2019: A Year in Review

As the year comes to an end, we like to look back on some of the CU Boulder School of Education's notable accomplishments and milestones. As we look ahead to future initiatives, we hope to keep steadfast in our dedication to democracy, diversity, equity and justice. Here are some of our top highlights from 2019.

1. Preparing for our move to a new campus home in 2020

• The School of Education made an exciting announcement in March — we’re moving into a new campus home and the renovated Fleming building in 2020 to create beautiful, collaborative spaces that will house all our students, faculty, staff and research centers over the course of the two-phase process.

• Thanks to the generosity of CU Boulder supporters Suzanne and Dave Hoover, the School of Education is well on its way to getting a new home featuring state-of-the-art learning labs and dynamic collaborative spaces. The Hoovers have donated $2.5 million toward a renovation project that will help the school transform space in its future new home to reflect its mission of excellence and innovation in education.

2. Welcoming new faculty into our community 

• Meet our five new faculty members we welcomed into our community this fall who are adding to the breadth and depth of our faculty research and learning community.

3. Celebrating our outstanding graduates and more

• At our School of Education Graduation Ceremony in May, we recognized seven exemplary education graduates who all exude a deep commitment and passion for education. Read our outstanding graduate features to learn more about these students and their advice for future graduates.
• We were thrilled to have our first cohort of Master’s in Higher Education students graduate this spring. Meet Paula Abitia, a recent MA graduate who is paying it forward as a higher education professional in the McNeill Academic Program.

4. Numerous faculty honored with national and university awards

Vicki Hand, Olivia Gardner, Pilar Prostko, Johanna Maes and Laurie Langdon

• Bill Penuel was elected to join the National Academy of Education (NAEd), which advances high quality education research and its use in policy and practice. “As a leading scholar in learning sciences, Professor Penuel has dedicated his career to designing and implementing educational policies, professional learning programs and curricula for a more just and equitable educational system,” said Dean Kathy Schultz. 
• With a theme focused on what it takes to truly know and love students, CU Boulder celebrated excellence in education by recognizing five faculty members — including Wendy Glenn, professor of literacy studies — K-12 teachers, and graduate students with Best Should Teach Awards.
• The Women Who Make A Difference award, organized by the CU Boulder Center for Inclusion & Social Change, numerous women across campus who made a significant impact within the CU Boulder community. This year, education community faculty, staff and students including Vicki Hand, Olivia Gardner, Pilar Prostko, Johanna Maes and Laurie Langdon were among the awardees.

5. Celebrating students and alumni with national and local accolades

• Nominated by one of her students, doctorate student Kirsten Musetti Tivaringe was one of 30 literacy leaders named to the International Literacy Association’s 30 Under 30 list, a cohort of young innovators, disruptors and visionaries creating positive change in the global literacy landscape.

• CU Engage announced six new community-based research graduate fellows, education students Ana Contreras, Molly Hamm-Rodrìguez, and Ashley D. Scroggins, who are all in pursuit of mutually beneficial academic research developed with community partners.

• Doctoral student, Tafadzwa Tivaringe, attends United Nations' Transforming Economies for Better Jobs Conference in Thailand.

• Kevin Lowe, MA in curriculum and instruction alumnus, was named a 2019 Knowles Science Teaching Fellow, a highly competitive fellowship and network program for promising early career STEM teachers.

• In one of the campus' longest standing traditions, the 90th annual alumni awards ceremony honored extraordinary alumni, including two from the CU Boulder School of Education. Dave Aragon is a 2019 recipient of the Robert Stearns Award, honoring faculty and staff for extraordinary achievement, and Jacalyn Colt received the George Norlin Award, one of the university's highest honors acknowledging the devotion to the betterment of society.

6. New books from faculty examine distrust in education, vulnerability in the classroom, and intersectional approaches to diversity and inclusion. 

• In Dean Kathy Schultz's new book, Distrust and Educational Change, Schultz draws on her own experiences to make the case that distrust in many forms is the elephant in the room for school reform—rarely talked about head-on but still capable of stifling even well-meaning attempts at change.
• Literacy Studies Professor Elizabeth Dutro's new book, The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy: Centering Trauma as Powerful Pedagogy, lays out a road map for how educators can begin to incorporate the difficult life experiences of their students into day-to-day school activities—from essay prompts to lessons on poetry.
• When friends and colleagues Johanna Maes, director Master’s in Higher Education program and Senior Instructor of the Multicultural Leadership Scholars program, and Elena Sandoval-Lucero could not find an intersectional teaching tool to aid in grappling with often painful situations that affect marginalized people in higher education, they launched a book project to fill the gap. The book, Case Studies in Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Higher Education: An Intersectional Perspective, also features contributed chapters from CU Boulder School of Education and CU Engage colleagues including Charla Agnolotti, Ashmi Desai, Karen Ramirez and Sabrina Sideris.
• Take a quick look at what colleagues are saying about our faculty’s recent book publications, as featured in our Voices magazine.

7. Expanded and revised program pathways for future teachers

• The Middle School Mathematics Licensure Program is an innovative new track for non-math majors interested in teaching mathematics in the middle grades 6-8, an area of high demand across Colorado districts and beyond.
• A new one-year, immersive MA+ humanities teacher licensure program for future English language arts and social studies teachers is designed to further emphasize equity and justice by placing three key themes at the core of the curriculum: power, privilege, and positioning; culture and diversity; and professional identity.
• Our new STEM Education certificate offers STEM majors an opportunity to teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts in local schools while developing the skills to more effectively communicate STEM topics.

8. Second year of Ed Talks explored myths around bilingualism, humanizing education and more.

• Missed our Ed Talks? Explore our talks from the year—ranging from topics like "What Reality TV Taught Me about Everyday Assessment" to "Claiming our Humanity as Educators"—with our Ed Talks video archive.