College offers relevant
student-centered education

Excitement in addition to the new Education Building

We are dedicating significant coverage to the details of the Education Building in this issue of The Professional, and while the new building is truly a marvelous undertaking, I want to introduce you to some other new and exciting things that are happening in the College of Education and Human Services.

We have experienced some changes in departmental leadership this 2006-07 academic year. Dr. Richard Fox, long-serving chair of the Department of Counseling and Special Education, decided last spring to return to full-time teaching this fall. Dr. Suzanne Shellady, who has served as coordinator of the special education program, has assumed leadership of the department. Dr. Renay Scott, former chair of teacher education and professional development, much to our regret has left CMU to assume a deanship at Owens Community College in Ohio. She was replaced this year by Dr. Leonie Rose from the reading and literacy faculty.

College introduces new programs

We have created several new programs within the college. We are very pleased with the successful implementation of the interdisciplinary leadership minor housed in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services Administration. Dr. Roger Coles, department chair, and his faculty are to be highly commended for their concerted efforts in bringing this program to fruition. It is the first of its kind in the state of Michigan and was much in demand by our students, of whom more than 100 registered for this minor.

Faculty members in the human development and family services program within the Department of Human Environmental Studies have launched an accelerated program that allows superior undergraduate students to begin taking graduate courses during their senior year so they can complete both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years. Also in the department, the apparel merchandising and design program has received approval to move forward with plans for a master’s degree within the discipline. We hope to launch this program in the next academic year.

Teacher education has initiated an innovative “2 + 2” elementary education program on the Lansing Community College campus. The department will deliver the entire junior and senior years of the program to the Lansing campus. CMU faculty members will teach the majority of the courses for the program, which involves an integrated science major and reading/literacy minor. Such collaborative programs are important in meeting the needs of community college students who are committed to entering the teaching profession but who may be place-bound for a variety of reasons.

Teacher education also expanded its international program offerings this past May by taking a group of undergraduate students to Oaxaca, Mexico, for their mid-tier experience at La Salle, a well-recognized first- to 12th-grade school. This program was made possible through the existing service learning program in Oaxaca established four years ago by faculty in the Department of Human Environmental Studies’ child development program. With the two groups joined in one May experience, they were able to plan a number of events even more economically and provide for extended collaboration between the two programs.

Through the efforts of Shellady, we are pleased to announce the location of the Michigan Assistive Technology Resource (MATR) Center to CMU. Funded through a state department grant, this center provides materials to teachers throughout our region who are working with special needs students. We are excited about this acquisition and view it as a first step in our goal to become a state and regional center for the demonstration and evaluation of assistive and adaptive technology for children and adults with special needs.

Technology enhances educational leadership

Educational leadership continues to expand its educational specialist’s program in Atlanta, Georgia. Many of the courses are delivered by faculty traveling to Atlanta, although with the technology that will be available in our new building, more audio-visual contact will be available through distance-learning means. Another exciting development in educational leadership is Dr. Pamela Eddy’s plan to design a summer study tour for graduate students and education alumni to China where they will study the educational system in three major locations, as well as have opportunities for planned cultural study and field trips. Watch our future newsletters and our Web site for more information about this exciting study tour.

As you can see, we not only are eagerly working through the planning of our new Education Building, but all of our departments within the college are continuing to be leaders and innovators in providing relevant, student-centered education. I invite you to explore the pages of The Professional to learn more about the College of Education and Human Services!

Karen Adams, Dean
College of Education and Human Services

Dean Karen Adams