By Phyllis Erdman
Interim Dean

In two recent speeches, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan highlighted the need for improved teacher education. After the first speech, he no doubt heard from many of my colleagues in academia, because the second one included examples of programs that are doing an excellent job. He also listed the hallmarks of good teacher preparation, and I’m pleased to report that our undergraduate and master’s in teaching programs have all of those hallmarks, including being research-based and requiring subject mastery.

That’s not just the bragging of a proud WSU administrator. Our programs received high marks this year from both state and national accreditation teams. We’re especially pleased about the “exemplary” rating that state evaluators gave us for the quality of the student field experiences and clinical practices. Our students work beside mentor teachers in public schools throughout their programs, culminating in 16 weeks of student teaching, and all work with diverse and high-needs youngsters.

The following passage from the state report speaks to the success of our students’ experience:

“In interviews, cooperating teachers and principals lauded the WSU teacher preparation programs and candidates. A principal stated he’d want to hire WSU graduates because they are ‘experience-rich.’ Cooperating teachers expressed that the progression of the coursework and experiences (i.e., block practicum) facilitated a ‘maturity’ in the candidates; ‘they learn it, then see it.’ They were impressed with the candidates’ classroom management, ‘noticing the little things,’ ‘awareness and emphasis on actual learning’ and their ‘interest in teaching.’”

In his second speech, given at Columbia University, Secretary Duncan applauded a 14-state pilot program in which teachers and university faculty will evaluate student teachers’ classroom performance using a nationally validated performance instrument. Washington is one of those states, and our Department of Teaching & Learning is leading that statewide effort.

It is telling that our peers often invite us to participate in national efforts to improve teaching and educational leadership programs. The most important indicator of our success, of course, is how well our graduates do their jobs. Among those alumni are Danyell Laughlin (B.A., ‘92), who teaches English at Klahowya Secondary School in Silverdale, and Michelle Kelly (M.Ed. ‘97), who teaches a third and fourth grade class in the highly capable program at Kent Elementary. Both women were named regional teachers of the year in the 2010 Washington Teacher of the Year competition.

Danyell’s principal praises her ability “to locate that one ember that a student hides from other teachers and she stokes that ember until the student catches fire with a desire to learn.” Michelle is known for accommodating the unique needs of every student while maintaining high expectations.

After receiving the award this fall, Michelle wrote us to say:

“My master’s program at WSU was one of the most influential professional experiences of my career. I still think about it fondly. The professionalism of the faculty in my program inspired me to achieve at a higher level than I thought possible.”

Inspiring students to surpass their own expectations may be the most important hallmark of an exceptional teacher preparation program.

By Phyllis Erdman
Interim Dean

Unbelievable. Surreal. These words echoed throughout the College of Education and all the WSU campuses this summer when news spread of the sudden deaths of Dean Judy Mitchell and Associate Dean Len Foster. Their passing, only six days apart, left us in shock.

On a personal level, we mourned the loss of two special friends. As colleagues, we mourned the loss of two great leaders. 

In reflecting on the last two months, I, as interim dean, and Cori Mantle-Bromley, as interim associate dean, believe the best way to honor two such forward-looking leaders is to embrace the future. So that’s what we’ve been doing. Our first task was to reassure everyone that the college will keep moving forward, both within the university system and in tandem with Washington communities, schools and other partners. 

Provost Warwick Bayly has appointed a committee to conduct a national search for a permanent dean, expected to be on board by next July. The committee is chaired by Eric Spangenberg, dean of the College of Business, and includes education faculty members Pamela Bettis, Brian French, Gail Furman, Stephen Kucer, Liza Nagel and Kelly Ward; Kim Holapa, College of Education director of development; and Paul Sturm, superintendent of Pullman schools.  The university will hire a search firm to facilitate the process.

Professors Darcy Miller and Mike Trevisan have graciously accepted interim chair roles, filling in, respectively, for Cori in the Department of Teaching & Learning and me in the Department of Educational Leadership & Counseling Psychology. Darcy and Mike also co-chair the ad hoc Futures Committee, which will review the college structure and make recommendations to prospective deans during the search process.

This fall’s other activities include:

• Updating our five-year strategic plan so that it will be closely aligned with the new WSU Strategic Plan. We’ve invited input on the draft 2010-2015 plan, and the college leadership team expects to deliver a final plan to the provost for his approval by January.
• Hiring new faculty.  Searches will soon be under way for full-time educational psychology positions in both Pullman and the Tri-Cities, and an educational leadership position in Vancouver.  We are also advertising post-doctoral research positions in educational psychology and exercise physiology.
• Focusing on research funding. Cori is leading the effort to increase the number of research grants and gifts coming into the college, which is vital to enhancing scholarship.

The excitement that comes with the start of an academic year is felt on all of our campuses. In Pullman, our Learning & Performance Research Center is officially open, housed in the lower level of Cleveland Hall. In Vancouver, our faculty and staff have moved into the bright new Undergraduate Classroom Building. In the Tri-Cities, the college has welcomed new faculty members Maria Moscatelli and Jennifer Johnson. In Spokane, Assistant Professor Janet Frost has just landed a second state grant to expand the Riverpoint Advanced Mathematics Partnership with area schools.

I look forward to keeping you informed about the search for a dean, and about the accomplishments of our students and faculty. We were all reminded this summer of the need to live each day fully, and to cherish our relationships with family and friends. I wish you all a wonderful year of sharing ahead.

Update

WSU’s final budget for 2009-10, released this week, contains good news about our Sport Management Program:

“WSU will maintain and continue the program and major. The department will remain in the College of Education while a review is conducted regarding its permanent academic home.”

As I mentioned in recent college e-mail, sport management faculty will be discussing with the College of Business whether the program would be a good fit there. Meanwhile, the College of Education will certify new sport management undergraduate majors in June and will also offer the 200-level prerequisite courses for that major in the fall 2009.  Current graduate and undergraduate students, as well as the newly certified undergraduate students, will complete their degrees in the College of Education.

We appreciate all of the emails and other communications that we  received regarding the possible discontinuation of the program, as well as your ongoing support of the sport management faculty, program and students.

Our final budget cut will be $808,091, or approximately 11 percent of our 2009 budget. Other program reductions remain as I explained in my earlier column, posted below.

May 1, 2009

By Judy Nichols Mitchell
Dean, WSU College of Education

As many of you know, Washington State University has released its preliminary budget plan in response to a $54.2 million reduction in state funding for 2009-2011, or $27 million per year. I’m writing to let you know how our college is affected.

Before I get to the figures, I should remind you that the budget will not be finalized until June 1. The university will take feedback on the plan throughout May. For more information, or to submit a comment or suggestion, please click here.

For College of Education programs, there will be a reduction of $1 million in state funding. That figure represents a 13.8 percent decrease in our annual budget. Such a deep cut means some painful decisions had to be made, in part because our college is more reliant on state funding than many other WSU units.

Given our desire to protect academic opportunities and quality, our first cutbacks were in the administrative area. The annual budget for the dean’s office will be cut $205,000, which impacts communications, recruitment, community collaboration and other services.

Unfortunately, we could not avoid program cuts. I’m sorry to report that we will discontinue the Sport Management Program, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students already enrolled will be allowed to complete their course of studies, but no new students will be admitted. This decision was based on our belief that other programs are more central to the mission of the college. It is in no way a criticism of the high-quality Sport Management faculty and their enthusiastic students.

We will also reduce the number of students we accept in the secondary and elementary teacher preparation programs. From a former high of 150 students annually, enrollment will drop to 80 in each of the two programs. We also will reduce the number of graduate assistantships we offer, cut back on travel, reduce the number of courses we offer each semester in all our programs, and consolidate our secondary certification and masters in teaching programs. Additionally, the equivalent of 16 full-time faculty and staff positions will be discontinued, affecting 20 employees.

Yes, our fiscal belt is uncomfortably tight. But with your encouragement and support, we will continue our progress, and we will thrive. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the budget, or our work.