Vol. 20, No. 2 - Spring 2004

Currents

Education Sciences Building: Don’t stop calling!

As this issue of Link goes to press, the fate of funding to renovate the Education Sciences Building still rests in the hands of the state legislature which has not yet issued its version of the state bonding bill.

Funding for the building, once known as the Mineral Resources Research Center, was included both in the governor’s bonding proposal and that of the higher education finance committee of the state House of Representatives. This is encouraging—but if the bonding bill has not been passed by the time you receive this Link, please call your state representatives and ask that they support the University’s bonding request—including $13 million for the Education Sciences Building.

Get more information about the University’s request and learn ways to support it!

Polar Huskies more than half of the way

The Arctic Transect 2004 expedition traveling through Nunavut in Arctic Canada, has survived numerous whiteouts, winds between 50 and 100 miles per hour, and “mild” days of -50 degrees Fahrenheit. In early April they made it to the Quoinch River where they hoped to make better time.

The team, including Aaron Doering, instructor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, posts regular journal entries, photos, and short videos on the GoNorth! Web site. The college and Nomads Online Classroom Expeditions are cosponsoring Arctic Transect 2004 which plans to complete its journey in early June.

GIANTS!

Have you been thinking about who in the college you might like to nominate to be included as a “Giant”? These are the faculty and staff who, through the years, have made the college the outstanding institution that it is today. We’ve received many wonderful responses to this request already. Please add yours!

Send us your nominations for “Giants of the College.” We will print this “giant” collection in time for the college’s centennial in 2005–06. Send your “Giants” to us via e-mail (rader004@umn.edu) or regular mail (105 Burton Hall, 178 Pillsbury Dr. SE, Minneapolis MN 55455) or fax (612-625-2404).

Legislators and educators: No speeches, no lectures, just good conversation

Over the winter, two different groups of faculty and staff met with legislators who requested the college’s expertise.

Peggy DeLapp, elementary education coordinator in curriculum and instruction, Byron Egeland, professor of child development, Scott McConnell, professor of education psychology and director of the Center for Early Education and Development, and Marty Rossmann, associate professor of family education, spoke with state Sen. John Hottinger, chair of the new Senate early childhood education committee. They talked about school readiness, and comprehensive interventions to help children and families.

Another group of faculty and staff met with state Sen. Steve Kelley to discuss the achievement gap. Topics included the need to focus on school improvement, effective use of technology, how to stabilize student movement among schools and districts, funding for out-of-school activities, and more effective use of time in schools.

Those joining Kelley were Martha Bigelow and Lesa Covington-Clarkson, assistant professors; David O’Brien, and Barbara Taylor, professors, all in curriculum and instruction; Mark Davison, professor of education psychology and director of the Office of Educational Accountability; Carole Gupton, interim director of Continuing Professional Studies; and Jim Stone, associate professor of career and technical education.

Look for us in August!

Yes, the College of Education and Human Development once again will be at the University of Minnesota State Fair Building near the Snelling Avenue entrance on Dan Patch Avenue. We’ll be featuring the Arctic Transect 2004 team and its polar huskies, as well as last year’s popular feature that allows you to send a postcard to your favorite teacher. Deans, faculty, and staff will be at the booth daily to share information about the college, its research and programs, and to answer your questions. Stop by and get a free ruler!

Walk this way…

Jürgen Konczak, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, and his Gait and Posture Laboratory were visited in January by a television production crew making a documentary about Bigfoot for the Discovery Channel and Outdoor Life Network.

Konczak was asked to view film and video footage of Bigfoot sightings and to analyze and comment on the gait pattern of the creature pictured.

Konczak says, “I did not venture to confirm that this was the gait of an unknown primate species. The gait was not like the ones seen in great apes (e.g., gorillas). It had human-like qualities, but it was not a normal human walk either. If it was a ‘guy in an ape-suit,’ he certainly did a good job trying to be peculiar. Overall, it was a fun experience for the lab. We just don’t get this stuff everyday.”

New rankings

U.S. News & World Report has issued its 2005 rankings for professional graduate programs, naming the College of Education and Human Development 19th among 155 graduate schools of education in the country, 11th among public institutions.

Departments and programs in the college named in the top 10 include: vocational/technical, tied for second with Pennsylvania State University; counseling and student personnel psychology, tied for third with University of Florida; educational psychology, sixth; and special education, sixth.

Ranked in the top 20 are: elementary education, tied for 11th; secondary education, tied for 13th; curriculum and instruction, 13th; administration/supervision, 14th; educational policy, in a three-way tie for 18th; and higher education administration, tied for 20th.

Riverbank Review closes its pages

Although both the college and Riverbank Review, a nationally known, locally produced magazine about children’s literature, hoped that a partnership between them, announced last fall, would allow the magazine to get back on its feet financially, pressing debts forced Riverbank to make the difficult decision to cease publication at the end of 2003.

Special education grant awarded

A team of researchers led by Christine Espin, educational psychology professor, and Teri Wallace, research associate in the Institute on Community Integration, have won a $4.5 million federal grant to help special needs students who are integrated into general-education classrooms.

The team will work with Minnesota teachers to track the individual progress of integrated special education students while at the same time evaluating those students’ success in general classroom work.

Focusing a small-town lens on teaching science

The college, in partnership with the University’s College of Biological Sciences, has created the Rural Teacher Associate Program (RTAP) to place undergraduate students from the U into classrooms alongside science teachers in northwest Minnesota. As teacher associates, they will help to incorporate new science activities into the classroom and get a chance to experience teaching as a career option and life outside the urban area as a living option. Teachers and teacher associates both receive stipends for their extended efforts.

What an impact!

Dean Steve Yussen, second from left, congratulates the four teachers who won the Impact Award for Distinguished Teaching. This is the first year the award was given. Awardees, from left to right: Arnold G. Rethemeier, Perham High School, agriculture teacher and 4–H leader; Lois Demers, Hopkins High School, a special education teacher; Mary Bloomgren, Peter Hobart Primary Center, St. Louis Park, a school library media specialist for grades K–3; and Jeffrey Miller, St. Peter High School, a biology teacher.