University
of Iowa Recognized as Educational Administration Leader
The
University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) recently
recognized The University of Iowa as a member in good standing
of its 70-member major U.S. and Canadian research universities
consortium.
UCEA,
founded more than 50 years ago with the University of Iowa
as a charter member, has grown to become the collective of
top research institutions with educational leadership and
administration programs. The inter-university collaboration
improves the preparation of educational leaders and promotes
the development of professional knowledge in school improvement
and administration. The UCEA community expands far beyond
its institutional members. Because UCEA members prepare future
school leaders, their community extends into the very spaces
where children learn and grow.
Education
Leader Joins Iowa’s Faculty
One
of Iowa’s most connected educational administrators,
Dr. Marcus Haack, joined the faculty last fall as a clinical
associate professor. Haack, drawing upon his broad professional
knowledge base, now teaches University of Iowa students how
to succeed in educational administration.
While
Haack’s career has included many exciting challenges,
including Spanish teacher, principal and superintendent
at Hudson (Iowa) High School, consultant for the Iowa Department
of Education, and associate director for the School Administrators
of Iowa, he believes he’s finally found his niche
in teaching future school administrators and supervising
student field experiences.
“Marc
brings a new, valued perspective to the educational administration
program,” said Professor Carolyn Wanat, program coordinator. “His
experience at all levels in Iowa education enriches our
program. His perspectives are invaluable to us as we refine
the field experience component of our masters and principal
licensure programs.”
Haack’s
graduate students agree. “Dr. Haack brings an enormous
amount of enthusiasm, knowledge, and experience to the
classroom,” said Scott Mahmens. “He has been
through the battles that education comes up against and
he offers a wide range of suggestions and alternatives
to use to help you become a successful school administrator.”
Debra
Vierling, graduate student and alternative school director
says Haack is a wonderful complement to Iowa’s faculty. “With
his compassion for students, educational expertise, and
wicked sense of humor,” Vierling said, “he
understands and appreciates goals not only for students’ education,
but also their lives.”
Although
he received his B.A., M.A., and Ed.D. degrees from the
University of Northern Iowa and is a Panther at heart,
Haack says he’s impressed with the University of
Iowa’s distinguished history, faculty and student
dedication, and overall sense of quality. “The culture
here is so open and supportive,” Haack said. “Students
come from all over the world, providing a wide variety
of backgrounds and experiences that enrich dialogue and
interaction and receive a tremendous education at Iowa.”
Foley
Focuses on Future
Educational
Administration Professor Walter Foley didn’t
start out to be a teacher, but a stint in the military during
the Korean War redirected his life.
“I
knew that as long as I was training for my military job, I
wouldn’t be sent to the front,” Foley said, “So,
I found the longest technical school I could attend to avoid
being shipped out. Turns out that was wire mechanic school,
which was 30 weeks long. I always did well on tests, and I
must have had a flare for teaching, so they kept me on as an
instructor. The rest is history.”
Five decades
of history, in fact. Foley began teaching at Iowa in 1965.
Since then, he has trained legions of educational administrators,
helped settle teacher contract negotiations across Iowa, and
influenced the education policies of Thailand, Nigeria, Korea,
and the United States. His depth and breadth of experience
provide a unique perspective on current trends in educational
administration.
“Most
of us tend to think that everyone does things the way we do,” he
said. “But when you see other people and study their
educational systems, you can see the drawbacks not only in
their approach but also in our own.”
Foley bemoans
the trend in American education toward more high-stakes testing,
decreased local control of schools, and increased pressure
on children and teachers to perform according to uniform standards.
He also notes that schools seem to be “a convenient target” in
contemporary political and journalistic rhetoric. “New
federal legislation like the No Child Left Behind Act mandates
all kinds of things about school funding,” Foley says, “but
the federal government doesn’t provide the funds. I guess
I’m just a big fan of local control.”
Foley notes
that Iowa is a good example of how local control can produce
generations of excellence in education. Rural schools, in particular,
serve not only as education centers, but also as cultural centers
that help maintain a strong sense of community. Foley honed
his expertise on rural schools by serving as a mediator, arbitrator,
and fact finder for more than 200 teacher employment contracts
in school districts across Iowa. Because he visits the schools
and listens to teachers and administrators in the trenches,
he has an incomparable understanding of what makes schools
tick, and he has passed that knowledge on to two generations
of Iowa students.
After Foley
retires in August, he plans to continue arbitrating and fact-finding,
as well as tend to his extensive collection of hosta plants
and travel, including a trip to Korea to renew ties with former
students who traveled halfway around the world to learn from
a master. –by Jean Florman
Please
help celebrate Professor Walt Foley's 38 years at The University
of Iowa on Sunday, August 31, 2003, 2-5 p.m. in Iowa City.
More information will be available after May 1 online at
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