Alumni Spotlight: Friend to Butterflies

Lola White often gets butterflies about butterflies!

Who better to spotlight in springtime than Lola White, our very own alum (1942), who worked diligently to make the Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) Arizona’s State Butterfly.

Why this butterfly? According to White, this is a beautiful butterfly that is indeed Western, since it is only found west of the Mississippi. “This butterfly has the colors of the Arizona flag (yellow, red, and blue) and has 14 blue dots to mark the date of February 14, the day in 1912 when Arizona Territory became a state!” White says, enthusiastically.

White has been interested in butterflies since childhood. She grew up in Nogales, and her mother had a beautiful garden with many flowers and insects. “We even had flying fireflies at night and, of course, many butterflies during the warm, sunny days,” she says. “The purpose of having a state butterfly was to focus on the problems that construction, herbicides, and global warming were having on butterfly lives. Butterflies are second behind bees for plant and tree pollination.”

Thanks to Lola White,  this is Arizona's State Butterfly

Butterfly Quest 2007 is a project that gives clear information about butterflies in readily accessible digital files. It is written so that anyone can make a presentation about butterflies, even with little or no butterfly background. The downloadable files have interesting information about butterflies and moths, the kind of plants that attract those insects, and important conservation hints. Colorful Power Point slides accompany the text. As White says, “It’s more than a series of beautiful butterfly pictures. It’s like having a butterfly presentation available at one’s convenience.”

For more information on Butterfly Quest 2007, go to her site here, or contact White directly at lbwhite1619@cox.net.

White is proof once again that the College of Education has the most amazing graduates!

Renaissance Scholar Gone Wild!

John Pedicone (aka Erasmus)  sang, "I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter," encouraging donors to send in their checks!	Erasmus even had a set of groupies who screamed and chased after the Renaissance scholar (who knew they had groupies back then?!!?)

We love the annual Erasmus Circle Dinner because it gives us an opportunity to thank our alumni and friends for the wonderful support they provide for the College of Education. Without them, we could not accomplish the remarkable scholarship and research that happens here every day.

This year’s event, held February 28 at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, was spectacular!

Teacher Tim Daldrup and The Blenman Elementary School "Cool Hand Ukes"

Many thanks to Tim Daldrup, the students’ director and teacher, for providing us with such delightful entertainment. (And, yes, we had an “in”: This fabulous teacher is married to our director of development, Nina Daldrup!)

We also premiered our latest video, “Opening Doors,” which can be viewed in iTunes by clicking here.

Special thanks go to Villa Feliz Flowers for the stunning centerpieces, which matched our royal purple and gold Erasmus color theme.

• Shirin Dara Antia, Professor of Special Education, Rehabilitation & School Psychology
• Walter Doyle, Professor of Teaching & Teacher Education
• Jenny J. Lee, Assistant Professor of Higher Education

Here’s more on these shining stars (and if you click on each of their names, you can send them your own notes of congratulations!):

Dean Marx with Antia

Shirin Dara Antia 
Professor of Special Education, Rehabilitation & School Psychology
A stellar faculty member in teaching, service, and outreach, Shirin Dara Antia is an active researcher with numerous publications and several research grants to her credit. In fact, she is prolific, having garnered more than $3.7 million in federal funding for personnel preparation over the past 17 years. Through these grants, she has filled the need for teachers and service personnel in the deaf and hard-of-hearing areas. She has provided extensive outreach across the globe.

 

Dean Marx with Doyle

Walter Doyle
Professor of Teaching & Teacher Education
Walter Doyle’s courses are among the most popular in his department, partly because of his reputation as one of the most illustrious names in the field, but also because he is known as an innovative teacher who takes great care with his students. He is one of the leaders behind the establishment of the Wildcat School, a charter school with a math and science emphasis designed to serve poor children from underrepresented groups on Tucson’s south side.

Dean Marx with Lee

 

Jenny J. Lee
Assistant Professor of Higher Education
Jenny Lee’s merits and accomplishments shine not only in her individual performance, but also in her ability to positively shape the work of those around her. She has inspired and led her academic program to focus its coursework and research on social justice. She is deeply involved in critical outreach initiatives surrounding K-12 education as they relate to preparing students for higher education. Her teaching evaluations are quite remarkable and her work is always exceptional, both in quantity and quality.

Erasmus Circle member Dorothy Finley with one of our founders, Stevie Mack (who also happens to be the chair of the Erasmus  Circle committee)	A proud member of the "Cool Hand Ukes"

Introducing... Sort Of!

We have a new Teaching & Teacher Education department head at the College of Education. Please welcome Bruce Johnson, who officially begins his new role July 1. If his name sounds familiar, it should. He already is an associate professor in the department and was named an Erasmus Circle Fellow last year. He has an impressive international reputation as a scholar in environmental science and science teacher education. His specialty is science education, with a focus on environmental science, and he teaches in both TTE and the College of Science. His work is cited extensively in science education literature.

Johnson is the originator of the Tucson Basin Environmental Learning Colloquium and has developed a partnership with the Pima County Department of Natural Resources to work with local elementary teachers in professional development using the Earthkeepers program. His outreach activities bring long-term and far-reaching benefits to the college, the university, students, and teachers.

This also is a great opportunity to thank Richard Ruiz for his four years of service as interim head of TTE. We are very grateful to Ruiz for his willingness to serve and his tremendous leadership during the last four years.

For Teachers Only: International Travel Grant

Under the Eurasia/South Asia Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA), the U.S. Department of State and the International Research & Exchanges Board announce a competition for secondary-level teachers of English as a foreign language and social sciences to participate in a two-week professional exchange program in one of the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Ukraine.

Eligible applicants must be:

• Secondary-level (middle or high school) teaching professionals with five or more years of classroom experience in disciplines including English as a foreign language, English language or literature, and social sciences (including social studies, civics, and history)
• U.S. citizens
• Able to travel April 5-18, 2008

The program is fully funded and provides: visa support, round-trip domestic airfare, lodging and meals for the conference, round-trip airfare from the U.S. to the assigned country in Eurasia or South Asia, emergency medical evacuation plan, recommended vaccinations, and lodging and a daily stipend in the host country.

Application deadline: April 2, 2007. Applications can be downloaded here.

For more information, contact Tova Pertman at 202-628-8188, ext. 135, or tea@irex.org.

Kudos to Our Faculty & Alumni

Professor Ofelia Zepeda, who is a faculty member in both our Language, Reading & Culture department and the linguistics department, has been named a Regents’ Professor. The title Regents’ Professor serves as recognition of the highest academic merit and is reserved for only 3 percent of tenured faculty members at Arizona’s public universities who have demonstrated exceptional scholarship and outstanding achievement.

Supalla

Associate Professor Samuel Supalla

Kampfe

Assistant Professor Jenny J. Lee in Higher Education and Charles Rice (a doctoral graduate in Higher Education) wrote “Welcome to America? International Student Perceptions of Discrimination,” which appeared in the international journal, Higher Education.

Romano

Associate Dean and Language, Reading & Culture Professor Luis Moll, along with LRC graduate Joel Dworin, co-edited a special issue on bilteracy for a London publication, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy.

Rosi Andrade, an LRC doctoral grad, was honored by the National Minority AIDS Council as an “Unsung Hero.” She has spent more than a decade working with and advocating for women and adolescents who have been plagued by marginalization, discrimination, poverty, and substance use. Here’s more on our remarkable graduate.

First-Ever Residential Community for College of Education

Newly admitted pre-education majors now have the chance to live in a friendly and supportive environment designed especially for education students!

Students can create peer groups, take common courses, interact with faculty and staff at various events planned especially for the education community, and share a unified goal of becoming an educator through our outstanding teacher preparation programs.

The Pre-Education Living-Learning Community will be located on a floor in Colonia de La Paz.

For more information, click here, or contact Albert Muniz at 520-626-9940 or muniz@email.arizona.edu.

New Science Education Scholars Program

Would you like to be part of the next generation of science education researchers? Our new UA Science Education Scholars Program could be just what you’re looking for. This program will prepare doctoral students for sound educational research and scholarship in culturally and linguistically diverse elementary and middle school settings.

We are accepting applications for fall 2007 and are looking for candidates with a background in the sciences plus a strong interest in addressing important issues in science education. A variety of funding opportunities will be offered to support your professional growth, including teaching and research assistantships. Upon completion of the Ph.D., you will be prepared for positions in university teaching and research, public and private research, and school leadership.

College of Education Presents: The New Early Childhood Education Major

We have a new major for Early Childhood Education (ECE), and our first cohort will begin in the fall. There will be one cohort class per semester so admission will be limited to approximately 30 students per application cycle.

Also, the Arizona Department of Education has instituted a new ECE certificate that will be required for any candidate teaching birth through kindergarten beginning July 2009. The certificate is strongly encouraged for teachers in grades one through three. Beginning in July 2009, the elementary certificate will cover grades one through eight.

For more information, contact your academic advisor or Director of Admissions Ann Parker at 520-621-1238 or aparker@email.arizona.edu.

Student Teacher Professional Development Conference

The Spring 2007 Student Teachers Professional Development Conference — a day of intensive professional development for more than 325 student teachers — included nearly 40 presenters and an abundance of camaraderie, as these photos prove.

TIAA-CREF, our annual sponsor for this event, provided lunch for all attendees. Our featured speaker was Kristin Bourguet, Arizona’s Teacher of the Year.

For more information, contact Director of Field Experiences Shirley Fisher at 520-621-5905 or sjfisher@u.arizona.edu.

Proud to be in red!	Taking a break from one of the many sessions, which included differentiated instruction, English language learners, and classroom management

From left: Director of Development Nina Daldrup, Dean Marx, TIAA-CREF Director of Institutional Client Services Will Hurley, Director of Field Experiences Shirley Fisher, and Associate Dean Bob Hendricks

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