SUSD teacher. Classes begin next semester. Completion is 17 months (spring, summer, fall, and spring).

Strong path to STEM fields

A new $4.8 million grant in the college from the National Science Foundation will create a stronger path for Pima Community College students who transfer to the University of Arizona to pursue bachelor's degrees in STEM fields. Professor Regina Deil-Amen, the principal investigator on the grant, says a key benefit of the grant is that it can help diversify STEM talent pathways in Arizona, where there is a "disproportionate underrepresentation of people from the communities in which these STEM disciplines are supposed to be applied."

Why is author and investigative reporter Jane Mayer coming to Tucson?

Reason 1: We work tirelessly to improve PK-20 education, making it more equitable and just.

 

Reason 2: We created the Education Policy Center to share education policy research with the community and to be a key resource for policymakers.

 

Reason 3: With input from the EPC advisory board and based on the two reasons above, our center is bringing one of the nation's most trusted political investigative writers to Tucson, and that person is none other than Jane Mayer! Mayer will speak about her book, Dark Money — a national bestseller and one of The New York Times 10 best books of the year — at the Dunbar Pavilion on Friday, November 8, from 4-5 p.m., including 15 minutes of Q&A. 

In Dark Money, Mayer provides vivid portraits of the secretive figures behind the new American oligarchy and a searing look at the carefully concealed agendas steering the nation. She drew from hundreds of exclusive interviews, as well as extensive scrutiny of public records, private papers, and court proceedings.

Mayer served as The Wall Street Journal's first female White House correspondent and was twice nominated by the journal for a Pulitzer Prize in feature writing.

  

For more information, contact EPC Executive Director Robin Hiller at [email protected] or 520-668-4634.

RSVPs are encouraged, but not required, to Fernando Parra at [email protected] or 520-621-9578.

Dunbar Pavilion

325 West Second Street

Tucson, Arizona 85705

Introducing the new Arizona student experience

Arizona President Robert C. Robbins hosted a special Wildcat evening and East Coast debut of Arizona’s exciting new vision of the student experience in New York City last week.

College of Education alumnus Richard Carranza ’91, our Alumnus of the Year in 2017, was one of the featured speakers. Carranza talked about his Wildcat Journey as a first-generation college student to becoming the chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest school district in the country! Pictured are Director of Development Lee O'Rourke (left) with Richard and Monique Carranza.

Hello, Earthlings!

Thanks to a new grant from the Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historic Preservation, the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning will offer an earth education program, called Earthlings tm, for 4- and 5-year-olds. The foundation’s director, Ann-Eve Pederson, is a Cooper alum.

The Institute for Earth Education, an international non-profit organization — Dean Bruce Johnson and Cooper Director Colin Waite are volunteer members with the organization — developed both Earthlings and the Earthkeepers tm program, which has been used at Cooper for years. Earthlings uses costumes, props, and stories to engage preschoolers. 

In other Cooper news, alum Lizzy Simpson shares her thoughts about the Cooper Center with KGUN 9, Tucson’s ABC affiliate: "Being outside was really incredible and something I would not have gotten to see otherwise. And it's something I enjoy now as an adult because I was exposed to it at such a young age."

Watch the video.

It’s time for HOMECOMING!

Tradition, Pride, Spirit

October 31 – November 2

Join fellow alumni for a tour to see what’s new in the college, such as our state-of-the-art production studio and the Digital Innovation and Learning Lab. Celebrate at the Wine Harvest Homecoming Reception, an evening of selected wines and hors d'oeuvres in honor of our Alumnus of the Year, Laura N. Banks-Reed, Ph.D., '43 '66 '70 '81, and the Class of 1969 for their 50th class reunion. The event ends just in time for the bonfire! All College of Education alumni and friends are invited to attend at no charge.

 

We also hope to see you at our Alumni Tent on the Mall on Saturday. Reconnect with fellow alumni, watch the parade, get “tattoos” for the kids, and spin the prize wheel for all alumni!

Everything you need to know is right here!

Making an impact in Mexico

Resplandor International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization, just celebrated 10 years of serving the greater community of Guanajuato, Mexico.

To kick the week of festivities off, Resplandor co-sponsored Simposio Internacional de Liderazgo Educativo 2019, an educational leadership symposium that brought together educational researchers, practitioners, and faculty from many different organizations and universities.

Dean Bruce Johnson attended as the keynote speaker of the conference, and several other of our faculty members attended, including Professor Kathy Short, Department Head and Professor Carl Liaupsin, and Associate Professor Desiree Vega.

Following the conference, Resplandor hosted a party in Cajones, Guanajuato, to celebrate 10 years of programs and advances made in the Guanajuato community.

Pictured are Resplandor Director and Associate Professor Todd Fletcher with Professor Short and this year's Resplandor Scholar in Residence Andrea Garcia.

People 

Disability & Psychoeducational Studies

Professor Sheri Bauman says Instagram, the Facebook-owned photo and video sharing platform, provides everything a bully might need to cast ego-shattering insults: an audience, anonymity, an emphasis on appearances, and channels that range from public feeds to behind-the-back group chats. It’s often referred to as a "one-stop shop for the bully." Now, Instagram has a new feature that notifies users when a comment they are about to post could be considered offensive, and Bauman was interviewed about her thoughts in two news outlets.

Zero Hedge

WBUR

Educational Policy Studies & Practice

Associate Professor Nolan Cabrera appeared on nationally renowned anti-racist organizer and educator Tim Wise's podcast, Speak Out with Tim Wise. The podcast featured a taped panel discussion from the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in which panelists, including Cabrera, discussed the Harvard affirmative action lawsuit. 

Assistant Professor Jameson Lopez was part of a panel at University of California, Davis, that highlighted critical, diverse disciplinary perspectives in education. Lopez studies Native American education using Indigenous statistics and has expertise in the limitations of collecting and applying quantitative results to Indigenous populations. Lopez also was the keynote speaker for Baboquivari college signing day.

Assistant Professor Z Nicolazzo and members of the Transgender Studies Research Cluster organized a symposium, Trans ± Sex: Rethinking Sex/Gender in Trans Studies, which brought together leading trans studies scholars from across the country. The three-day event featured panel discussions on trans populations, including borders, visibility, transition, and sexuality. The symposium included a free screening of Happy Birthday, Marsha, at The Loft Cinema and included a Q&A with the writer and director, Tourmaline.

Educational Psychology

Assistant Professor Jonathan Tullis is the recipient of a National Science Foundation early career development grant (2019-2024) to support his research program, “That reminds me: The causes and consequences of remindings."

Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies

Announcing Salas de Libros! Assistant Professor Carol Brochin and co-principal investigators Assistant Professor Leah Duran and Professor Kathy Short received an International Research & Academic Program Development Grant for $30,000 to support and develop Salas de Libros: Transnational Partnerships for Literacy Communities. The project is a transnational partnership between Cultura UNAM in Mexico City and Worlds of Words.

The faculty members will launch an innovative community literacy program in Southern Arizona for children, teens, and adults. The program, based on a successful and unique community literacy approach developed in Mexico, will pilot in Tucson with the long-term goal of gathering and providing the research needed to implement the program across the United States. 

Congratulations to Susan (Lindsay) Fancher ‘56 on her 85th birthday! She writes, “Bear Down for another great year!”

Fancher, also a San Diego BeachCat, enjoyed the BeachCat Luau Dinner and Show at the La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California. Proceeds from the event went to Arizona scholarships. 

Sandra O.C. Thiffault ’97, principal at Mary Belle McCorkle Academy of Excellence PK-8 School, is the recipient of the 2019 Susan Schilling Legacy Award. The Schilling Award goes to a New Tech director or principal who demonstrates exemplary leadership at both the school and network levels. 

Annual giving makes a difference

Thank you to those who helped make 2018-19 our most successful annual giving fundraising year ever! Gifts of all sizes from our telephone outreach program as well as our fall letter from Dean Johnson and holiday card contributed to this success.

Funds raised through this campaign provide critical support to our students as they pursue their Wildcat Journey. These gifts also support our faculty research as well as other emerging needs for our college.

I hope that the next time you receive a letter from Dean Johnson, you will take a moment to consider making a gift. And if you receive a call from one of our fantastic students, I hope you will take a few minutes to get to know them and give them some insight as to why you support Arizona and how we can continue to provide meaningful engagement opportunities for our supporters. 

Thank you!

Lee O'Rourke

Director of Development

[email protected]

520-621-3413