Alumni Spotlight

Phillip B. Gordon

“Our” Mayor of Phoenix

Have you ever heard of the front-porch bench initiative? Phoenix Mayor Phillip B. Gordon — who happens to be a 1972 UA College of Education alumnus — and City Council members launched the initiative in 2004. It’s amazingly simple, and here’s how it works: Residents are encouraged to buy a bench and sit on their front porches or in their front yards. “The front porch bench serves as a symbol, and we are asking residents to get to know their neighbors, watch who comes and goes, know who is alone, who has children, or who doesn’t belong in their neighborhood,” said Gordon on the www.phoenix.gov site. “By paying attention, being vigilant, and assisting others, we will help to build healthy, crime-free communities.” Thousands of benches have been donated to the project.

Before serving in elected office, Gordon was a leader in the movement to revitalize, preserve, and redevelop central Phoenix. Pledging to fight crime and preserve neighborhoods, he was elected to the City Council in the late 1990s in the district that had been his home since childhood. He was elected mayor of Phoenix in 2003, with 72 percent of the popular vote.

I Did Not Know That!

The College of Education is home to the state’s only programs to prepare rehabilitation counselors and educators of the deaf and blind.

The Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and School Psychology (SERSP) is dedicated to the empowerment and inclusion of culturally diverse people of all ages with disabilities and special abilities.

To achieve this goal, we conduct research on abilities, disabilities, adaptations, interventions, and support systems; prepare professionals to educate and facilitate the development of those with disabilities and special abilities; and provide leadership at the local, state, national, and international levels.

We offer nationally recognized degrees to prepare teachers, counselors, specialists, administrators, school psychologists, and researchers in the fields of special education, rehabilitation, school psychology, gifted education, sign language/deaf studies, and educational interpreting.

For more information, send an e-mail to sersp@u.arizona.edu .

Let's Give Them Something to Talk About

It’s official — this staff is a first!

For the first time, the College of Education Alumni Council’s Outstanding Educator Award was given to a school’s entire faculty. Remarkably, all 21 of these teachers are UA alums!

On May 2, the staff and students of TUSD’s Davis Bilingual Elementary Magnet School were called to the cafeteria, but they didn’t know why. However, they knew something was up when they saw TV cameras and reporters waiting for them. The only person who knew what was going on was Principal Christopher Loya, who nominated the teachers.

Davis is a small, inner-city school. It draws from a section of the community that cannot provide significant financial support. At the same time, however, the staff has created a recognized dual-language education program in which all students become bilingual by the fifth grade. The teaching staff’s advocacy for the children is unquestionable. Their energies extend beyond the classroom into the afternoons and evenings. There is a remarkable camaraderie among all members of the staff, which only adds to the extraordinary success of the school.

Not only did the story hit the local news, there was even a mention in USA Today.

Tim Daldrup, fourth- and fifth-grade teacher at Blenman Elementary School, also received an Outstanding Educator Award. Blenman Principal Bobbe Woods says, “When future teachers come to our school to observe teachers, I always get them to Tim’s classroom. This is what a good teacher is, and they should see it.”

The final Outstanding Educator Award this year went to Elizabeth Murrieta-Hoover, counselor at Mission View Elementary School. Her award notes, “Her commitment to the children is astounding, and she continues to check in with them and their new teachers long after they have moved on.”

The It Takes a Village Award went to the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Program for its work with the Mammoth/San Manuel School District. Principal John J. Ryan says, “Many of our tutors have told me that their reward is the light that goes on when a student begins to understand a concept. I don’t believe the volunteers truly understand how much light they have shone on our community.”

Dean Marx and Naomi Karp

These awards were presented at a formal reception at the Arizona Inn on May 11.

At the end of the reception, Dean Ron Marx called College of Education alumna Naomi Karp — the first director of the National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education — to the podium. Dean Marx told the audience that President Peter Likins would present her with the Alumni Achievement Award, the highest recognition given to an alumnus by the Alumni Association, during the upcoming Commencement.

Dean Marx reflected on the profound impact Naomi Karp has had on millions of children and disabled people across the country and beyond. Former Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley wrote, “Naomi is held in the highest regard for her genuine compassion and her steadfast efforts to make a better life for young children, particularly the less fortunate among us.”

Awards & Honors

Charlene M. Kampfe

Luis Moll

William J. Valmont

Bruce Johnson

Karen Sesler

• Charlene M. Kampfe, associate professor in the Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and School Psychology, is the recipient of the American Counseling Association’s 2005 Counselor Educator Advocacy Award. The award, presented at the ACA annual convention in Atlanta, is given to an ACA member who is involved in legislative advocacy training and development. She has taught a generation of students the importance and the skill of writing to and visiting with their legislators.

• Luis Moll, associate dean for academic affairs, is the recipient of the Maria Urquides Laureate Award, given in honor of the Tucson educator and College of Education alumna who was a pioneer in bilingual education and a tireless advocate for the social and education rights of children. Much of Moll’s research focuses on Latino children and issues of culture, psychology, and education. His work promotes cultural awareness not just benefiting children, but the community, state, nation, and world.

• William J. Valmont, professor emeritus in the Department of Language, Reading, and Culture, received the Computers in Reading Research Award from the Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group at the International Reading Association’s recent convention in San Antonio. He also gave a speech, “Golden Opportunities: Connecting Literacy and Technology.” He will be a keynote speaker at next year’s convention in Chicago.

• The American Educational Research Association presented the Best Published Paper Award (Special Interest Group: Learning Environments) to Bruce Johnson, assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Teacher Education. The paper, “Validity and Reliability of a Shortened, Revised Version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey,” was coauthored by Robert McClure of St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.


At the College of Education Staff Advisory Council Luncheon on May 18, several staff members received kudos (and a nifty cash gift!) for their diligent work throughout the year:

• Mary Ann Bescript — Gold Excellence Award

• Yvonne Gonzalez — Silver Excellence Award

• Michelle Lozano — Peer Recognition Award

• Maria Fierro — Service Award

• Mary Anne Schiavone — Service Award


And from the College of Education Instruction Technology Facility, recognizing outstanding skills at using technology to enhance or streamline work:

• Karen Sesler — Silver Mouse Award

• Kerith Morriss — Silver Mouse Award

Yes, the recipients actually do get a silver computer mouse!

Now That's Sage Advice

Michael McVey

Michael McVey, coordinator for technology services in the College of Education Instructional Technology Facility and an adjunct assistant professor, was highlighted recently on www.edutopia.org and in Edutopia Magazine, both part of the The George Lucas Educational Foundation. In each issue, readers are asked to share their solutions to some of today’s thorniest educational problems. Here’s Michael’s sage advice to Edutopia’s latest thorny issue: What five things would you do to save public education?

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