Highlights

NEW ADMINISTRATIVE LEADERSHIP

• Dr. Robert Wimpelberg (Yale University, BA; University of Chicago, PhD) was appointed Dean of the College in August 2000.
• In November 2000, Dr. Wimpelberg recruited to the College a new Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies – Dr. Richard Fossey from LSU (Harvard University, EdD; University of Texas, JD)
• In February 2001, Dr. Doris Williams-Smith joined the College in a newly created administrative position: Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Certification, and Accreditation. She came from the University of New Orleans where she received the PhD degree.

RESPONDING TO EDUCATOR SHORTAGES IN THE HOUSTON AREA
Preface: Houston, like the entire State of Texas, has severe shortages of teachers and school principals.

• The College of Education launched the formation of a University Compact to create a distance-based alternative teacher certification program (Quality Teachers for Texas) with Baylor University, Texas A&M, and five other campuses.
• The College of Education added a “cluster” to its nationally known undergraduate teacher preparation program (PUMA).
• The Department of Educational Leadership & Cultural Studies redesigned its principals’ preparation program and engaged with six Houston area school districts (including HISD) to collaborate on identifying future school leadership, creating cohorts of leadership candidates who will take department courses on-site in their districts.

NATIONAL PROMINENCE/LEADERSHIP

• Dr. Robert McPherson and Dr. Consuelo Arbona (Department of Educational Psychology) are elected as Fellows of the American Psychological Association.
  Dr. Angus MacNeil (Department of Educational Leadership & Cultural Studies) is elected “President-Elect” of the National Conference of Professors of Educational Administration.
• Dr. Allen Warner (Department of Curriculum & Instruction) is President of the Association of Teacher Educators.
• Dr. Cheryl Craig (Department of Curriculum & Instruction) was elected to the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Association of Teaching and Curriculum.
• Dr. Hersh Waxman (Department of Curriculum & Instruction) was named North American Editor of Learning Environments Research: An International Journal.
• Dr. Kyleen Beers (Department of Curriculum & Instruction) edits the national journal, Voices from the Middle, for the National Council of Teachers of English.
• Dr. Jerome Freiberg (Department of Curriculum & Instruction) received Ford Foundation funding to expand his Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline program to major urban school districts across the country.
• Dr. Juanita Copley’s book, The Young Child and Mathematics, was co-published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
• The College of Education hosted the 2001 National Counseling Psychology Conference of the American Psychological Association.
• The College of Education hosted the 2001 Annual Meeting of the National Conference of Professors of Educational Administration.
• The College of Education hosted a national conference, Making the Grade: Assessing the Reform of Houston’s Public Schools. The conference was created by Dr. Don McAdams, HISD Trustee and Research Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Cultural Studies.

NATIONAL RESEARCH & TRAINING

• College of Education became home to a multi-university consortium funded by the US Department of Education ($2 million). The Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence is Co-Directed by Dr. Yolanda Padron (Department of Curriculum & Instruction).
• College of Education received one of the largest grants for instructional technology in the country through the US Department of Education’s program: Preparing Tomorrows Teachers to Use Technology -- $1.4 million. College principal investigators are Dr. Sara McNeil and Dr. Melissa Pierson (Department of Curriculum & Instruction).
• College of Education, in partnership with the Houston Annenberg Challenge, four other Houston higher education institutions, and six school districts, received a US Department of Education grant to reform teacher preparation totaling $3.9 million. Dr. Robert Houston is the Co-Principal Investigator (Department of Curriculum & Instruction).

AT-RISK STUDENTS

• The College of Education established the Urban Talent Research Institute to identify traits of giftedness among minority children and to develop their talents. Dr. Richard Olenchak (Department of Curriculum & Instruction) and Dr. John Gaa (Department of Educational Psychology) are the lead investigators.
• The College’s new Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence research linguistic and cultural differences that affect the education of non-Anglo children. Dr. Yolanda Padron (Department of Curriculum & Instruction) is the Center’s Director.
• Dr. Yali Zou, Director of the UH Asian American Studies Center (Department of Educational Leadership & Cultural Studies) received more than $100,000 to study achievement factors among the best Latino, Asian, and Anglo-American high school students in Houston.
• Dr. Augustina Reyes (Department of Educational Leadership & Cultural Studies) received grants from the Sid Richardson Foundation and the US Department of Education to prepare Latino teachers for school leadership.
• Dr. Juanita Copley (Department of Curriculum & Instruction) received a $32,500 grant from the Neighborhood Centers, Houston, to conduct early numeracy training for Headstart programs in Houston.

TEXAS GRANTS/HONORS

• Dr. Phyllis Gingiss (Department of Health and Human Performance) received nearly $400,000 from the Texas Department of Health to support research and intervention for tobacco prevention and control.
• Dr. Dale Pease (Department of Health and Human Performance) was named the 2000 Scholar of the Year by the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.
  

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