The university of Iowa College of Education

Table of Contents

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Ryan Kelly (BA ’01) is currently a graduate student/research and teaching assistant at Iowa State University, while completing his M.Ed. and beginning coursework for a Ph.D. in English Education. He previously taught for two years in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and one year at Dowling in Des Moines.

Tammie Cumming

Tammie Cumming (PhD ’02), executive director of the Iowa City-based National Learning and Achievement Organization, was chosen as a 2006 Congressional Medal of Distinction winner. Selected based on her outstanding leadership in business and contributions to the local economy, Senator Tom Reynolds said, “Cumming has served as an Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Committee and has provided much needed support. This award could not have gone to a more deserving candidate.”

The National Learning and Achievement Organization was founded to enhance educational practices and improve accessibility by utilizing the talents of educational professionals from throughout the nation. Its mission focuses on the assessment of educational quality and assisting K-16 educators, administrators, parents, and organizations to overcome the persistent problems in the educational system.

Mary M. Richard (MA ‘02/JD ’04) was recently appointed to the Learning Disabilities Association’s Board of Directors. The Learning Disabilities Association is a voluntary, non-profit organization of parents, professionals, and other interested persons formed to advance the cause of children, youth, and adults with learning disabilities.

Richard is an attorney whose general practice at the Dell A. Richard Law Office in Coralville, Iowa, includes, but is not limited to, education law. She has had long-standing personal and career interests related to improving the lives of students with disabilities. She was the former national president of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and prior to attending law school, served for more than a decade as coordinator of services for students with learning disabilities and ADHD at The University of Iowa.

Kimberly Ruisch Welge

Kimberly Ruisch Welge (MA ’02), who writes under the nom de plume Kimberly Stuart, recently had her first fiction book published. In Balancing Act, her protagonist is a high school Spanish teacher. She received the Iowa Alumni magazine’s first place award for non-fiction writing in 2004.

Roxann Dittmer

Roxann Dittmer (PhD ’03), an early childhood education teacher in Cedar Rapids, has been selected to receive the 2006 Excellence in Education Award sponsored in part by the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA). She was selected from nominations submitted by persons honoring teachers who have made a difference in their lives or in the lives of their child.

“This statewide award was created to give Iowans an opportunity to recognize and thank teachers who have touched their lives,” said Linda Nelson, ISEA president.

Many of today’s students face a variety of problems and challenges that were virtually unheard of a generation ago. That’s why teachers often find themselves tending to their students’ personal as well as academic needs. Dittmer encountered such a child more than eight years ago when she taught second grade at Taylor Elementary School.

Dittmer reached out to RaeAnne Mason during a particularly difficult time in her life; and over the years, the two have developed and maintained a close personal relationship. Now Mason is a happy and healthy teenager who is thriving at Kennedy High School.

“Roxann’s help is something I will treasure for the rest of my life,” Mason wrote in her nomination paper. “She has impacted my life so much. She is my hero and my angel…Dr. Dittmer is my best friend and being able to have her in my life is something not a lot of children have.”

Dittmer is a long-time educator in the Cedar Rapids area. In her current position, she works with children at the Linn County Child Development Center, a community-based preschool. In addition to teaming with preschool teachers to provide learning opportunities, Dittmer also is the teacher for the program that focuses on students with significant social and emotional needs.

Dr. James Bethea (PhD ’04) is an assistant professor in the Human Services and Counseling Department at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. Bethea and his students volunteered their time to provide crisis counseling to families affected by a fire that left over 160 victims homeless.

James Bethea (far R) and his studnets reach out to the community.

Efforts began with a clothing and school supply drive. Bethea, a certified crisis intervention instructor, was contacted about the possibility of providing crisis counseling and immediately accepted the invitation.

“When I was contacted to help, I welcomed the opportunity. I’ve personally and vicariously experienced loss and understand the devastating effects it can have on people,” Bethea said. “Counseling can be beneficial in terms of helping individuals develop positive coping mechanisms among other things.”

Bethea also saw this as a tremendous learning experience for students in the counseling program who joined him to provide assistance. The students were thrilled to have the opportunity to integrate what they’ve learned into real life application.

“What James has done by responding to this local crisis and by leading his students in an important community learning activity is an excellent example of what rehab counselors and rehab counselor educators can do,” Professor Vilia Tarvydas said.

Priscilla Smith

Priscilla Smith (PhD ’04) was named Educator of the Year for professional excellence as Gwinnett Technical College’s program director for early childhood care and education. Gwinnett Tech is one of Georgia’s largest technical colleges, committed to delivering relevant knowledge to meet the workforce training needs of its community.

“The professionals chosen for the Georgia Association on Young Children (GAYC) Quality Service Awards have made a unique contribution to the field of early childhood throughout the past year,” said Dr. Pat Minish, GAYC executive director. “Priscilla models best practices and professional dedication on behalf of the children and families throughout Georgia on a daily basis.”

Smith joined Gwinnett Tech as the Early Childhood Care and Education program director when the college introduced the program in 2003. Before joining Gwinnett Tech, Smith worked for nearly three decades as a teacher and administrator in the early childhood education field.

In the just three years she has been at the college, Gwinnett Tech’s early childhood education program has not only grown from 11 to 200-plus students, but it has also designed and built a model, state-of-the-art learning and training facility. Smith has been instrumental in developing the staffing and curriculum for this new facility, the D. Scott Hudgens, Jr. Early Education Center on Gwinnett Tech’s campus.

The college’s new 26,000 square-foot Center provides students studying early childhood education at Gwinnett Tech a hands-on experience in a quality learning environment, while simultaneously serving as a nurturing educational center for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years.

Jeannette Pawula (BA ’05) was a contestant on ABC’s “The Bachelor: Rome” last fall, vying to win the affections of an Italian prince. Although she didn’t catch the prince, Pawula walked away from the show with strong friendships and a great experience in Rome that will last her a lifetime.

“My biggest concern was [that the other women would be] snotty, but it was the exact opposite,” she said. “All were incredible. I’m grateful for the experience I had. I didn’t compromise myself or change who I am.”

Pawula worked as a history and social-science teacher, as well as a debate coach, at Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, Ill., before taking off the academic year to film “The Bachelor.” She anticipates resuming teaching.

While she can now unwind away from the cameras and media spotlight, she said her trip to Rome has instilled confidence in her that will last a lifetime.

Katie Koenig (BA ’06) is teaching second grade in Maracaibo, Venezuela and is working toward a master’s degree in international education.

Dalton Rejuvenates Teachers

Jane Dalton

Jane Dalton (SE ’92) is proud to have found a career that allows her to make a difference in the lives of teachers and students as a fellow at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT).

NCCAT is the first center of its kind in the United States and aims to help North Carolina’s public school teachers develop a renewed passion for their work through multidisciplinary seminars and professional development programs.

“Teachers leave here feeling rejuvenated, renewed, respected and valued,” Dalton said. “They regain dignity for the profession they have chosen and find camaraderie and support by sharing their personal stories with fellow educators.”

Dalton, whose own passions lie in art, Spanish education, and diversity issues, joined the NCCAT staff in 2006 after serving as a seminar presenter.

Prior to her work with NCCAT, Dalton, who earned her teaching certificate from The University of Iowa in 1992, taught at Augustana College in Illinois, Lesley University in Massachusetts, the Out of Door Academy in Florida, and Cary Academy in North Carolina. Dalton, who earned her master’s of fine arts degree in textile design and weaving, has displayed art work in galleries around the country and co-authored a book, The Compassionate Classroom: Lessons that Nurture Empathy and Wisdom.

Donna Glee Williams, another NCCAT fellow, said she enjoys watching Dalton work with teachers and especially seeing them experience the act of creating art with Dalton’s gentle guidance.

“Just giving teachers the experience of how satisfying it is to make something with their hands, that’s transformational. They feel empowered to bring art into the classroom where art wasn’t,” she said. “It’s good to have a colleague who can firmly say from intellectual knowledge, with data, but also from her own personal heartfelt experience, why art is important in the schools.”

Kirk Hallowell (PhD ’90) moved from a private practice in organizational development to the director of assessment at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.

William McComas

William McComas (PhD ’91) joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville last fall to help develop a doctorate in science education.

The University of Arkansas awarded the former associate professor of science education at the University of Southern California with the Parks Family Endowed Professorship in Science and Technology Education. McComas is the first to hold an endowed professorship within the college.

While at the Los Angeles university, McComas developed a master’s program in science education and doctorate-level science education concentrations. He was the founding director of the Project to Advance Science Education, home of USC’s academic science initiatives.

McComas serves on the board of directors of the Association for Science Teacher Education. His research includes science learning assessment and effective instruction methods including use of non-school environments such as museums and nature centers.

McComas previously taught at The University of Iowa and in Pennsylvania public schools.

He said he hopes to work with other UA colleges to advance science education.

“I look forward to adding the pieces to produce a dedicated graduate curriculum in science education for those who want to enhance their ability to teach science or gain the preparation to become university-based science educators,” McComas said. ©2006 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.

Kathryn Klinger Wieland (MA ‘95) is the director of Career Services for the College of Business after six years as the coordinator of Experimental Learning at Iowa State University.

Judith Anderson (MA’96) is currently doing project work and teaching a leadership class at the University of Minnesota.

Rosalyn Eaton-Neeb (MA ‘97) was the assistant dean of students at Clark University in Massachusetts for five years. She now works at her alma mater, St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

Julia (Hammes) Parcell (BBA ‘93/MA ’98) works in the Office of Service-Learning at the University of Missouri. As part of her responsibilities, she advises new minors in Leadership and Public Service.

Alum Named Journalism Teacher of the Year

Weintraut (L) works with student editors to get out the news.

Alan Weintraut (BA ’94) was named the 2006 Dow Jones Newspaper Fund National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year. He was also named a 2006 Educator of Distinction by the National Society of High School Scholars.

Weintraut, who has taught journalism, AP English, and film studies at Annandale (Virginia) High School, a public, international high school in suburban Washington, D.C., since 1994, also advises the school’s award-winning A-Blast newspaper. In addition, he advises The A-Blast online, a fully loaded site with streaming video and pod casts, Signal DVD yearbook, and the annual International Baccalaureate Film Festival.

Weintraut serves on a Knight-Carnegie panel at Harvard University to examine youth media use and consumption. He advocates empowering students with a global perspective and arming them with new technologies to communicate freely. He is a staunch advocate of the First Amendment and journalistic ethics. Though inside the beltway, a third of Annandale’s students live at or below the poverty line and the student body represents 80 countries and speaks 40 languages. He has written grant proposals and courted the professional media in order to gain access for his students to the upper echelons of journalism.

“I rarely say ‘no’ because I know it will benefit my students in the long term,” he said.

A former editor and photographer for a union newspaper, Weintraut said he combines a sense of social work with journalism. “My effort is to bring a sense of humanity within the realm of journalism,” he said.

When Richard Holden, the Newspaper Fund’s executive director, informed him he had been selected earlier this month, Weintraut said he called his mother, a Red Cross volunteer. She was setting up a shelter in South Carolina for victims of Hurricane Ernesto. He had equipped her with a digital camera and a laptop so that she could record what she saw. “She is my best journalism student,” he said

Last summer, Weintraut spent 10 days conducting a digital photography camp for children in El Salvador, where three of his graduating seniors helped teach middle-school aged children the language of photography. An online gallery of their work can be viewed at www.thea-blast.org/specials/200607/elsavador/index.html.

Lynnea Halberg (PhD ‘87) is the 2005 recipient of the Al Hood Award. Halberg retired as vice president for Student Development at Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia.

Susan L. Sandberg (MA ‘87) is president of the Upper Midwest Region of the Association of College and University Housing Officers.

Sauwanit Saunananda (PhD ’88) is the president of Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University(NRRU) in Thailand. Now open for international relations, Saunananda writes that the university is recruiting exchange students and professor researchers. “NRRU is a unique university in northeast Thailand with historic culture, world heritage, and national parks,” he said. For more information, visit www.ir-nrru.com.

School Counseling’s Outstanding Alum of the Year

Ann Vernon

Ann Vernon (MA ’71/PhD ’81) is the 2007 School Counseling and Counselor Education and Supervision Program’s Outstanding Alum of the Year.

Vernon recently retired after more than two decades of work as a professor and coordinator of counseling at The University of Northern Iowa. Vernon also worked in private therapy practice, seeing between 25 and 30 patients a week for issues ranging from marital conflict to eating disorders. She now lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Vernon entered the counseling profession after working as a classroom teacher in Solon. After noticing that her students were often coming to her with personal problems, Vernon took an introductory school counseling class and was immediately hooked.

“I was passionate about it,” she said.

Associate Professor Tarrell Portman said faculty selected Vernon for this year’s honor because of her outstanding contributions to the state of Iowa in regards to school counseling and mental health counseling.

“Ann is an international and national leader in the counseling profession with many publications dedicated to counseling children,” Portman said. “She truly epitomizes the caliber of graduate we expect to produce at The University of Iowa.”

Vernon said she appreciates the honor.

“I was proud and surprised,” she said.

Pam (Hilgenberg) Fox (BA ’73) recently retired as an instructional strategist after 18 years with the Lewis Central School District in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Last spring she was named the Lewis Central Teacher of the Year. In 1998 Fox was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching for the state of Iowa, receiving her award during a week of ceremonies in Washington, D.C. Currently, she is a program development consultant with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Joan Tephly (MA ‘74/PhD ’81) retired after 35 years in the field of education. As Tephly completed her graduate studies, she was employed as a lead teacher at the University’s Early Childhood Education Center. Upon completion of her Ph.D., she accepted a faculty position at the University of Northern Iowa, where she taught in the area of early childhood education. This was followed by a faculty position at Marycrest International University and a visiting professor position at the UI where she taught elementary education, reading, and language arts.

Tephly says throughout her career, she’s taught people from three to 55 plus years of age. “After teaching children, undergraduates, and graduate students,” she said, “I know my love lies with young children.”

William Allan Kritsonis (PhD ‘76) is currently a professor in the newly established Educational Leadership Ph.D. Program at Prairie View A&M University – a member of the Texas A&M University system, where he taught the inaugural class session at the start of the fall 2004 academic year. Last fall, he chaired the first doctoral student to earn a Ph.D. in the new program.

Kritsonis began his career as a teacher. He has served as a principal, superintendent of schools, director of student teaching and field experiences, invited guest professor, author, consultant, editor-in-chief, publisher, and has earned tenure as a professor at two major universities. His popular book, School Discipline: The Art of Survival, is scheduled for its fourth edition. His textbook, William Kritsonis, Ph.D. on Schooling, is used by professors at colleges and universities throughout the nation and abroad, and his recent book, Ways of Knowing through the Realms of Meaning, is the product of a 24-year collaborative effort with the late Dr. Philip H. Phenix.

Kritsonis is most recognized as the founder of National FORUM Journals. Representing a group of highly respected scholarly academic periodicals, over 4,000 writers have been published in these refereed, peer-reviewed periodicals. In 1983, he founded the National FORUM of Educational Administration and Supervision—now acclaimed as the nation’s leading recognized scholarly academic refereed journal in educational administration, leadership, and supervision. In 1987, he founded the National FORUM of Applied Educational Research Journal, which aims to conjoin the efforts of applied educational researchers world-wide with those of practitioners in education. He also founded the National FORUM of Teacher Education Journal, National FORUM of Special Education Journal, National FORUM of Multicultural Issues Journal, International Journal of Scholarly Academic Intellectual Diversity, International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, and the DOCTORAL FORUM—National Journal for Publishing and Mentoring Doctoral Student Research. The DOCTORAL FORUM is the only refereed journal in America committed to publishing doctoral students while they are enrolled in course work in their doctoral programs. In 1997, he established the Online Journal Division of National FORUM Journals, publishing academic scholarly refereed articles daily at www.nationalforum.com. So far, over 500 professors have published online.

In 2004, he was recognized as Central Washington University’s (Ellensburg, Washington) Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Education and Professional Studies. Nominated by alumni, former students, faculty, and staff, Kritsonis was recognized for achievement in his professional field and his positive contributions to society.

This spring, the ABC-CLIO Encyclopedia of World History invited Kritsonis to write a history and philosophy of education.

Classie Gillis Hoyle (PhD ’77) was re-elected to a second term on the Annapolis City Council. Hoyle, a retired educational administrator, said her background as an educator led her to seek the county seat.

Jeff Stevenson (MA ‘78/PhD ‘82) received the Distinguished Service Award for Bay County Florida from the Economic Development Alliance and is on the Executive Committee of the Occupational Community College leaders in the state of Florida.

V.P. Gore Explores Suicide, Gifted Children

Janet L. Gore

Janet L. (Hieronymus) Gore (MA ’67) is vice president, acquisitions editor, developmental editor, and frequent consultant for Great Potential Press, Inc. When editing, she conducts workshops or classes relating to educational and social/emotional needs of gifted children. She has taught graduate courses in gifted education and creativity and has presented workshops for parents, teachers, counselors, and administrators for local, state, regional, national, and international associations.

Her experience with gifted and talented students includes several years as a teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, policy maker, and parent. For three years, she served as state specialist for gifted education at the Department of Education in Phoenix, Arizona, where she had a leadership role in maintaining quality gifted education programs in 225 school districts, including helping to create new and stronger legislation and funding. She also provided districts with in-service training and technical assistance; and co-authored a book titled The Status of Gifted Education in Arizona (1988).

Gore worked for five years as a counselor and advocate for high school gifted students. She coordinated A.P. programs, internships, mentorships and independent studies in addition to academic advising and college planning. Her experience includes teaching at both middle school and high school levels, coaching winning Academic Decathlon and Future Problem Solving Teams, and three years as a high school assistant principal. She holds an M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Arizona.

Gore recently co-authored the book, A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children, and Grandparents Guide to Gifted Children.

This book shares a tragic example of while other 17-year-olds were deciding which college they were going to attend, one very bright and talented young high school student hanged himself in his bedroom closet. His parents had no idea he was that depressed and angry. Through this guidebook, Gore and authors hope to help parents prevent this from happening again.

“Most gifted children are not suicidal,” the authors report. “However, a staggering one-out-of-four high achievers surveyed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students has considered suicide. Other gifted children suffer from perfectionism; many others underachieve or rebel in negative ways. Parents are the most important influence in the long-term outcome of a child’s future, yet parenting gifted and talented children often is quite challenging.”

In A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children, the four authors, including Gore, emphasize the importance of family relationships, and explain how to build and support them in today’s pressure-packed world. They offer practical guidance and answers to issues such as underachievement, unhappiness, depression, motivation, intensity, sibling issues, parenting concerns, and much more.

Robert D. Brown (PhD ‘66) received the Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Campus Community at University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Lynn H. Willett (BA ‘64/MA ‘66/PhD ‘70) retired as president of Muskigum Area Technical College in Zanesville, Ohio, in 2004.

Richard Ploeger (MA ’58) retired in 2004 after 51 years in Iowa public education. His career included 46 years as a chief administrator, five as a teacher, nine as a K-12 superintendent, eight as a county superintendent, and 29 years as an Area Education Agency chief administrator. Ploeger received his doctorate in 1967 from the University of South Dakota.

Ploeger’s children have taken root at The University of Iowa. His son, Jeff, received a B.B.A. in 1977, and his granddaughters, Emily Cameron, who is studying elementary education with plans to complete her student teaching next fall, and Meredith Ploeger, who is studying marketing, are also Hawkeyes.