Kathy Escamilla, professor of social, bilingual and multicultural foundations, has been appointed the next Bob and Judy Charles Endowed Chair of Education.
“Decades before it was popular to conduct high-impact research in the context of practice, Professor Escamilla was a model, demonstrating to all of us how it was possible to conceptualize and carry out this kind of work,” said Lorrie Shepard, dean of the School of Education, at the induction ceremony. “Her work has significantly advanced the field of bilingual and biliteracy education research.”
Escamilla's research centers on educational issues related to Spanish-speaking language minority students in U.S. schools. She is specifically interested in issues related to the development of bilingualism and biliteracy in early elementary grades. Her recent research has also examined assessment practices and the impact of high stakes testing on these children.
In addition, Escamilla is an accomplished teacher and mentor, bringing a rich background of expertise to her classes, including theoretical knowledge of cognitive development and language acquisition, research training in sociolinguistics, practical teaching experiences in a variety of school settings, and extensive knowledge about assessment and second language policies and their impact on classrooms, Shepard said.
“Since coming to the University of Colorado Boulder in the Fall of 1998, Professor Escamilla has received nearly all A and A+ course and instructor ratings in her student evaluations,” she said.
The Bob and Judy Charles Chair in Education was created to permanently fund a faculty position in the School of Education while providing additional research funds for the honorary recipient. In 2004, Bob and Judy Charles gave a $1.5 million gift to create the School of Education’s first endowed chair.
Margaret Eisenhart, professor of educational foundations in policy and practice and research and evaluation methodology, was the inaugural chair from 2004-2016. The Charleses have been long-time supporters of CU Boulder and devoted advocates of the School of Education. Judy is a School of Education alumna and Bob is the chair of the school's development board. Bob remembers when they decided to establish the chair and shared their plans with Dean Shepard.
“Judy and I took her to lunch. We said 'when you’ve got time.' We didn’t want to make a big deal of it,” he said. “We told her listen, we would like to create an endowed chair in the school. I thought Lorrie was going to fall of her chair… We were awestruck that she was that touched. We were just happy to be helpful.”
The couple's classic humbleness was apparent at a recent event recognizing the “passing of the torch” inducting Escamilla as chair. Sitting in the corner of the room the Charleses smiled quietly as Professors Eisenhart and Escamilla shared their appreciation and Dean Shepard credited them and their gift as the “reason we have a development program in the School of Education.”
“You are two of the most remarkably generous, non-limelight people we could possibly know, Bob and Judy,” Shepard said. “We are enormously in your debt.”
> View the Photo Album from the Charles Chair Induction
Related Faculty: Kathy Escamilla, Margaret Eisenhart