2009

Spring 2009

Education in a Global Society

www.ed.psu.edu

Table of Contents

College of Education Magazine

Spring 2009

1 Dean’s Message

The lasting value of high-quality education in the global community.

2 College Updates

Read about faculty appointments and retirements, College outreach programs, new research, and recent awards.

10 Global Connections

College programs and faculty and student activities in a global context.

26 Featured Alumni

J. Bonnie Newman is honored as a Distinguished Alumna; Gary Ingersoll and Ta-Wei Lee are featured.

32 Alumni Society Board News The Board makes a scholarship contribution.

33 Gifts to the College

Recent endowments create a number of new opportunities in the College.

Penn State students listen to an Ojibwe drummer as part of their class, “Exploring Indigenous Ways of Knowing Among the Ojibwe.” See page 4.

Dean David H. Monk Editor Suzanne Wayne Writers Amit Avasthi Pamela Batson Joe Savrock Caroline Skinner Crystal Stryker Matt Swayne Designer Leah Donell Photography Campus Photography Paul Hazi Mark Houser Rusty Myers Randy Persing Mark Rubenstein Eric Spielvogel University Publications Katelyn Willyerd Printer Reed Hänn Contact Us 247 Chambers Building University Park, PA 16802-3206 814-863-2216 www.ed.psu.edu • edrelations@psu.edu Published annually by the Penn State College of Education College of Education Alumni Society Officers Heidi Capetola, President Larry Wess, President-Elect Cameron Bausch, Immediate Past President Joan Dieter, Secretary Directors Clifford Bennett Ron Musoleno Patricia Best Joan Ruth Molly Dallmeyer Stacie Spanos Hiras Carol Giersch Dee Stout Susan Martin Jack Thompson Barbara Michael Douglas Womelsdorf Rebecca Morris Affiliate Program Groups and Presidents COEalumni@psu.edu, American Indian Leadership Program Vito Forlenza, Educational Leadership Program Michael Dooris, Higher Education Program COEalumni@psu.edu, Multicultural Advancement Jennifer Black, Professional Development School John Lindholm, Workforce Education Program

On the Cover: An entrepreneur in Tanzania, where College faculty and students worked in summer 2008.

See page 18. Photo by Katelyn Willyerd.

This publication is available in alternative media on request.

The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal authorities. It is the policy of the University to maintain an academic and work environment free of discrimination, including harassment. The Pennsylvania State University prohibits discrimination and harassment against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or veteran status. Discrimination or harassment against faculty, staff, or students will not be tolerated at The Pennsylvania State University. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action Director, The Pennsylvania State University, 328 Boucke Building, University Park, PA 16802-5901; Tel 814-865-4700/V, 814-863-1150/TTY. U.Ed EDU 09-43

Dean’s From the Message Dean

“It is in times like these that we see the deep and lasting value of high-quality education.

Those who are well prepared and have learned how to learn are in the best position to be resilient and to adapt to changing conditions.”

Dean’s Message

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e have all been affected by the recent economic turmoil, and the College of Education is no exception. In these challenging times, I have been deeply impressed by the resolve of our faculty, staff, and students to find ways to maintain our commitment to excellence in all that we do. It is in times like these that we see the deep and lasting value of high-quality education.

Those who are well prepared and have learned how to learn are in the best position to be resilient and to adapt to changing conditions.

The faculty, staff, and students in the College are deeply committed to realizing the full potential of education. Our mission is to deepen and extend knowledge about the development and utilization of human capabilities. I cannot think of a more important mission to guide us through these challenging times.

The turmoil also reminds us of the global context in which we are all situated. I suppose there is some temptation in times like these to look inward and attempt to build protective barriers. But, at Penn State I am proud to say that the University is determined to see the global context as a valuable resource from which there is much to learn. Penn State is currently building a strategic plan for the next five years. One of the major goals for the University in this new plan is to “realize Penn State’s potential as a global university.”

One of the steps already taken to achieve this goal involves using the term “global” rather than “international.” Although this change in terminology may seem like semantics, it actually reflects an important shift in the University’s orientation. “International” hints of exclusivity and suggests an “inside, looking out” view of the world. “Global” on the other hand is more inclusive and suggests that we as a whole world can learn, improve, and—together—solve the large issues facing our world.

I am also proud to say that the College of Education is embracing this inclusive approach to global issues. Given the central importance of education in so many aspects of human resource development and utilization, we have an active role to play, and we use this issue of Penn State Education to provide a tour of some recent College efforts as a global partner in education.

One of our most visible global programs is the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. The program is funded through the Institute of International Education in coordination with the United States Department of State. There are Humphrey Fellows programs at 15 different major research universities in the United States, and there has been a Penn State program since Congress established the program in 1978. We recently received the very good news that our proposal for a five-year extension of the program has been approved. Thanks to this funding, we will continue hosting approximately 15 Humphrey Fellows per year.

I invite you to read on and learn about other global initiatives under way in the College. I also welcome your comments and encourage you to learn more about what is going on at the College. Perhaps the easiest one-stop shopping source of information is the College’s Web site at www.ed.psu.edu; I look forward to hearing from you.

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College Updates

New Faculty Appointments

New Faculty Appointments

Leila Bradaschia

Robert Clark

Matthew Poehner

Jacqueline Reid-Walsh

Kimberly Griffin

Maria Schmidt

Recently on Campus The College’s 4th Annual Cycle-Thon included a 5K run this year.

The April 26 event raised over $6000 to increase access for high-achieving high school students who are interested in the education profession.

Here, Bob Swaim demonstrates one of his unusual bikes.

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Youb Kim

Andrea McCloskey

Vivian Yenika-Agbaw

James Nolan

Heather Zimmerman

Leila Bradaschia, director of International Programs and director of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program Robert Clark, associate professor of workforce education and development Kathleen Collins, assistant professor of language and literacy education (not pictured) Kimberly Griffin, assistant professor of college student affairs and a research associate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education Youb Kim, assistant professor of language and literacy education Stephanie Knight, professor of educational psychology (not pictured) Andrea McCloskey, assistant professor of mathematics education James Nolan, Henry J. Hermanowicz Professor of Teacher Education (second term) Matthew Poehner, assistant professor of world languages Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, associate professor of language and literacy education Maria Schmidt, assistant dean of multicultural programs Jeanine M. Staples, assistant professor of language and literacy education (not pictured) Vivian Yenika-Agbaw, associate professor of language and literacy education Heather Zimmerman, assistant professor of instructional systems

College Updates

and Retirements Faculty Retirements

Syedur Rahman, associate professor of education theory & policy and director of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at Penn State, retired July 1, 2008, after 26 years.

Robert Slaney, professor of counseling psychology and former department head of Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services, retired July 1, 2008, after 22 years of service.

J. Daniel Marshall

Murry Nelson

Syedur Rahman

J. Daniel Marshall, professor of education and professorin-charge of the Educational Leadership program, retired December 31, after more than 16 years of service to Penn State.

In Memoriam

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illiam L. Boyd, Batschelet Chair Professor of Educational Leadership and a major figure in education policy-making circles, passed away September 21, 2008.

He was a towering figure in policy analysis, an inspiring colleague, and above all a gentleman.

Murry Nelson, professor of social studies education and former department head of Curriculum & Instruction, retired July 1, 2008, after 33 years.

Robert Slaney

Meet Special Education Needs in Your Classroom

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n Pennsylvania, more than 260,000 students with learning and other disabilities are in public schools, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). This presents challenges to the teachers responsible for their education but who often lack adequate specialized preparation. In response to new teacher certification requirements, Penn State has created a teacher training program for current and future teachers called Evidence-Based Practices for Inclusive Classrooms and Differentiating Instruction (EPIC).

It’s a collaboration between the College of Education’s Special Education program, Penn State Continuing and Professional Education (CAPE), and PDE’s Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network.

“These courses will benefit general classroom teachers and their students with disabilities,” said

David McNaughton, associate professor of special education. “Keeping students with disabilities in the general education classroom better prepares them for adult life. These students benefit from being educated with their same-age peers,” said McNaughton, who is lead faculty for the first EPIC course. “Many of the practices that have proven successful for special education needs are powerful for other students and benefit everyone in the classroom.”

The EPIC series is offered for credit and noncredit. Since course content is delivered via video lectures, with opportunities for online collaboration among participants, the series is available to teachers everywhere. Course 1 will begin on June 22 and runs through July 31. For information or to register for the first EPIC course, visit www.outreach.psu.edu/cape/epic —Caroline Skinner

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College Updates

The unique outreach course titled Exploring Indigenous Ways of Knowing Among the Ojibwe introduces students to the culture and life ways of the Native American tribe.

Indigenous Ways of Knowing Native American Immersion Experience Wins Award for Multicultural Programming

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nontraditional Penn State Outreach program, Exploring Indigenous Ways of Knowing Among the Ojibwe, won the 2008 Rose Duhon-Sells Program Award for its contributions to multicultural education.

The award was given by the National Multicultural Education Association.

“I hope this award increases awareness at Penn State,” said Bruce D. Martin, lead faculty for the program.

The Ojibwe, also known as the Chippewa, were one of the largest and most powerful Great Lakes tribes, according to tribal history. They currently have reservations in Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana, and parts of Canada.

Students enrolled in the program are immersed for approximately 16 days in the history, culture, and life ways of the Ojibwe. “They learn the Ojibwe worldview from more than 25 Ojibwe educators, political leaders,

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spiritual leaders and traditional knowledge holders,” said Martin.

Said Kathy Karchner, conference planner, “Our students continually tell us that the course has been a powerful experience. They return with a deeper appreciation and understanding of Native America.”

David Stanley, who attended the course in 2007, said the trip was a profound experience. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about that trip,” he said.

“It had a tremendous effect on my life, and I’m so glad I took part in it.”

The course, offered each spring, is a collaboration between the College of Education, the College of Agricultural Sciences, and Penn State Outreach.

Information is available at www.outreach.psu.edu/ programs/ojibwe/ —Matt Swayne

College Updates

Law and Education Institute Being Offered Again This Year

Last summer’s cohort of attendees improved their legal literacy on issues surrounding education.

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awyers, teachers, school board members, and administrators are invited to attend the 2009 Law and Education Institute. Sponsored jointly by Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law and the College of Education, the Institute runs June 21–27.

Distinguished presenters will discuss topics related to student rights, speech and religion, school district liability, special education, child custody issues, school desegregation, school choice, and accountability, among others.

“The Institute provides a rare opportunity for school administrators and attorneys to come together to learn about educational law,” said Preston Green, associate professor of educational leadership and law and the conference organizer. “This interaction will enable each group to learn more about the issues that the other group faces.”

Green explains that attending the conference will help administrators and teachers improve their “legal literacy.”

“Eighty-five percent of teachers do not have any exposure to legal issues in their preparation programs,” explains Green. “This statistic is disturbing in light of the fact that many teachers refuse to take actions that they know are educationally sound because of fear of litigation.

The Institute will provide administrators and teachers with the tools to reduce this fear of litigation.”

Participants can select a three-credit class in education leadership (to earn Act 45 credits) or a shorter schedule to earn continuing legal education credits, Act 48 credits, or fewer credits pursuant to Act 45. The Institute will be held in the new Lewis Katz Building at University Park.

To register, visit www.law.psu.edu/centers/education-law/ —Crystal Stryker

facebook Virtually Connected to Penn State facebook.com Join our social networking group for graduates of our College.

Search Groups: Penn State College of Education Alumni

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College Updates

Faculty in WFED Program Achieve Various Honors

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everal faculty members and a recent graduate of the College’s Workforce Education and Development program have won some notable awards during the past year.

Cynthia Pellock, assistant professor of workforce education, was named the 2008 Outstanding Career and Technical Educator by the Pennsylvania Association for Career and Technical Education. In addition, the Association awarded Penn State’s Professional Personnel Development Center with a plaque for its 30 years of service to the field of career and technical education. Richard Walter, associate professor of workforce education, is the Center’s director; Pellock is associate director.

Judith Kolb, associate professor of workforce education, and Murray MacTavish ’07 Ph.D. received a 2009 Cutting Edge Research Award for co-authoring a research paper at last year’s Academy of Human Resource Development International Conference. The paper was titled “An Examination of the Dynamics of Organizational

Culture and ValuesBased Leader Identities and Behaviors.”

Ten Cutting Edge Research Awards are given annually to the authors of the top outstanding Murray MacTavish ‘07 Ph.D. and Judith Kolb, scholarly papers associate professor, won the Cutting Edge that had been Research Award. published in the prior year’s Conference Proceedings. These papers are chosen for their contribution of new knowledge to the human resource development profession as well as the theoretical or practical importance of the problem addressed.

—Joe Savrock

Investing for the future Even in challenging economic times, a Penn State degree remains a sound investment—and so do the income-generating gift structures available to the University’s alumni and friends. Charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities can help you to protect the value of your assets while ensuring that new generations of students have access to the same world-class education that was the foundation of your own success.

To learn more about these opportunities, please contact Penn State’s Office of Gift Planning at 888-800-9170 (toll free) or visit www.giftplanning.psu.edu.

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10/16/08 9:11:39 AM

College Updates

Penn State Faculty Report on Validity of Local Graduation Assessments in Pennsylvania

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he Pennsylvania State Board of Education requires that districts offer a local assessment that provides an alternative method for students to graduate if they do not successfully meet proficiency of standards through the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) 11th-grade administration and 12th-grade retake.

In 2007, more than 56,000 Pennsylvania students graduated with the local assessments as one requirement to earn a high-school diploma. Until now, there has been no systematic review of what assessments school districts provide as this alternative route to graduation.

In a recent study of these local graduation assessments, Penn State College of Education faculty Rayne Sperling and Jonna Kulikowich have concluded that, based on the information submitted and practices reported by school districts, approximately 5 percent of the participating districts use assessments that both align to state standards and represent practices that could be considered valid measures of proficiency.

Approximately 85 percent, or 418, of Pennsylvania school districts participated in the study, which was funded by a $275,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Eight review panels consisting of public educators from across Pennsylvania then reviewed the submitted assessment materials and rated them on the basis of their alignment with 11th grade state proficiency standards in mathematics and reading. The panels also established criteria to rate the assessments based on practices, or the manner in which districts reported the local assessments

A review of local high school graduation assessments offered by Pennsylvania School Districts showed that only 5% of the participating districts offered valid assessments.

were administered and how the results were used in graduation decisions.

The entire report and its summary are available on the Penn State College of Education Web site at www.ed.psu. edu/educ/lavs —Suzanne Wayne

Alumni are Invited to Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the American Indian Leadership Program

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n the summer of 1970, 17 American Indian graduate students from throughout the United States arrived at Penn State to become the first participants in the American Indian Leadership Program (AILP). To date, more than 200 students from numerous tribes and geographic locations throughout North America have participated in the program.

AILP is one of the oldest and most successful programs of its kind. It provides opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Natives to pursue graduate degrees in education within an atmosphere that takes into consideration the particular issues and challenges facing

Indian education. Over the last 40 years, AILP alumni have gone on to establish careers that have enabled them to shape and improve the condition of Indian education.

The College of Education will recognize the 40th anniversary of the program with a reunion of AILP alumni and related activities.

Planning is currently under way, so we invite interested parties to visit www.ed.psu.edu/educ/eps/ailp for updates as details are finalized.

Alumni and friends can also request periodic e-mail updates by contacting John Tippeconnic (jwt7@psu. edu) or Susan Faircloth (scf2@psu.edu). —Suzanne Wayne

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College Updates

New Lecture Series Features STEM Scholars

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new lecture series is opening the door for collaboration among education scholars with emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

The Waterbury Lecture series is held on campus twice a semester and features prominent speakers such as Daniel C. Edelson, vice president for education and children’s programs at the National Geographic Society and executive director of the National Geographic Education Foundation, who delivered the inaugural lecture on February 4.

“My long-term goal is to make Penn State a destination for learning sciences and science studies applications to education, and the Waterbury Lecture is a perfect vehicle to make that happen,” said Richard A. Duschl, Waterbury Chair in Secondary Education.

According to Duschl, the goal of the Waterbury Lecture is to build two Penn State scholarly communities: (1) among science and learning science scholars working in STEM education and workforce initiatives and (2) among humanities and social science scholars working on the study of scientific practices which includes science studies and the links to science education.

Duschl remarked on the success of the first lecture: “Dr. Edelson’s lecture and his visits with faculty and students in education and geography stimulated several important conversations that will most certainly lead

(l-r) Greg Kelly, David Monk, Daniel Edelson, Carla Zembal-Saul, and Richard Duschl

to collaborative projects both within the College of Education and across the campus. I anticipate the same kind of exchanges with each lecture.”

John Rudolph, historian of science education from the University of Wisconsin—Madison presented the second lecture on April 30.

The Waterbury Chair is funded by an endowment contributed by Dr. Kenneth Waterbury. The endowment is designed to fund an outstanding scholar’s work in the field of education, with particular emphasis in secondary education.

—Pamela Batson

Alumni-Student Teacher Network Remember that FIRST “first day of school?”

You know…the one in which you faced a class of strangers, with a new diploma in your pocket, and a whole bunch of butterflies in your stomach? You have learned a lot since then.

Share your knowledge. Join the College of Education Alumni-Student Teacher Network.

Mentor a new teacher.

Catch up with old friends. www.ed.psu.edu/educ/alumni-friends/ alumni-society-1/alumni-student-teachernetwork

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College Updates

New Rankings Reflect Reputation of Graduate Programs

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.S. News & World Report annually ranks graduate programs in education.

All of the College of Education graduate programs that are ranked by the magazine appear at least in the top 20, with seven programs in the top 10 (see list at right).

The College’s graduate programs as a whole rank 24th out of the 278 programs surveyed by the U.S. News & World Report.

—Suzanne Wayne

1 Technical/Vocational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Rehabilitation Counseling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Education Administration/Supervision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Secondary Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Education Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Student Counseling/Personnel Services . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Educational Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Special Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Curriculum & Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Elementary Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Higher Education Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Summer Professional Development Series for Counselors

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chool counselors looking for continuing education opportunities can register now for one or more of the seminars in Penn State’s Professional Development in Counseling Summer Institute. This institute is designed for counselors, psychologists, social workers, human service professionals, and educators looking to acquire fresh knowledge and innovative techniques to help them in their practice.

The theme of the 2009 Institute is Counseling Across the Life Span: Best Practices and Emerging Techniques. Penn State faculty members, as well as practitioners and scholars from all over the United States, will provide their expertise on a broad range of topics to help participants improve their diagnostic, treatment, and counseling skills. Participants can choose from 18 two-day seminars starting in June and running through August.

Seminars will be held at six locations across Pennsylvania: Penn State University Park, Penn State Great Valley in Malvern, Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, and the Waterfront in Homestead (near Pittsburgh). For a complete description of the courses, dates, and registration information, please visit www.outreach.psu.edu/counseling —Joe Savrock

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Feature: Global Connections

Here at the Penn State College of Education, our global activities span the educational spectrum: We have a doctoral level program in Comparative and International Education, students preteaching in Europe, and a number of visitors from other nations in our classrooms. From a Workforce Education faculty member collaborating with a professor in South Korea to a student in Italy working on a Master’s in Education through a World Campus degree program, they are all a part of our College community.

We are (all)‌ Penn State.

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Feature: Global Connections

2001-02 Humphrey Fellow Amadou M. Atoumane Kane and his wife and children in Senegal.

Former Humphrey Fellows Make an Impact in Their Homelands

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ubert H. Humphrey had a philosophy in 1967: “Governments don’t have ideas, companies don’t have ideas, laboratories don’t have ideas, and contrary to popular myth, computers don’t have ideas. But people do have ideas—not people in the mass, but the individual human beings.”

This philosophy has been the root of the Humphrey Fellowship Program at Penn State—which is one of 15 universities nationwide participating in the program established in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter to honor the late vice president.

Individuals from all over the world come to Penn State’s College of Education to participate in a one-year, non-degree, academic, and professional development program. For the Fellows, coming to learn in the U.S. is a way to better the lives of the people in their countries and to improve educational systems there. But many of the Fellows are also transformed in a personal way. It’s a personal experience that transcends books, classrooms, and seminars.

Here, we feature three former Fellows who have built on their experience at Penn State. Now in their home countries, they are all taking on numerous

projects to improve education, whether through broadened access, curriculum reform, or improved testing methods.

Taking American Culture and Pedagogy to Senegal “I have been lucky enough to participate in many programs, but never has a program impacted so well and deeply Senegal all the spheres I evolve in as the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program did,” said Amadou M. Atoumane Kane, who was a Fellow in 2001–02.

Since returning to his home country of Senegal, Kane has taken on commitments he feels contributes to the advancement of his community and country. Currently he is running and teaching a two-year English program for the U.S. Embassy called Access. The program is for fifteen-year-olds living in the suburbs who are socially and

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Feature: Global Connections

2003-04 Humphrey Fellow Evelyne Sossouhounto-Kaneho visited many schools while serving as minister for primary and secondary education in Benin. Clockwise from top left: visiting a girls school graduation ceremony—the banner reads “To educate a girl is to educate an entire nation”; at the creation of a center for the study of early childhood; speaking at a school for the deaf; visiting with a student at a school for the deaf.

economically underprivileged, but who are very motivated and have shown promise of leadership.

“I love this program for what it is trying to achieve.

I usually prefer to focus on programs that start at the grass roots level, which I think has better chances to invite a positive change,” said Kane.

He just taught for a year at Ziguinchor University and currently teaches English at the Applied Computer Science Department of the Regional University and trains new teachers. He works with the Red Cross and Red Crescent International Committee teaching English and with Handicap International in their land mines section.

In his desire to work toward the promotion and education of women, Kane became involved with the New Field Foundation. He translates and interprets documents for the foundation to assist in their mission of helping women

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and their families in sub-Saharan Africa overcome poverty.

One of Kane’s main focuses has been as coordinator of the American Cultural and Pedagogical Corner Pyramid, a cultural center in Ziguinchor. The project aims to develop American culture and literature in the Casamance Region by reaching out to teachers and students. His experience in the U.S. makes him a valuable and scarce resource in this part of the world. He tries to raise teachers’ and students’ interests in American culture by giving them a framework of knowledge to help improve their skills, academics, and English fluency. Kane works closely with the public affairs office of the U.S. Embassy in Dakar to organize workshops.

As a native of Senegal who has experience as a Humphrey Fellow at Penn State, Kane is in an important position to bridge cultural gaps and expose educators to new pedagogical methods.

Feature: Global Connections

Former Education Minister Tackles Multiple Projects A Fellow in 2003-04, Evelyne Sossouhounto-Kaneho returned to her native Benin to tackle some of the country’s educational issues. In 2005, she became certified as an inspector of secondary education and from August 17, 2006, to June 16, 2007, she served as the country’s minister for primary and secondary education.

Currently she is managing several projects and activities involving educational research.

Science classes in Benin are struggling because of the lack of quality materials and resources. To address this problem, Sossouhounto-Kaneho started searching for good teaching materials, but with a lack of funds she often has to buy the supplies herself. To further help with science learning, she wrote a series of booklets covering basic science curriculum in relation to health, the environment, and other relevant areas.

Although Benin has undergone curriculum reform, teachers are struggling to integrate life skills in formal learning activities. So Sossouhounto-Kaneho formed a multidisciplinary team to write manuals and student books in an effort to implement a better competency-based Benin curriculum.

To help unemployed students and university graduates, SossouhountoKaneho decided to organize workshops for those interested in fields such as computer science, entrepreneurship, woodworking, cooking, and other vocational areas. Her goal is to see the youth in her country prepared for a professional career but also spending their free time in productive and meaningful ways.

Working with former Fulbright Scholars and Humphrey Fellows in Benin, Sossouhounto-Kaneho has completed a proposal to develop activities and curricula to teach students about safe road behavior.

Many children must walk to and from school along busy roads. She hopes the project will bring awareness about the dangers children face and how road accidents can be avoided.

“As a Humphrey Fellow, I studied with the Educational Leadership department and learned and experienced so Continued on next page

Humphrey Program in Penn State’s College of Education is Renewed Federal funding for Penn State’s Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program will continue for the next five years.

Leila Bradaschia, director of international programs and coordinator of the Humphrey Program, recently learned that the Institute of International Education, in coordination with the United States Department of State, has renewed the program with the College. Penn State is one of 15 universities nationwide participating.

“The Humphrey Program is an integral part of the College of Education’s international programs and outreach,” said Bradaschia. “I am delighted to welcome five more cohorts of Humphrey Fellows to the College to interact with our faculty and students. Humphrey Fellows are an extraordinary group of people who become important members of our university and community.”

The prestigious Humphrey Fellowship Program is a one-year, non-degree initiative of combined academic and professional development opportunities. It brings accomplished mid-career professionals from designated countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East to selected universities in the United States for public service, advanced study, professional training, and work-related experiences. The program was established in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter to honor the late Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey.

Penn State has hosted Humphrey Fellows, since the program’s inception three decades ago. The College of Education is the University’s administrative home of the program. This year, 14 professionals from around the world are participating at Penn State.

Alumni of the Penn State Humphrey Fellows Program are located in more than 100 of the 168 countries identified by the United Nations.

—Joe Savrock

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Feature: Global Connections

Alumni Society Awards: Call For Nominations “We have so many talented alumni who are leading spectacular careers. The Alumni Society Board wants to honor them, but we need nominations from you.”

Heidi Capetola, Alumni Society Board President

We are looking for distinguished alumni!

The College Alumni Society Awards program needs nominations from you!

Awards include:

Excellence in Education Honors alumni with significant career contributions to education.

Outstanding Teaching Award Honors alumni with career achievements as a classroom teacher.

Leadership & Service Award Honors alumni with career achievements in or outside of the field of education.

Outstanding New Graduate Honors recent graduates who have distinguished themselves in their new careers.

Nominations received before January 31 each year are reviewed as a group. Awards are presented in a ceremony each fall. Nominations may be made at any time. Self-nominations are welcome.

www.ed.psu.edu/educ/alumni-friends/ award

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Continued from previous page

much about leadership. It has made a significant difference in what I’ve been able to do since returning to Benin,” said Sossouhounto-Kaneho.

Reading to Russia When Ludmila Kozhevnikova came to Penn State in 2005 as a Humphrey Fellow, she was already head of the English Language program at the prestigious Samara State University in Samara Oblast, Russia.

As an English teacher, she was interested in the methods 2005-06 Humphrey Fellow of testing comprehension Ludmila Kozhevnikova among non-native speakers and readers. As part of her Humphrey Fellowship, she undertook an ambitious two-part activity: a period at the University of Hawaii with a specialist in English as a second Russia language testing and then a period at Penn State with Hoi K. Suen, distinguished professor of educational psychology and a specialist on testing methods.

As a result of her Fellowship, Kozhevnikova has become an expert in Russia in testing reading skills. Last fall, she organized the first All-Russia Testing Institute with a special grant from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Faculty from 55 universities across Russia attended. She also received a grant from the embassy to take part in a series of seminars during the Far Eastern English Language Teachers Association Autumn Methodological Institute.

Says Kozhevnikova, “My year as a Humphrey Fellow changed a lot in my life. It opened doors to collaborate with other professors in the U.S. on how we can improve reading assessment tests in Russia.”

Kozhevnikova’s interest in reading assessment has led her to organize over 120 workshops and seminars for more than 4,500 Russian teachers across the country. Her scholarly work has been presented in 15 published papers and in presentations at 20 conferences.

—Pamela Batson

Feature: Global Connections

Doing it for the Girls: Benta Abuya’s Research Touches Her Kenyan Roots

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rowing up in a typical Kenyan country and study at Penn State—half way household with six siblings and a around the globe—in the University’s Eduwidowed mother was a humbling cational Theory and Policy program. She’s reality for Benta Abuya. After Abuya’s pursuing a Ph.D. in comparative and interfather passed away, her family struggled to national education, with a doctoral minor in make ends meet. demography. This program, she felt, offers But the tough times actually served as a the best opportunities for her interests in springboard for Abuya. population studies and girls’ education.

“I saw the struggles that my mum “I saw Penn State as a school that could underwent trying to raise seven of us allow me to cut across disciplines and link children, with barely any income,” she my population skills to my experience in recalls. “I realized that as a girl, I had to education,” she says. However, she admits work hard and excel in school so that in the that it’s not easy being away from Nairobi Benta Abuya wants to give back to future I would not have to struggle like my and her family. “It is part of the sacrifices the education field. mum did.” that we have to make,” she says.

It didn’t take Abuya long to decide what kind of career Abuya attends Penn State on a fellowship from the to pursue. “It is from these beginnings that I draw my Ford Foundation, through the International Fellowships passion for my research on girls’ education,” she says. “I Programme. She is one of 14 scholars from wanted to be a teacher and start the crusade of helping Kenya who received the prestigious girls in school before they become young adults. By fellowship in 2005 to study in any offering service to the girls I wanted to return what my part of the world. teachers had done for me while I was in high school.”

She also has received Abuya went on to earn an M.A. from the University of a coveted Policy Nairobi. She then became head of Department-Humanities Communication Fellowship of Our Lady Of Fatima School in Nairobi, which is a mixed with the Population Reference Kenya day school, just like most typical American schools.

Bureau, sponsored by the Abuya enjoyed her leadership roles at Our Lady of U.S. Agency for International Fatima; still, she was looking to expand her scope. “I want Development. The fellowship to help and advocate for girls,” continues Abuya. “I came began in May 2008 and runs to realize that girls and women need champions—persons through next June. As part of the to be their voices—in our societies where culture and fellowship, Abuya is conducting a patriarchy tend to favor the man folk.” yearlong research project.

So Abuya started the Robeli Educational Center. Situated Abuya is quite active at Penn State. She has served as a in one of the poorer neighborhoods in Nairobi, the center representative to the Graduate Council and is a member of serves girls who cannot afford to enter public schools. the Committee on Graduate Student and Faculty Issues.

“The center will be offering different vocational trades Abuya expects to complete her doctoral degree in to the girls, and later to boys, who want to learn a trade or 2010 and is open to future career choices. “I believe at any skill and become employable,” says Abuya. “I wanted to level that I work I will still have the valuable contribution give back to the community what it had given to me.” to the education of girls—whether it’s through research, Abuya’s passion for the educational issues of girls and teaching, or development work.” women is so strong that she was willing to leave her home —Joe Savrock

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Students Take Advantage of Preteaching Opportunities Abroad

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earning expands in proportion to our experience of the world around us. With this realization, Penn State offers preteaching opportunities in several European countries to its education majors.

This spring, more than 20 seniors took advantage of international preteaching opportunities. Here, three of them reflect on their overseas experience.

One thing that Brandon Lusk has learned: Norway’s slopes are challenging.

Brandon Lusk, a Secondary Education-Social Studies major student teaching in Norway, says he wanted to experience “the best. Norway has been rated by the U.N. as the number-one country in terms of quality of life, and it has an education system that is annually considered to be one of the best.”

Lusk is teaching social sciences, English, and physical education classes at Ugla Skole, a secondary school in the historic city of Trondheim.

“Teachers in Norway are Norway expected to teach at least two subjects,” he says.

Lusk hopes to “sort out” the differences in Norwegian and American schools.

“Hopefully I will take some of the

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strategies and techniques that have worked so well here back to the States for use in my future classrooms,” he says.

Lusk has been exploring different historical aspects of Trondheim. “The region has been a history buff’s dream,” he notes. “I have a deep interest in music, and Trondheim is a lively musical center.”

The Netherlands

Chad Brant-Gargan, a Secondary Education-Social Studies major, is spending his semester in the Netherlands, preteaching at Lek en Linge School in the city of Culemborg.

“The teachers here are more laid back,” he says. “And the students are allowed more freedom than American students. They only meet two or three times a week for their subjects, unlike the normal American model in which every day is the same.”

Brant-Gargan is struck by the wellness factor. “Riding my bicycle every day has helped me see how the Dutch stay in such amazing shape,” he says. “It is remarkable how many citizens cycle to work. And there’s no obesity epidemic here—hardly any fast food places.”

Chad Brant-Gargan enjoys a sunset while preteaching in the Netherlands.

Feature: Global Connections

“Hopefully I will take some of the strategies and techniques that have worked so well here back to the States for use in my future classrooms.”

He chose The Netherlands for his preteaching because “Holland is in the center of Europe. The sense of history from cathedrals that are 400 years old is profound.

“Coming to Holland has opened up my eyes concerning how the rest of the world sees us,” continues BrantGargan. “Americans have a reputation of shooting guns like cowboys, spending gobs of money because we’re rich, and watching TV all day. Here, there is more of an air of maturity and refinement.”

“England is lovely,” says Christa Harmotto, an Elementary Education major who is preteaching at Yapton Church of England Primary School. “The children at Yapton Primary are such a joy to work with.

“The curriculum in England is based on a National Standard,” she says, “and many of the teachers teach every subject—including physical education, art, and music.”

Taking on extra subjects like physical education should not be difficult for Harmotto, who starred for four seasons on the Penn State women’s volleyball England team, which won its second straight national championship this past season. Harmotto won the prestigious ESPN The Magazine Academic AllAmerica of the Year award.

She hopes to play professionally somewhere overseas and perhaps with the next U.S. Olympic team.

In the long term, Harmotto wants to be an elementary school teacher and coach.

“I believe teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world,” she says. “You have the opportunity to affect so many children who pass After finishing a fantastic season with the through your Penn State Women’s Volleyball Team (NCAA Champions), Christa Harmotto is completing classroom.” her preteaching in England.

The College is currently pursuing new global partnerships that will provide even more opportunities for teacher preparation students to preteach abroad. New programs will also allow for experienced teachers to go abroad to visit and observe education practices in foreign classrooms.

—Joe Savrock

Professional Development Opportunities Available through Penn State Penn State offers many opportunities for professional development, including certificates and degrees, Saturday seminars, online seminars or courses, on-campus summer and evening courses, and Web sites.

Many of these courses are approved for ACT 48 credit. www.ed.psu.edu/educ/alumni-friends/prof-dev

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Feature: Global Connections

Graduate Students Incorporate International Focus into their Program

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The student who enters the CIED program he College of Education houses a will find peers from the U.S. as well as from unique graduate program that cuts Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the across disciplines and international Middle East, among others. All students are boundaries. The Comparative and sensitive to the issues of globalization, culture, International Education (CIED) program was and institutional relationships that cross established in 1997 as a dual-title degree countries and boundaries. They are seeking program with the purpose of allowing a value-added competency to their major: students to gain expertise and skills in the duality of international and comparative this area while maintaining a professional education coupled with majors in education, identification with their education or social health and human development, agricultural science disciplines. Today, the program has sciences, and other science or social disciplines.

29 Ph.D. and 4 master’s degree alumni.

Maya Nehme, a CIED student To enroll, students must first be admitted into There are currently 29 students participating a major program before being accepted into in the program.

CIED. The student receives two degrees at once: a Ph.D. or Today more than ever, in an era of information master’s degree in their first major and one in CIED. technology and an interconnected global economy of The students’ access to eight core and 15 affiliate faculty knowledge, skills, and ideas, scholars need to understand provides an immense resource for prospective graduates. how the processes of schooling and learning vary across One core member, David Post, professor of education, societies and what implications these variations have for is the co-editor of Comparative Education Review, the education in the world. field’s preeminent scholarly journal. As managing editors “CIED immerses students in experiences to help them gain these perspectives,” said Ladislaus Semali, associate of this journal, students have the unique opportunity to participate informally in the monthly editorial process, professor and program chair. which familiarizes them with management and the requirements for publishing their own scholarship.

Students also have opportunities to conduct research internationally. For example, for the past two years, Penn State students and faculty have traveled to France, Ghana, and Tanzania to do internships, research, and community engagement projects. In Tanzania, for example, faculty members began to work with private and public universities through summer institutes Tanzania that aim to help these universities to build institutional and academic capacity.

Semali interviews a local entrepreneur at a Tanzanian market.

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Feature: Global Connections

In summer 2009, education During her appointment, she had the opportunity students will participate in to support the efforts of Louise V. Oliver, United States the design of Eco Villages ambassador and permanent delegate to UNESCO. in Kenya to help former Upon graduation, Wilson will serve as a foreign street dwelling children service diplomat with the United States Agency for France from rehabilitation International Development and will be posted to the centers to transition Latin America Bureau. to independent living.

Another student, Maya Elias Nehme, will receive Another research a dual degree in entomology and CIED in August. Her team, led by Semali, will advisor at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, examine existing models suggested she consider studying entomology at Penn of science teacher education State, his alma mater. After arriving on campus, she and conduct surveys and focus realized that coupling entomology and CIED would give groups in Tanzania to determine what her essential experience in science and international science education means to students and how it is applied development, especially in the absence of an international in their daily lives. With this research, they ultimately hope agricultural graduate degree. to inform new curriculum development at the bachelor of As part of her CIED coursework, science level aimed at training students and teachers to Nehme worked with David be job creators rather than job seekers.

Baker, professor A central element to the program’s success lies of education. After with Semali. He was part of the original task force that graduation, Nehme wants created the program in 1997 and is currently the program to return to Lebanon and Lebanon chair. Early on he recognized that CIED could not just the Middle East region be a training program for those wanting to work in to work on forest and international settings, but also, it needed to prepare agricultural development scholars to advance our basic knowledge about schooling projects both at the practical and education around the globe. and policy levels.

“The critical question we often ask ourselves is: What Nehme explains the value of benefits are there to the country our students visit her education: “The CIED dual-title and how can we make sure our students participate in degree broadened my horizons and qualified me for programs that lead to certain benefits?” Semali says. jobs in international organizations that are beyond pure “Students and faculty cannot only hope to take away or scientific research. With the dual-title, I am eligible to learn from these international environments, but must apply for science, education and policy positions, as well also give back something.” as management positions.”

Many CIED students find internships Semali plans to continue or positions across the world with growing the number of programs organizations such as the United that participate in the dual title Nations Educational, Scientific, and degree to strengthen the Cultural Organization (UNESCO), internationalization of curriculum the World Bank, non-governmental within the College as well as organizations, and universities.

University-wide. He sees opportunities For example, Felicia Wilson, a to introduce undergraduates May 2009 doctoral graduate, served to international education, as a UNESCO Fellow in Paris in 2008 especially through engaging while she was a Fulbright Scholar. She students who return from the study worked for international ministries of abroad program to participate in education on educational planning monthly seminars, poster sessions, and assisted in the development of or exhibitions to showcase their instructional-training courses, seminars, experiences abroad. and symposiums on secondary and —Pamela Batson higher education.

Felicia Wilson at UNESCO in Paris

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College of Education Alumni Work in Africa

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heir passion for teaching and working or toilets, Dissen sometimes has to walk up with children is what led Michael to two hours to reach one of the four schools Dissen ‘08 E K Ed and Evangeline he works with. Despite the lack of amenities, Tam ‘09 E K Ed to leave their comfort zones to Lesotho offers beautiful mountain views and travel across the world to Africa to share their cultural experiences that Dissen finds invaluable, teaching knowledge. like when he was placed with a host family for Dissen is serving 27 months in Ha Sefako, orientation. On the day he arrived, the family Lesotho as a Peace Corps volunteer. His job is also welcomed a newborn son that they named to act as a resource for 32 teachers that work “Mike” in his honor. in four schools near his village. He observes Dissen is one of 57 Penn State them and provides feedback to help them undergraduates who joined the Peace Corps develop as teachers. He assists them in in 2008. Penn State ranks 12th among large planning creative and engaging lessons for colleges and universities with the most alumni their students and helps to teach difficult volunteers. Dissen is chronicling his experience material, such as science. through a blog: michaeldissen.blogspot.com So when a teacher asked him to help In the summer of 2007, Tam traveled with Evangeline Tam working in a teach science, Dissen searched until he found Kenyan orphanage in 2007.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to Kenya for the school’s math and science kits. He went two months as a student volunteer. For three about explaining how to use a teaching clock and a bag weeks she lived with a host family in Nairobi and was a of unifix cubes to him and the other teachers. Until now, teacher’s helper in the Happy Life Children’s Home, an the teachers had been drawing abacuses on the board, orphanage for children aged five and under. Alongside the and the students were having difficulty understanding teacher, Tam taught a preschool curriculum that included the concept. It’s this type of engagement that Dissen finds writing the alphabet, writing numbers, and identifying worthwhile and personally fulfilling. shapes. Her big challenge, though, was that the children “The personal relationships I’ve formed with the locals only knew Swahili, so she had to learn some of the have changed my view of life. I’m starting to understand language first. the daily struggles the people in my village face every day,” During her stay she visited the Mathari Valley, one said Dissen. “I hope these relationships of the largest slums in the world. There she visited the will help me understand how I Missionary of Charity, an order of nuns that Mother Teresa can have an impact on the established. Walking through their orphanage, she saw community during my time the disabled children’s room and was touched by their here.” circumstances. Some had severe development problems He has started a pen such as fetal alcohol syndrome, and others were confined pal program for the local there because of physical disabilities. Seeing children students to correspond with special needs who may have thrived under better with students in the U.S. conditions inspired her to consider her own work in Lesotho He hopes that the students special education. Although she has chosen to pursue a will become more fluent special education minor in addition to her elementary and in English and improve their kindergarten education degree, Tam plans to take it a step reading and writing skills through further and earn a graduate degree in special education. the pen pal correspondence. He also During her last semester at Penn State, she was a wants to enhance existing libraries or student teacher in a third-grade classroom at Isaac A. create new ones in each of the four schools.

Sheppard Elementary School as a part of Penn State’s Living in a thatched hut without running water, electricity, Urban Teaching Collaborative. There she worked with

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Feature: Global Connections

Children’s Book Drive Serves Children Worldwide Children living in Africa, Asia, and the Americas have benefited from the decade-long work of the very successful Children’s Book Drive, an initiative of the College of Education’s Alumni Society.

Michael Dissen with one of his younger “students” in Lesotho.

children who live in a tough North Philadelphia neighborhood and who may have difficult home lives. Her classroom included many ESOL (English for Speakers Kenya of Other Languages) students since the school is located in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. Teaching at an urban school further expanded her views of education.

After her May 2009 graduation, Tam will return to Kenya with the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Except this time, she’ll be a part of the staff team and will be leading a group of her own students. She doesn’t know what her assignment will be, but she’s positive that she’ll be working with children.

“I have a big heart for global education. My Kenyan experience really opened my eyes to how education can change the course of people’s lives,” said Tam. “It’s important to me to have experiences that challenge me to become a better teacher and person.”

—Pamela Batson

As of the end of 2008, the Book Drive has collected and distributed an astounding 136,776 children’s books worldwide, according to chairperson Joan Ruth ’61 E K ED, ’75 M.Ed. The Book Drive committee solicits donations of used books suitable for students ranging from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Volunteers collect the books and distribute them to schools, shelters, libraries, children’s hospitals, and other institutions that can’t afford to buy new titles.

Books are received from school libraries that are purging their collections, from school children who wish to donate books they no longer read, and from other sources.

Several thousand of these books have been shipped for the benefit of children living in other countries. Among the recipients over the years have been Homes of the Indian Nation in India, Vincent Primary School in Lesotho, The Zambia Project, and locations in the West Indies. In addition, The Peace Corps has received books for distribution in its causes.

Twice, the Children’s Book Drive has won the Penn State Alumni Association’s National Service Week Project Award, which is given to affiliate alumni groups for outstanding work.

Ruth has been the Book Drive’s tireless coordinator for the past nine years. She’ll be leaving the post in June, when she completes her term as a board member of the College of Education’s Alumni Society.

—Joe Savrock

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Feature: Global Connections

Sondra Allen and her husband enjoy the scenery of northern Italy.

Penn State Cairo?

The World Campus Delivers College of Education Programs Around the World

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large number of Americans living overseas are enrolled in College of Education programs offered through Penn State’s World Campus. Several of these students have observed that unique cultural and geographic features can become apparent in the curricular materials of online education. While some interesting contrasts unfold across nations, other aspects are much the same.

Children’s Literature Italy

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In Italy, for instance, some classic children’s books have a slightly different plot than the versions recognized by Americans.

“The tale of Pinocchio originated in the Tuscan region of Italy,” notes Sondra Allen. “The original version depicts much more of Pinocchio’s

suffering and is not as comical as the Disney version known in the United States.”

Allen, who currently lives in Naples, Italy, is working through World Campus toward her master’s degree in children’s literature. A native of Philipsburg, Pa., Allen is a substitute teacher at an elementary school on the military base where her husband is stationed.

“Many of the same stories we find in the United States are also found here in Italy and all over Europe,” says Allen, “but there are slight changes in characters, settings, and storylines. While Snow White may be called ‘Biancaneve’ and Cinderella goes by ‘Cenerentolla’, many of the general themes stay the same.”

Allen enjoys the convenience of her online experience.

“When my husband received his military orders to Italy, we thought this time would be perfect to work on my graduate degree,” she says. “We have traveled all over Europe in the past two years, and I am able to take the classroom with me. I have posted to a discussion board in Cairo one week and then written a reflection paper in Athens the next.”

Feature: Global Connections

Instructional Systems “The instructional systems field in the United States is different from in the Czech Republic,” notices Aaron Collier, who teaches at the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University in Brno. “Some of the differences come from the relatively small size of the country and the greater centralization of decision-making processes. There are also different traditions here in terms of education as a field.”

Collier, originally from Lexington, Mass., is pursuing an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems—Educational Technology through the World Aaron Collier Campus. He feels that his online program will “open more doors in designing distance education programs—especially ones using Internet technology—here at the university.” He adds, “I benefit a lot from the varied perspectives of the other students.”

Czech Republic

Institutional Research Jim Mulik, who is enrolled in Penn State’s online graduate certificate in Institutional Research (IR), observes that

the same IR aspects apply in both the United States and in the Marshall Islands, a tiny republic in the Pacific Rim. “The U.S.accredited colleges and universities in the Pacific are expected to adhere Marshall to the same accreditation Islands standards as in the mainland United States,” says the Kansas City native. ”Sadly, though, almost all of the U.S.-accredited institutions in the Pacific are far behind in understanding the benefits of data and its impact on decision making.”

Mulik finds the coursework in the World Campus IR certificate program to be a valuable asset in his work as an administrator at the College of the Marshall Islands. He is enrolled in the fourth of six required online courses. “The information I have gleamed from the first three Jim Mulik courses has already been used to assist my current institution in addressing accreditation recommendations,” he says. “In fact, the basis of our last Special Report for our accrediting commission was the final project paper for one of my Penn State courses. The accrediting commission not only accepted the Special Report, but also took action to reaffirm accreditation of our institution.”

—Joe Savrock

Four Fulbright Scholarships Awarded Recently

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our College of Education faculty members and one student have received Fulbright scholarships over the past year. The Fulbright program is the U.S. Government’s flagship program in international education exchange.

David W. Saxe, associate professor of social studies education, has been named a Fulbright Senior Scholar to lecture and conduct research in Germany next year.

Saxe will teach America History and Cultural Studies at

the University of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany, from January to August 2010.

Elizabeth Skowron, associate professor of counseling psychology, has earned a Traditional Fulbright fellowship to Ireland in spring 2010. She will be lecturing at the National University of Galway in Ireland and will conduct research on at-risk families, parenting, and risk-and-resiliency factors associated with children’s health outcomes.

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Continued from previous page

Two faculty members have received Fulbright Senior Specialist grants, which provide short-term opportunities for U.S. faculty and professionals to collaborate with counterparts at international postsecondary institutions.

Hoi K. Suen, distinguished professor of educational psychology, received a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant in 2008 to lecture at Xiamen University in Xiamen, China.

Suen also lectured briefly at the Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China and at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Donald E. Heller, professor of higher education and director and senior scientist of the Center for the Study of Higher Education, has been named a Senior Fulbright Specialist for 2010.

In addition, one of our College’s newest alumni earned a Fulbright award last year as an undergraduate:

Luke Zeller ’08 Sec Ed earned a Fulbright scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in South Korea. (See page 31.) He began his stay in July 2008 with six weeks in an intensive Korean language and culture orientation at Kangwon University in Chuncheon. Afterwards, he was placed with a host family to begin teaching at a community school until July 2009.

Beverly Lindsay, professor and senior scientist of higher education and comparative and international education, is an active member of the National Fulbright Association. She currently serves on a national Fulbright panel that reviews applicants and proposals for Fulbrights in Educational Administration, Higher Education, and International Education for awards in colleges and universities throughout the world. Members of the review panels are selected based on their exemplary scholarship and international work. Lindsay has been awarded Fulbrights in South Korea, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

—Joe Savrock

Fresh Goals and Direction for the College International Programs Office Last summer, Leila Bradaschia joined the College of Education faculty as the new director of international programs. She has already had a very busy and successful first year; the College’s proposal for the renewal of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, which she directs, was accepted (see page 13). This is the first of many successes expected for the College’s international programs.

lives as people come to see the world from another’s perspective. And as we embark on the journey to internationalize the curriculum and opportunities afforded to Penn State College of Education students and faculty, we will be fostering concepts of global citizenship in an increasingly globalized world.”

“Dr. Bradaschia is a perfect match with the College of Education’s international goals and priorities” said Kyle Peck, associate dean for outreach, technology, and international programs. “She brings experience, energy, and good ideas to a Leila Bradaschia, director of Bradaschia is also coordinating the faculty with lots of ideas of its own.” international programs development of new relationships that Bradaschia received her Ph.D. from will facilitate student and faculty exchange Indiana University in Bloomington, programs between the College of Education and institutions in History, Philosophy, and Policy in Education with a in other nations. She is also pursuing new opportunities concentration in International and Comparative Education. for the College through government programs and private Previously, she was program director at International Visitors organizations.

Council in Columbus, Ohio, and an intern with the U.S. “I look forward to strengthening and initiating new and Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural exciting international programs at the College of Education Affairs in Washington, D.C. at Penn State,” said Bradaschia. “These programs change —Pamela Batson

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Featured Alumni

Changes to the College’s Alumni Society Board

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wo members of the College of Education Alumni Society’s board of directors are finishing their elected terms this spring.

Rebecca Morris ’00 E K Ed has served a productive three-year term on the board. She has been a member of the Alumni-Student Teacher Network (ASTN) Committee, the Outstanding New Graduate Committee, and chair of the Greater Allegheny ASTN. She is also treasurer of the Parmi Nous Alumni Interest Group and co-chaired the Parmi Nous 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2007.

Morris is currently a doctoral student and teaching assistant at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences. She is a former school librarian at Deer Lakes Middle School in Russellton, Pa. She is also a former first-grade teacher at the Franklin Regional School District, Murrysville, Pa. Joan Ruth ’61 E K Ed, ’75 M.Ed. has been a very active board member for the better part of 20 years. She has served as board secretary, and, more notably, she has been the tireless coordinator of the very successful Children’s Book Drive for nine years.

Ruth is a retired educator, having taught for nearly 30 years in the elementary schools of the West Shore School District, near Harrisburg, Pa. She also worked ten years as a student teacher supervisor at Penn State Harrisburg.

Joan Ruth

Rebecca Morris

In addition, the board has elected two new members.

Marcia G. Pomeroy ’89 M.Ed. retired last year from Penn State as a career services counselor. She served as the liaison to the College of Education, where she counseled students on career issues related to the field of education; she also developed and presented outreach programs and in-service orientations for students, faculty, staff, and the College’s Alumni Society. Pomeroy has volunteered in the College’s Alumni-Student Teacher Network.

Tonya DeVecchis-Kerr ’79 E K Ed, ’92 M.Ed. brings 30 years of education experience to the board. She serves in the administration of Mount Union (Pa.) Area School District as director of special education and student services. DeVecchis-Kerr is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association.

—Joe Savrock

Traditional Reunion Weekend: June 4–7, 2009 Classes of 1964, 1959, and Pioneers (Classes of 1958 and earlier) are invited!

• Alumni will have the opportunity to revisit campus, attend class dinners and receptions, and meet other alumni.

• Special College of Education Event: June 5 from 1:30–2:30 p.m. in 124 CEDAR Building • Learn about Pennsylvania’s Literary and Cultural Heritage. www.alumni.psu.edu/events/reunions/traditional.htm

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Featured Alumni

2009 Distinguished Alumni Award

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n the 40 years since she graduated from Penn State, J. Bonnie Newman ’69 M.Ed. has had an extraordinary life and the rare privilege of a prolific career that spans the public, private, nonprofit, and academic sectors. The common thread in each endeavor is her commitment to service.

After graduation, Newman accepted a position at the University of New Hampshire, and Photo courtesy of Mark Rubinstein ‘92 Ph.D. by the age of 26, she was appointed dean of students.

In this role, she become a liaison between the university and state officials, which later afforded her the opportunity to volunteer on then-Governor Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign. This experience would be the beginning of a long journey that includes positions in the administrations of two U.S. presidents.

First, Newman joined the non-profit sector as executive director of the Forum on New Hampshire’s Future from 1978-1980. In this role, she traveled the state encouraging citizens to develop master plans for their communities.

As part of her emphasis on civic engagement, Newman says, “It’s critical for people in a democracy to be well informed in the life of their communities.”

By 1982 she was living in Washington, D.C., and had reconnected with her former colleagues from Reagan’s campaign. It was then that she officially entered the Reagan White House as associate director of the Office of Presidential Personnel. A year later, President Reagan appointed her as assistant secretary of commerce for economic development.

In 1985, she took a break from Washington to serve as president of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire, and later was named president of the New England Council Inc. A few short years later she was called upon to serve under President George H.W. Bush

Newman, as interim president of the University of New Hampshire, with Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who both spoke at the University of New Hampshire Commencement in May 2007.

as assistant to the president for management and administration, where she oversaw all administrative operations for the White House and Executive Office of the President.

Having served in an atmosphere of government and politics, Newman sees a distinction between the two in that politics are partisan by nature and government is more the management of a complex service organization. She further explains, “People need to participate as citizens in their government, whether it is at town meetings, the school board, state legislature, or congress. Our republic is dependent upon participation by well-informed citizens able to make critical judgments on behalf of their communities.”

After leaving the government, Newman pursued and succeeded in early-stage entrepreneurial opportunities.

She was the founder and owner of Coastal Broadcasting Corporation, licensee of WZEA-FM radio. Even in the broadcast business, her commitment to service found a place. She ran public service and community-oriented programs, and offered children’s programming that dealt with real-world issues and succeeded in raising the station’s profile.

It’s perhaps irony or serendipity, as Newman likes to say, that brought her full circle back into academia. After selling Coastal Broadcasting, she found herself as interim dean of the Whitmore School of Business at the University of New Hampshire. Soon afterwards, she accepted the position of executive dean at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government where she served for five years. She concluded her career in academia most fittingly

Accomplished University Executive and Public Servant Named Distinguished Alumna

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Featured Alumni

as interim president at the University of New Hampshire, where her career in higher education started 40 years ago.

Today, Newman sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards. She is director of the Lumina Foundation, FairPoint Communications, Gilbane Building Co., and Exeter Trust Company, and she is former chair of the United States Naval Academy Board of Visitors and former vice chair of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Her achievements have been recognized with numerous awards and honorary degrees from six academic institutions.

Although one may consider her semi-retired, it was only a few months ago that New Hampshire Governor John Lynch tapped her to replace Senator Judd Gregg when he was nominated to be commerce secretary in President Obama’s Administration. Circumstances changed or perhaps serendipity intervened, but Gregg declined the nomination and retained his senatorship.

“I’ve been accused of not doing retirement very well. I find the boards on which I participate to be intellectually challenging and substantive, and I enjoy working with bright colleagues. I hope to always be able to make a difference,” Newman said.

To honor her lifelong achievements, Penn State named Newman a 2009 Distinguished Alumna. The award is the highest honor that the University bestows upon an outstanding alumna or alumnus. The award salutes the achievements of outstanding alumni whose “personal lives, professional achievements, and community service exemplify the objectives of their alma mater.” President Graham Spanier will honor Newman along with other recipients at a reception and dinner on June 6.

“The positive influence and leadership that Ms. Newman has displayed throughout her distinguished career, both as a professional and in her service to communities and organizations, rank her among Penn State’s most accomplished alumni,” said College of Education Dean David H. Monk.

“I was thrilled and surprised by this honor when I was contacted. It is humbling considering how many accomplished Penn State alumni there are around the country and the world. I’m looking forward to being back on campus and connecting with former friends and colleagues,” said Newman.

In addition to her many professional honors and awards, the Penn State Alumni Association named Newman an Alumni Fellow in 2005. It is the most prestigious award given by the Alumni Association.

Newman is a graduate of St. Joseph’s College of Maine.

An avid golfer who enjoys the outdoors, she resides in North Hampton, N.H. —Pamela Batson

pe n n Stat e o n l i n e

Alayne Fessler Director, Director, Medical Medical Laboratory Laboratory Technician Technician Program Program M.Ed. M.Ed. in in Adult Adult Education Education ’08 ’08

Be exceptional

™

Alayne Fessler learned that her dream job came with one condition—she had to get a master’s degree in three years.

Understanding the commitment she’d made during the interview, Alayne chose Penn State’s online master’s degree program in adult education to help her reach her goal. “I was able to embark on a new career, be with my family, and still dedicate myself to a quality educational experience.”

Read Alayne’s story and learn more at:

www.worldcampus.psu.edu/alumni Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce. U.Ed.OUT 09-1124/09-WC-227djm/bjm

Penn State Education

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Featured Alumni

EdLion Free Online Seminars for College of Education Alumni

Every spring and fall, the College offers a series of online seminars through EdLion.

Participants can attend the seminar through a traditional Web browser. No special software is needed! www.ed.psu.edu/educ/edlion

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Penn State College of Education

Alumnus Accepts Deanship at United Arab Emirates University

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he opportunity to transform a primarily teaching institution to an internationally recognized, research-intensive university was a challenge that Gary Ingersoll ’70 Ph.D. could not pass up. In August 2008, he accepted the deanship of the College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU).

An accomplished scholar, Ingersoll retired from Indiana University in 2008. He holds the rank of professor emeritus in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology in the Indiana University School of Education and the title of professor emeritus of pediatrics in the Indiana University School of Medicine. From 1990 to 1996 he served as executive associate dean of education.

He has served as consultant to the Professional Standards Board in their efforts to enact a performancebased teacher licensing system and has also served as a consultant to the state departments of education in Illinois and Arkansas.

Ingersoll is trained as a National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Board of Examiners member, has served as chair of several teams, and was appointed to the NCATE Unit Accreditation Board.

He is also a member of the Center for Quality Assurance in International Education Board of International Reviewers.

He has served as a consultant for the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and has consulted with multiple universities as they prepare for accreditation.

Ingersoll completed his undergraduate studies at The State University of New York at Oswego and his doctoral studies at Penn State. He co-published Performance-Based Teacher Certification: Creating a Comprehensive Unit Assessment System with Fulcrum Publishing of Golden, Colo. He is the author of two textbooks, Adolescents in School and Society and Adolescents as well as numerous articles and chapters.

“Dr. Ingersoll is highly regarded among his peers,” said David Monk, dean of the College. “It is no surprise that he was chosen to lead the College of Education at UAEU at a time when the field of education is building bridges across international boundaries. We are very proud to count him as an alumnus.”

Featured Alumni

In a Q&A with Penn State Education, Ingersoll describes some of the challenges he faces and his vision for the College of Education at UAEU.

United Arab Emirates

PSE: What attracted you to this position?

GI: Prior to accepting this role I had the opportunity to hear from the leadership of the university that it is their intent that UAEU and the UAEU College of Education become premier research institutions in the Middle East and to be regarded internationally as a center of excellence in higher education. To be part of this transformation, combined with UAEU being the national university of a country in the epicenter of change in the Middle East, is an incredible opportunity.

PSE: How do you envision this transformation happening?

GI: The process of transforming the college into a premier source of educational research and scholarship and to reflect the highest standards of teaching and service is, of course, not going to happen overnight. Neither does it negate the importance of the college’s mission to train high-quality, innovative, and capable teachers.

UAEU holds the distinction of being the first university outside the United States to undergo evaluation using the rigorous standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and to achieve recognition through the Center for Quality Assurance in International Education.

To achieve this status, the program was subject to the same standards as any institution undergoing NCATE review. Indeed, all the review team members were also NCATE Board of Examiners members. The college will undergo a continuing recognition review in the 2009-2010 academic year.

PSE: What is your plan to get the college ready to receive this accreditation?

GI: As part of that continuing review process, all programs have been reviewed with teacher education programs in respected U.S. institutions as a template. Further, a complete review of all assessment processes has been undertaken to assure that the measures are consistent with the standards established by the national Ministry of Education and the Interstate New Teacher Assistance and Support Consortium standards; this is especially the case with reference to assessment of student teaching performance.

PSE: What steps are you taking to meet this goal while retaining a strong teacher education program?

GI: Indeed, the preparation of high-quality teachers for the nation and the Gulf Region remains a central element in our mission. To enact the shift will require complementary strategies of professional development of current faculty

Gary Ingersoll, dean of the College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University.

and the recruitment of new faculty who possess the necessary research skills.

PSE: Are you recruiting faculty regionally and globally?

GI: Our recruitment strategy is international in scope and we are particularly encouraging applicants from current internationally recognized research-intensive institutions in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia.

PSE: What other challenges does the UAEU face?

GI: One challenge we must face in our efforts to achieve international regard is the dilemma of balancing the globalizing of the curricula and knowledge base with a need to maintain national and regional identity.

These two motives are often in conflict with one another.

Globalization implies a fundamental role of education in general and higher education in preparing students to operate in the global economy. Thus, to be an internationally respected research university mandates conforming to recognized standards of excellence that transcends national identities. The fear expressed by skeptics is, of course, that the result is a form of cultural imperialism that both denigrates and dismisses national and cultural identities. To allow that to happen would be a serious disservice to the peoples of the country.

PSE: Is this a legitimate fear, or is it possible for education knowledge and curriculum to become globalized while faculty and students retain their national and cultural identities?

GI: There would, I suppose, be justification of that fear if the administrative leadership lost sight of the fact that we are a national university and are responsible to the people of the United Arab Emirates. In reflecting on this balance of becoming an internationally respected, research-intensive institution while advancing local culture and needs, I have drawn upon the model intrinsic to Penn State as a land grant university. That is, teaching, research, and service activities of the faculty serve both the pragmatic needs of the state and the broader national and international communities.

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Featured Alumni

Alumnus Strengthens the Connection Between Penn State and National Taiwan Normal University

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a-Wei Lee ’81 Ph.D. is part of a longstanding cultural and academic exchange between Penn State’s Workforce Education and Development (WFED) program and National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU).

Lee has carried out his scholarship at Penn State during three different time spans under the auspices of the joint International Education Exchange that Penn State and NTNU formed decades ago to allow faculty members and students of both universities the opportunity to experience cross-cultural advantages.

Born and raised in Taiwan, Lee is the new president of Ching Yun University, Ta-Wei Lee a role he assumed last August after spending some 26 years on the faculty and administration at NTNU. “It was hard to leave NTNU after 26 years,” he says. “But since my interest is vocational education, and Ching Yun University is basically a technology university, I feel at home with my new job.”

Lee feels right at home in central Pennsylvania as well. He and his wife Wei Lin ’82 Ph.D. were married in State College in 1978, while both were pursuing their doctoral degrees. Ta-Wei earned his Ph.D. in the College of Education’s Vocational Industrial Education Department (now Learning and Performance Systems). At the same time, Wei Lin was working toward her Ph.D. in Penn State’s Food Science Department in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

“Actually we were very busy as doctoral students,” remembers Lee. “Our only entertainment was fishing, especially at Stone Valley and Sayers Dam.” After completing their degrees, Ta-Wei and Wei Lin returned to Taiwan, and in the ensuing years they have realized fulfilling careers in higher education. At Taiwan NTNU, Ta-Wei taught and served as department head, college dean, and dean of academic affairs for several decades before moving on to

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his current leadership position at Ching Yun University. Wei Lin also taught at NTNU for 25 years before transferring to Chinese Culture University to work as a professor in the Department of Food, Health and Nutrition Sciences.

Lee has returned to Penn State twice as a visiting scholar—in 1989 and again in 1995—to study technological literacy education under research projects funded by the National Science Council of Taiwan.

Lee notes a shift has occurred in the field that was once known as vocational and industrial education.

The field now encompasses a wider occupational scope and has come to be called workforce education and development. He first observed the shift while studying at Penn State. With Ta-Wei’s influence, the changeover has now spread to Taiwan. “I think the field attracts stronger students now,” he says.

Lee recalls that, in the earlier days of the Penn State–NTNU exchange, faculty from Penn State traveled to Taiwan to help set up vocational education programs at both the college and the high school levels. “Since then, many Taiwanese students have gone to Penn State for further studies, and now have come back to Taiwan to be vocational educators,” he says.

“You can imagine the impact of the cultural exchange on Taiwan’s education and economy.”

Over the years, a large number of Penn State educators have traveled to Taiwan as visiting professors or conference speakers, among them Dean David Monk; faculty members Ken Gray and Barbara Grabowski; and Edgar Farmer, department head of Learning and Performance Systems. Likewise, NTNU has sent a large number of visiting professors to Penn State.

Says Farmer, “I am impressed with the academic accomplishments of Ta-Wei and Wei Lin, but more impressed with their dedication and loyalty to Penn State.

They are not only scholars, but extraordinary people with a heart for Penn State.”

Ta-Wei and Wei Lin have returned to University Park numerous times, not only through Ta-Wei’s three-time participation in the cultural exchange, but—on more recent occasions—as visiting parents of a Penn State student. Their older daughter, Yun Lee, is studying at Penn

Featured Alumni

South Korea

Zeller samples Korean food with some young friends.

State’s Dickinson School of Law. She is in her second year and hopes to graduate in 2010. Their younger daughter, Yue Lee, is a sophomore at Fu-Jen University and hopes to attend Penn State starting in 2010 in the English as a Second Language program.

The Penn State–NTNU connection continues beyond the family. Li-Tuan Chou ‘95 Ph.D., another alum of Penn State’s former Vocational Industrial Education program, previously studied at NTNU, where she was one of Ta-Wei’s students. Currently she’s a member of the NTNU faculty, serving as department head and associate professor.

Earlier this semester, Li-Tuan completed a six-month assignment at Penn State as a visiting scholar. Not surprisingly, her daughter currently is applying to Penn State’s chemical engineering graduate program.

Through their numerous return trips, Ta-Wei and Wei Lin have become strongly attached to central Pennsylvania.

“We really like State College—it’s a beautiful and peaceful college town and has good culture,” says Ta-Wei. “The people are friendly. You can feel they are accustomed to having foreigners around, which make us feel comfortable.”

—Joe Savrock

Alum and Fulbright Scholar Luke Zeller Teaches in S. Korea How does the education system in South Korea differ from the American education system? Luke Zeller ’08 Sec Ed is a former Schreyer Scholar who has been in South Korea since July 2008 on a Fulbright scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in South Korea. After an initial cultural orientation at Kangwon University in Chuncheon, he moved in with a host family in Hwasun where he lives while teaching at a community, co-ed high school through July 2009.

In Hwasun, he teaches three classes a day of 35 students each but he only sees each class once a week. This onceweekly encounter challenges him to connect with his students who attend school from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. each weekday and sometimes on Saturdays. From July to December, Zeller recounted his teaching experience, cultural learning curve, and weekend travel jaunts in a blog that he shared with the Penn State community. To read all of his blogs and see pictures, visit: www.ed.psu.edu/educ/news/zeller —Pamela Batson

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Alumni Society Board News

Seated l-r: Stacie Spanos Hiras, Daniel West Jr., Rebecca Morris, Heidi Capetola, Joan Ruth, Barbara Michael, and Joan Dieter.

Standing l-r: Susan Martin, Dee Stout, Michael Dooris, Douglas Womelsdorf, Jack Thompson, Cameron Bausch, Brent Hurley, Jennifer Black, Lawrence Wess, and David Monk.

Alumni Society Board Makes Scholarship Contribution

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s the University enters a new campaign, For the Future: the Campaign for Penn State Students, the College of Education Alumni Society Board is taking the opportunity to show its support for the College and its students. Last year, the board, under the leadership of its president Heidi Capetola ‘92 E K Ed, decided that its members would all make a donation to the Penn State Alumni Association Trustee Scholarship in the College of Education (see page 36). As of April 2009, all 22 members of the Board have contributed, with the total donation exceeding $9,500.

“As leaders in the College of Education’s Alumni Society, we have the chance to give back by contributing to this scholarship,” said Capetola. “By doing so we are partnering with the University and College to ensure that Penn State can support future educators for generations to come.”

Trustee Matching Scholarships were approved by

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Penn State’s Board of Trustees to partner donors with the University to support students with the highest financial need. Through the program, income from the endowment is matched in perpetuity from the University. Therefore, gifts to this program will have twice the impact on the lives of students, doubling the amount of scholarship dollars available for education students.

Under the leadership of Director Roger Williams ’73 Lib, ‘75 M.A. (Com), ‘88 D.Ed., the Alumni Association endowed Trustee Matching Scholarships for $50,000 in 12 colleges, at 20 campuses, and in three additional undergraduate units. Said Williams of this gift, “Through its foresight and leadership, the Board has created an additional nearly $20,000 impact that will be added to the $100,000 impact already established—all to the benefit of education students.”

—Pamela Batson

Gifts to the College

Fostering Discovery and Creativity

Ellie Dietrich

I

f you read the papers, blogs, or even Twitter, you know that times are tough and for some it may get worse before it gets better. But with a new campaign under way, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, we are all the more committed to raising awareness and financial support for Penn State and our students. I have been truly amazed at how many of our alumni and friends have responded in kind. THANK YOU. Although we have set some lofty goals for ourselves, it’s the students and faculty who inspire us daily.

I’d like to share some new concepts the College is undertaking to foster discovery and creativity in enhancing the student experience. It’s our vision that students and faculty members will come together within and across disciplines to pioneer new frontiers of knowledge.

Urban Collaboratory. Dean Monk has a vision for an outreach and education program in urban and culturally diverse schools. The aim is to have a long-term partnership with the Harrisburg School District, where the schools are typical of the demography in urban districts.

A major component to this initiative would be the use of technology so that educators at University Park could interact and observe the teachers and students at the outreach schools. A similar urban experience is already taking place at the Isaac Sheppard Elementary School in inner-city Philadelphia. You can read Evangeline Tam’s story of her student teaching experience at the Sheppard School on page 20.

Innovation Studio. This will be a place where faculty can go to receive support for pedagogical innovations that involve technology, learn emerging technologies, and explore technology tools for advancing their research. Among other projects, they can interact with school partners in urban settings, such as the Sheppard School, to allow our students at University Park to participate in real-time observations of diverse classrooms.

College of Education Technology Fund. A very generous couple, Joyce ‘57 Ed and Vince McLean created this fund (see page 36) to help the dean direct resources for technology where it is needed most and conduct research on the efficacy of using technology in educational settings. It was their intention to set up a general technology fund so that others would be encouraged to make contributions. Since its inception, Orrin Murray, assistant professor, has been able to buy video cameras and tripods to help faculty and students in the World Languages program participate in EDUCATE – Exploring Directions in Ubiquitous Computing and Teacher Education.

Finally, I’d like to mention a very special couple.

Glenn ‘51 Ag Sci, ‘55 M.Ed. (Ag Sci), ‘59 D.Ed. and Nancy Gamble ‘52 HHD. ‘55 M.Ed. (HHD) have been outstanding volunteers for the College and throughout the University. They have seen us through two campaigns and have endowed three Glenn and Nancy Gamble scholarships. To honor their commitments, Dean Monk presented them with a crystal lion at the Dean’s Dinner on March 21. He said, “If ever there was a couple who personifies a true Penn Stater attitude and commitment to volunteerism, it’s the Gambles.”

We couldn’t agree more. ­— Ellie Dietrich Director, Development and Alumni Relations

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Gifts to the College

Robert J. Adler Scholarship in Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services

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obert J. “Jerry” Adler ’63 Sec Ed has made provisions in his estate to establish the Robert J. Adler Scholarship in Counselor Education, Counseling Psychology, and Rehabilitation Services with a gift of $50,000.

The scholarship will provide recognition and financial assistance to outstanding undergraduate students majoring in Rehabilitation Services and graduate students majoring in either Counselor Education or Counseling Psychology.

After graduating from Penn State, Jerry became a middle school teacher. He later made a career change and started working in Pennsylvania’s Office of Vocational and Rehabilitation Services, where he stayed until his retirement.

Formerly a longtime resident of Erie, Jerry returned to his hometown of Uniontown after his retirement. He also supports a scholarship at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. He holds a master’s degree from Gannon University.

Robert H. and Barbara Elser Boyer Scholarship

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arbara ’63 Ek Ed and Robert Boyer have made provisions in their estate to create the Robert H. and Barbara Elser Boyer Scholarship in the College of Education for $100,000.

The scholarship will provide recognition and financial assistance to outstanding male undergraduate students Robert and Barbara Boyer of junior or senior standing, majoring in Elementary and Kindergarten Education, who have financial need, with consideration given to African American males.

Barbara taught for 24 years, mostly with the West York School District. Robert retired from Glatfelter Paper after 29 years, and served as vice president of marketing for the last 10. After his retirement, he was as a senior vice president with York Federal Savings and Loan for over five years. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College and completed graduate coursework in political science at Penn State.

Residents of York, the couple has three daughters and five grandchildren. They are members of the Atherton Society.

Sue Mann Breedlove and Mark Breedlove Trustee Scholarship in Education

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usan ’77 E E C and Mark Breedlove’78 Bus have created the Sue Mann Breedlove and Mark Breedlove Trustee Scholarship in Education with a commitment

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of $50,000 to support students with high financial need.

Sue taught special education for three years and then stayed home to raise the couple’s three daughters who now are all married; the Breedloves have one grandchild. Currently, Sue is president of North Hills Mark and Susan Breedlove Newcomers and Friends and board member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Association. Mark is president and CEO of Keystone Profiles, a cold finished steel bar business in Beaver Falls, Pa. He is also on the executive board of the Beaver County Educational Trust and the Greater Pittsburgh Council of the Boy Scouts. The couple resides north of Pittsburgh.

Together they co-chair the College’s volunteer Dean’s Development Council supporting For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. Sue was previously a member of the College’s Investing in People campaign committee.

Pauline and Patrick Lamort Trustee Scholarship in Education

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inda ’06 Hon and Blake Gall have endowed the Pauline and Patrick Lamort Trustee Scholarship in Education for $50,000, named in honor of Linda’s parents. Undergraduate students with high financial need will be Linda and Blake Gall considered for the scholarship.

Since moving to the State College area in 1983, the couple has taken leadership roles in the community. In 2006, they were named Renaissance Fund honorees for their longtime roles as volunteer leaders in the University and State College communities.

The Galls are graduates of Princeton University and Linda is a Penn State Honorary Alumna, a recognition reflecting significant contributions to the University’s welfare and reputation. Both of their daughters are also Penn Staters: Lauren ‘05 Sec Ed and Andrea ‘09 Bus. Having served on numerous boards and committees, Linda currently serves as a member of the executive committee of the fund-raising initiative, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students, and chairs the campaign’s stewardship committee. Blake is an investment manager with OFI Institutional Asset Management.

In 2003, the Galls also endowed the Blake and Linda Gall Trustee Scholarship in the College of Education and have supported other colleges and capital projects at Penn State.

They are members of the Laurel Circle.

Florence Vernon Hunnell Trustee Scholarship in Education

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harles Evans Hunnell ’65 Sec Ed established the Florence Vernon Hunnell Trustee Scholarship in Education with a gift of $100,000 in memory of his mother, who passed away in 2005. The Charles Evans Hunnell scholarship will support students with financial need with a first preference to those who graduated from a high school in Greene County, Pa. As a student, Chuck was in the Navy ROTC, later serving as an officer aboard the destroyer USS Beale. A Vietnam veteran, he later achieved the rank of lieutenant commander, U.S. Navy (retired).

Chuck taught U.S. history and economics at Upper St. Clair High School for 29 years before retiring in 1997. He holds a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association official’s card in football and has officiated NCAA football for 21 seasons.

A resident of Waynesburg, Chuck’s combined passion for athletics and Penn State means that he can often be seen at various athletic events on and off campus.

In 1992, Chuck established the Charles Evans Hunnell Endowed Scholarship in Education. He is a member of the Mount Nittany Society and was a past member of the College of Education’s Dean’s Development Council.

Tom and Jackie Jenkins Endowment for the Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP)

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homas ’49 Ed, ’51 M.Ed., ’56 D.Ed. and Thomas and Jacquelyn Jenkins Jacquelyn Jenkins ’49 HHD made a $100,000 gift to establish the Tom and Jackie Jenkins Endowment for the Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP), a statewide collaborative effort aimed at helping youths who are at risk of not attending or completing post-secondary education.

Income from the endowment will support a variety of PEPP activities, including tutoring, on-campus summer camps to experience college life, and defraying expenses for student book purchases. The donors made plans to create the endowment prior to Tom’s death in September 2008.

Tom had a distinguished career as an educational administrator in Harrisburg; Wilmington, Del., and the Westchester County, N.Y. schools. Jackie is a retired kindergarten teacher.

The Jenkinses met while they were Penn State students.

In their retirement, they maintained homes in Maine and Florida. They also were State College residents for a time and later frequently visited the community. They are members of the Mount Nittany Society.

Leon J. and Julia T. Johnson Scholarship

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eon ’54 Ag Sci, ’55 M.S. (Ag Sci), ’57 Ph.D. (Ag Sci) and Julia Johnson ’76 Sec Ed established the Leon J. and Julia T. Johnson Scholarship, an annually funded scholarship for five years that benefits students in the Colleges of Education and Agricultural Sciences.

Longtime residents of Julia and Leon Johnson State College, the couple have strong ties to Penn State. Leon was a student when Penn State was known as the Pennsylvania State College. He graduated in 1954, the same year it became The Pennsylvania State University. As the student marshal in the College of Agricultural Sciences, he was the first to walk as a graduate under the University’s present name.

Leon retired as professor of soil mineralogy from the College of Agricultural Sciences in 1992. He spent part of his career teaching in Africa and the couple continues to have strong connections to friends in Kenya. Julia taught social studies for 25 years in the State College Area School District before retiring in 2000.

The couple resides in State College and are members of the Mount Nittany Society.

Martinson Family Foundation Grant in Science Education

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he Martinson Family Foundation is funding a threeyear, $525,000 grant to support a project aimed at strengthening teachers’ knowledge of science in grades K-8, a vital step toward encouraging more students to pursue interests in science, technology, John Martinson engineering, and mathematics.

The grant is supporting the development of specialized content courses in such areas as global climate change, and physical and chemical change, for future teachers seeking certification. The new courses also will be modified so they can be offered through summer workshops for in-service teachers.

The Martinson Family Foundation, established and led

by John Martinson, supports educational initiatives that encourage K-12 math and science teachers to advance their knowledge and skills through collaborative programs at nearby colleges and universities.

John is founder and managing partner of Edison Venture Fund, which has financed and guided 165 information technology businesses including 44 growth companies in Pennsylvania.

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Gifts to the College

College of Education Technology Fund and the EDUCATE Technology Scholarship

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oyce ‘57 Ed and Vince McLean created two funds to support technology initiatives in the College of Education.

The College of Education Technology Fund will provide monies for the dean to help keep Vince and Joyce McLean pace with ever-changing and evolving technologies.

The McLeans have pledged a total of $140,000 to this endowment, some of which is designated for immediate spending.

To complement this fund, the EDUCATE Technology Scholarship will provide $5,000 for each of the next five years to outstanding undergraduate students with financial need and whose major requires the purchase of computing technology, such as those participating in the EDUCATE initiative—Exploring Directions in Ubiquitous Computing and Teacher Education.

Part of the McLeans’ motivation in creating these funds was to inspire and encourage others who recognize the importance of the use of technology to enhance the learning process to add to this fund. Vince’s vision was to seed the fund and challenge others to make substantial additions.

Joyce is a member of the College’s Dean’s Development Council. Vince retired as chief financial officer from Sperry Corporation (now Unisys) but also held leadership positions with Mobil (now Exxon Mobil) and NL Industries.

The couple also established the Joyce Koch McLean Scholarship in Education in 2002 and are members of the Mount Nittany Society.

Penn State Alumni Association Trustee Scholarship in the College of Education

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nder the leadership of executive director Roger Williams ’73 Lib, ’75 M.A. (Com), ’88 D.Ed., the Penn State Alumni Association has pledged $50,000 to endow the Penn State Alumni Association Trustee Scholarship in the College of Education in support of the new fund-raising initiative, For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students. This is one of 35 Trustee Matching Scholarships endowed by the Alumni Association across the University and campuses as part of a $2.1 million commitment.

Trustee Matching Scholarships benefit students with the highest financial need. When gifts to this fund are received, the spendable income will be combined with the University’s match in perpetuity. Gifts to this scholarship will have twice as much impact on the lives of students, doubling the amount of scholarship dollars available for distribution.

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Penn State College of Education

Marv and Carolyn Rudnitsky Undergraduate Scholarship

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aven ’66 Sec Ed and Marv Rudnitsky ’64 Lib have a motto they love to share: “Give until it feels good!”

The couple has ensured a lasting legacy at Penn State by recently naming the College of Education in their Raven and Marv Rudnitsky will and in a testamentary charitable lead trust to establish the Marv and Carolyn Rudnitsky Undergraduate Scholarship for $340,000. They also established a joint scholarship in 2002 in the Colleges of Education and the Liberal Arts.

Marv, an attorney with Rudnitsky and Hackman, and Raven, a family therapist, met at the University Park campus as undergraduates. Today the couple lives for home football games at Penn State and are very active politically and in their United Church of Christ congregation in Selinsgrove, Pa. They love spending time outdoors, traveling, and being with their three daughters, sons-in-law, and five grandchildren, all of whom live within seven minutes of their house. They are members of the Mount Nittany Society.

Roger L. Williams and Karen Magnuson Program Endowment in Higher Education

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oger Williams ’73 Lib, ’75 M.A. (Com), ’88 D.Ed. and Karen Magnuson ’75 A&A have designated $25,000 in their estate to creatte the Roger L. Williams and Karen Karen Magnuson and Roger Williams Magnuson Program Endowment in Higher Education.

Perhaps few alumni couples have stronger ties to Penn State than Williams and Magnuson. Besides their philanthropy and combined four degrees, they are also employed at Penn State.

Roger is the executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association and since 1992 has held a faculty position in the College of Education’s Higher Education program. All told, his professional career with Penn State spans more than 23 years.

Karen is assistant director of University Publications and manager of the University Editor Representative System.

She is responsible for overseeing the University’s graphic identity system. With 30 years of service to the University, she also enjoys her unofficial role as an ambassador at alumni association events.

They are members of the Mount Nittany Society and together they have four children ranging in age from 20 to 34.

Alumni Updates Looking for news about old friends?

Our Alumni Updates are online!

Visit the site, check up on friends, and let us know what you are doing while you are there.

www.ed.psu.edu/educ/alumnifriends/alumni-notes

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