Class Notes

Boulder-based author Phyllis J. Perry (PhDEdu) has written more than 90 books, and she’s still going strong. In 2017, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Authors’ League. She plans to publish four books this year: Missing Bones, Buddies, Bullies and Baseball, All About Julia Morgan and It Happened in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Peggy Campbell Rush (MEdu), a graduate in elementary education and teaching, was named a Fulbright specialist by the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The appointment, which runs from 2018 to 2021, matches specialists with foreign host institutions from over 150 countries to share expertise, strengthen international collaboration and learn about other cultures. Rush writes that her love of travel was sparked while attending CU Boulder, where she sailed around the world twice as the assistant executive dean for the Semester at Sea program. She lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Mark S. Sonntag will retire after working 31 years as Professor and Planetarium Director in the Department of Physics and Geosciences at Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas and 42 years in the planetarium profession.

Harvard History Professor Philip J. Deloria (MusEdu) was elected to the American Philosophical Society. His research and teaching focuses on the histories of the relations among American Indian peoples and the U.S., as well as the histories of Indigenous peoples in a global context.

Ken Cooper recently published Becoming a Great School: Harnessing the Powers of Quality Management and Collaborative Leadership, drawing on his 39 years as an educator, 22 of which he served as principal of the Paul F. Doyon Memorial School in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

John Hoover (PhDEdu), a graduate in curriculum, administration and supervision, was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame of the College of Education at Illinois State University for his significant contributions to teaching and learning. He is an associate research professor in CU Boulder’s School of Education. Previously, he was director of research and evaluation for CU Boulder’s American Indian Science and Engineering Society. In 1996, he co-founded Electronic Pathways, which provides teachers of American Indian students with training in educational technology.

I am now retired from the Cherry Creek Schools as a mathematics teacher after 36 years of service. I am still a pilot examiner for the FAA, and a grandpa a few times over.

BJ Meadows completed thirty years as a public school science teacher, staff/curriculum developer, and principal for Jefferson County Public Schools. She and Marilyn Saltzman co-authored the book "Building School Communities, Strategies for Leaders and are currently publishing another education book that focuses on learning by doing. BJ currently teaches classes for OLLI at Denver University.

Ellen Polsky is the Director of Education at the Nationalities Service Center, a non-profit in center city Philadelphia that provides services to immigrants and refugees, including 7 levels of ESL classes to adults from 60 + countries who speak 70 + languages. Ellen oversees 250-300 volunteer teachers per year plus 2 staff members and manages the department's funding.

Sandra Fly-Ross-McDivitt Wong so "appreciated my education at CU and was so grateful for the grant I received from the BUENO Department in the early '80's to earn my M.A. I was serving a growing population of immigrants and refugees from Southeast Asia in the St. Vrain Valley School District at that time. Working collaboratively with CU's education department helped me better serve our new families and their children."

In Sandy (Fly) McDivitt's 39 years in K-12 education in Colorado, California and India, she has created a foundation for serving as Co-chair on the Board of Directors for Ananda College in Gaston, Oregon. Multicultural and alternative education have been her life passion. Ananda College promotes 'higher education for higher consciousness' and provides a path for students who don't fit into a traditional mold.

Randy Nathan recently published Bullying in Sports: A Guide To Identifying The Injuries We Don’t See. He is an international keynote speaker and workshop facilitator on positive leadership and coaching, with a focus on anti-bullying strategies in sports.

Lisa Haley (MEdu) has been a public schools (Boulder Valley School District) retiree for the last five years. In 2019, Haley became a graduate student at the Colorado School of Mines in the Space Resources program (at age 65!).

After working as a secondary language arts teacher and alternative high school administrator, Tracy Wagers, secondary teacher licensure graduate, is beginning her eighth year with the Public Education and Business Coalition in Denver. As a coach and instructor, Wagers guides adult learners to earn their teaching license through a yearlong, nationally recognized teacher residency. “Helping create strong teachers committed to educational equity has helped expand my impact beyond the classroom in deeply satisfying ways,” Wagers said.

Elisa Robyn, Phd was promoted in 2015 to the position of Academic Dean of the College of Contemporary Liberal Studies at Regis University. This college comprises undergraduate completion degrees for adults, as well as graduate programs in Criminology, Education, and an innovative design your own degree option.

Milissa Nelson lives in Sartell, MN and recently published her first novel, Seasons of Raina, with North Star Press.

After 16 years of working at the Barrier Islands Center, located on an 18-acre farm in Machipongo, Virginia, Sally Dickinson (MEdu) has been appointed executive director of the cultural center that preserves the history of the Barrier Islands along Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Dickinson will focus on expanding education and opportunities for local children.

Paul D. Deering (PhDEdu), a graduate in instruction and curriculum in content areas, is a professor of education at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (UHM), where he has worked since 1993. He received his PhD in education from CU Boulder in 1992, and conducted postdoc research for another year on a fellowship from the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Deering teaches in master’s and PhD programs in education at UHM, and directs the synchronous, online PACMED Program for working educators—M.Ed. in Curriculum Studies with a Pacific Islands STEAM focus (science, technology, engineering, arts, math).

Paul D. Deering is a Professor of Education at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (UHM), where he has worked since 1993. He received his Ph.D. in Education from CU Boulder in 1992, and conducted post-doc research for another year on a fellowship from the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Paul teaches in Masters and Ph.D. programs in education at UHM, and directs the synchronous, online PACMED Program for working educators -- M.Ed. in Curriculum Studies with a Pacific Islands STEAM focus (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math). PACMED and its earlier in-person version has graduated 267 persons to date at a greater than 96% completion rate. There are now 80 students in the program from all the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, the US mainland and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Graduates have won numerous awards, including Hawai‘i State Teacher of the Year, American Samoa Territorial Teacher of the Year, and Hawai‘i Association of Middle Schools Educator of the Year. Paul has taught, presented and published on education and adolescence in the US, Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, Japan, Indonesia, Spain and the Republic of Marshall Islands.

Robert McIntyre is a licensed psychologist specialized in forensic and neuropsychology, consequent to completing several post-doctoral specialty training programs. He has an office and hospital practice in Boulder; and has consulted in civil, criminal, family law, and military justice trials held in AZ, CA, CO, FL, ND, SD, SC, TX, and WY.