It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. -Dickens (1859)

The College of Education, like most organizations and institutions throughout the state, has experienced difficult and trying economic times brought on largely by the decline of the automobile and banking industries. As indications of the challenges that we face in Michigan, there are 10 million people living in Michigan, with 2.5 million school-age children. At more than 12.8%, Michigan has the highest level of unemployment in the nation. In Detroit, for example, 289,000 people are living in low-income communities or in poverty. Recently, Detroit Public Schools were ordered to close 29 schools effective immediately. Almost half of the schools in Michigan are Title I schools, indicating that the majority of their students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. There are 300,000 students living in poverty and nearly a third of them are in Detroit. During the past several months, I have met with an unprecedented number of young students, both undergraduate and graduate alike, who are diligently venturing to manage family life, work, and the financial burden of higher education. These are, indeed, unsettling times for many Michiganders!

However, despite the aforementioned dismal economic climate, this season of uncertainty has provided opportunities for the College of Education to explore many collaborations, friend-making, and partnerships which heretofore were not part of our work. For example, our gifts from our donors increased from $680K in 2008 to $728K in 2009 – more than a 7% increase. Our faculty sought record high dollars through sponsored programs (grants and other awards) moving $910K in 2008 to $1.9M during 2009 – over a 100% increase in dollars received.

The College of Education has received three federal earmarks totaling $1.1M. These federal earmarks represent the true spirit of the discretionary funding for critically important projects. The first project, Wraparound Social Services, received $864K to coordinate services for a highly vulnerable population in Michigan, teenage parents who have become parents while in foster care. These teenagers most often had complicated problems associated with having special needs. The second project, D.R.E.A.M.S. (Developing Resilience and Educational Achievement in Minority Students), is an educational pipeline project to increase the number of highly qualified minority teachers in hard-to-staff schools in urban communities.

The College of Education has expanded its professional development partnerships with Ann Arbor, Inkster, Lincoln Consolidated, Wayne-Westland, Willow Run, and Ypsilanti school districts by adding an exciting new partnership with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (Detroit). This partnership has tremendous potential for mutually meaningful professional development activities between the Museum and the College of Education. The College of Education has already assisted the Museum in developing a highly competitive, multimillion dollar proposal for an Underground Railroad Project to be housed at the Museum with curriculum support available to teachers across the country.

Thank you for your continued support of the College of Education. Please enjoy the fall issue of the COE Newsletter.

Vernon C. Polite

Congratulations to the COE Recipients of the Provost's Research Award for New Faculty. Read More

Barbara Bleyaert Leadership & Counseling	Ronald D. Flowers Leadership & Counseling	Jacqueline LaRosa Teacher Education

Michael McVey Teacher Education	Paul Ramsey Teacher Education

Dr. Brigid Beaubien from the Department of Teacher Education was awarded the prestigious Ronald W. Collins Teaching I Award for 2009. Dr. Beaubien's outstanding teaching and commitment has earned her this award and recognition. This award is the highest honor the university presents to an individual faculty member. "The award means a great deal to me because I learned how to teach, really became a teacher, here at Eastern," said Dr. Beaubien. Teacher Ed. has had a total of 13 winners of this award. Congratulations Dr. Beaubien!

Dr. Deborah Harmon, Associate Professor and Director of the Office of Urban Education & Educational Equity, was recently honored with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award. Each year, the University presents the award at the MLK President's Luncheon. The award recognizes individuals from within the University and the local community who exemplify the values and ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Read More

Dr. Jeanne Pietig, retired faculty from the Department of Teacher Education, was the Mace Bearer for the Spring Commencement this past April. Dr. Pietig came to Eastern in 1988 as head of the Department of Teacher Education. She taught for 21 years in the area of Social Foundations of Education as well as supervised student teachers. Dr. Pietig retired in December of last year.

Congratulations to Dean Vernon C. Polite on his election to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Board of Directors. The board is currently comprised of 21 directors who represent almost 800 member institutions. To read more about AACTE and their mission, click HERE.

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research (pdf)
General Service (pdf)
Intellectual Contributions (pdf)
Presentations (pdf)

On March 24, 2009, EMU formally thanked all of its long-term employees at the Decades of Dedication: Employee Recognition Awards.  This year there were ten honorees from the College of Education. Congratulations and thank you for your commitment to service!

Event Program (pdf)

College of Education
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The College of Education's Office of Urban Education and Educational Equity signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The partnership with the Museum, planned to be mutually beneficial, will assist the Museum's capacity to accomplish its mission and goals. The formal signing took place on Monday, May 18th at the Museum in Detroit and was open to the public. A reception followed.

Three Early Childhood Program Students attended the 2008 Network of Michigan Educators (NME) Conference in December. This conference gave these students an opportunity to meet outstanding teachers and administrators as well as hear noteworthy speakers relating to current educational research, policy and practices. COE Student, Jennifer Jary, said, "Attending the NME 2008 Conference was an incredible opportunity and a wonderful experience. I felt extremely humbled and almost felt in shock to be around such significant educators." Another COE student, Heather Hampton, said, "I am very thankful and honored to have had the experience of attending this conference. It was undoubtedly one of the most useful experiences that I have had in preparing to become a teacher." Read More

On March 23, 2009 the Graduate Research Fair took place in the EMU Student Center. The fair showcases outstanding research and creative projects by EMU graduate students. The College of Education was represented by 43 graduate students from the departments of Leadership & Counseling, Teacher Education and Special Education. For more information, visit the Graduate Research Fair website HERE.

Despite the challenging economic climate, charitable giving to the College of Education increased by more than 7% from Fiscal Year 2008 to Fiscal Year 2009! Gifts were largely in support of scholarships for students with financial needs, a trend that will likely continue over the next few years. A $280,000 gift from the Estate of Helene Reader established scholarships in the Department of Special Education for students with financial needs.

The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has awarded a grant to tailor and implement a program to expand services for some of the State's most vulnerable families – high risk teen parents in Washtenaw and Oakland counties. The EMU Wraparound Grant Project is a community-based, collaborative program co-directed by Dr. Karen Carney and Dr. Derrick Fries, both from the Department of Special Education. Read More

The co-editors of Eastern Michigan University's new online journal, PowerPlay: A Journal of Educational Justice, are eager to announce that the first issue is now online for your consideration. The journal seeks to explore the relationships between power, poverty, inequality, race, gender, and rights as embedded in social and educational policy and educational practice. The journal's ultimate commitment is to social justice and urban education in both national and international contexts. Online you will see submission guidelines, a call for papers for the next issue, and additional content regarding PowerPlay. Two issues of the journal will be published annually, and one will focus on the Porter Distinguished Lecture Series' pieces, responses, etc. The journal will publish in May/June and December/January. The writers hope that you, as a member of the College of Education at EMU, will take a look at the journal at www.powerplayjournal.org.

In February, EMU joined iTunes U as one of scores of universities offering video and audio podcasts to the public. Faculty in the College of Education have made an impact with the inclusion of several series including the popular Education Minute (many of which were written by Teacher Education faculty) and The Considerate Podcast, a podcast about podcasting by Teacher Education's Michael McVey.
Visit EMU on iTunes U

On April 16th, 2009 Dean Polite presented a lecture entitled Teaching for Social Justice: Historical & Contemporary Perspectives. The lecture was designed for teacher candidates and was open to all of the COE as well as the University community. Dean Polite will present this lecture again on March 6, 2010 to the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). The lecture will take place in San Antonio, Texas and will be a ticketed event.
Teaching for Social Justice (pdf)

Dr. Beth Harry represented the Porter Chair Lecture Series as it continued on February 12th and again on March 26th. Dr. Harry is a professor in the Special Education Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Miami (Florida). Dr. Harry not only shared her scholarship during the March Lecture series, she honored the COE by speaking at the Celebration of Excellence Convocation.

The John W. Porter Distinguished Chair in Urban Education is named in honor of the former EMU president and State Superintendent of Public Instruction, John W. Porter. It is the first endowed chair in the College of Education.
2008-2009 Porter Chair Series Summary (pdf)
Lecture Podcasts at iTunes U