Promotions, Grants, National Accreditation Highlighted During Fall Conference Meeting
Fall Conference marks the beginning of a new academic term across campus. As a part of the event, faculty and staff in the College of Education and Integrative Studies attended an all-college virtual meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 17, to receive key updates from CEIS Interim Dean Hend Gilli-Elewy and learn about developments and achievements across the college’s departments.
After a self-introduction, Gilli-Elewy announced Associate Professor Joanne Van Boxtel as the newly appointed interim associate dean of CEIS. Van Boxtel has been a faculty member in the Department of Education for seven years and most recently served as the education specialist program coordinator.
“I am honored to be serving in this role and I look forward to working with more faculty and staff across the colleges,” Van Boxtel said. “It has been my pleasure to get to work with some of you in previous efforts. I'm also really excited to focus on student success and highlight all the good work of our faculty and staff.”
Gilli-Elewy also shared that Professor Richard Navarro will step up as interim chair of the Department of Educational Leadership as Professor Betty Alford takes a sabbatical this semester and Associate Professor Eden Haywood-Bird will serve as interim chair of the Department of Early Childhood Studies as Professor Emeritus Nancy Hurlbut joins the Chancellor's Office to work on early childhood education programs systemwide.
Faculty who earned early tenure and promotion include Analena Hope Hassberg in the Department of Ethnic and Women's Studies, along with Eden Haywood-Bird and Giselle Navarro-Cruz in the Department of Early Childhood Studies. All three faculty members have been promoted to associate professor.
In other updates, the Department of Early Childhood Studies will be accepting freshman admission next year. The ECS program is currently offered as an upper division transfer program, designed to incorporate transfer students from community college and early childhood education programs.
Following remarks from Gilli-Elewy, various updates and achievements were reported by the department chairs.
The Early Childhood Studies program in the Department of Early Childhood Studies became the first four-year degree program in California to earn accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing also selected the department to pilot the new early childhood education Teacher Performance Expectations program.
In the Department of Education, Professor Jann Pataray-Ching discussed accreditation and where the department stands in the process. Associate Professor Amy Gimino was commended for serving on the Educator Quality Center’s Educator Preparation Data and Improvement Network with the Chancellor’s Office. Pataray-Ching also acknowledged professional achievements by program alums and congratulated Associate Professor Dave Neumann and lecturers Maryann Hasso and Cynthia Geary on publishing books, chapters and journal articles. Geary also won a SPICE grant for professional development.
The doctoral program in the Department of Educational Leadership will celebrate its 10-year anniversary as they welcome their 10th cohort of 25 new students this year. Interim Chair Richard Navarro said the department has become one of only four California State University campuses to attain full membership with the University Council for Educational Administration. They also received a grant from the Nakaoka Foundation to develop a report to promote equity and social justice in K-12 schools.
In the Department of Ethnic and Women's Studies, Professor Sandy Dixon congratulated Professor Jocelyn Pacleb on being elected chair of the Academic Senate. She also talked about the work being done towards AB 1460, which requires students in the CSU to take an ethnic studies course before graduating. Beginning this semester, Associate Professor Jose Aguilar-Hernandez will hold a joint appointment in EWS and the Department of Educational Leadership. Additionally, the department won a $22,000 Kellogg grant to support the Native American Pipeline Program.
Professor Dennis Quinn said the Department of Interdisciplinary General Education won a grant to create a minor in global humanities. He also congratulated Assistant Professor Hyeryung Hwang on receiving the Victor J. Emmett Memorial Award for her essay analyzing Colombian writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez’s novel “The Sound of Things Falling.” Additionally, the department revised the lower division program last year to accommodate for the university’s elimination of Social Science GE Area D3 and added a course in Area F, Ethnic Studies.
In the Department of Liberal Studies, Associate Professor Teresa Lloro has been appointed editor-in-chief of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences and Assistant Professor Jeff Roy will release his debut album “Arco” on September 3rd. Also, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has voted to acquire five artworks by Assistant Professor Maya Stovall for their permanent collection, and Professor Karen Langlois will be partially retiring after more than 30 years of service at CPP and receiving emeritus status from the Academic Senate.
Following department updates, the Social Justice Advisory Board in CEIS announced that it has officially become a committee and will be determining the committee purpose and charge.
Gilli-Elewy closed the meeting by saying the college will continue to focus on student success, along with supporting faculty and staff in the college. She also said new faculty hires, academic advising and addressing equity gaps will remain at the forefront of college priorities.
“I was very happy with the student-centered information that was shared during the meeting,” said Associate Professor Heather Taylor, a meeting attendee. “I am looking forward to Dean Gilli-Elewy’s and Associate Dean Van Boxtel’s passion and enthusiasm in their new roles for CEIS.”
For more news and updates regarding CEIS, visit https://www.cpp.edu/ceis/news-event/.