Building on the strength of the University’s land-grant mission
and taking inspiration from our roots as a pioneering
‚”agriculture school,” the School of Education leads UC Davis
into its second century eager to stake our claim as an engine for
change in education.
Founding Dean Harold Levine lays out his vision for the School:
to serve as a model for a different kind of school of education,
one whose work makes a concrete, identifiable and relevant
difference for educators, policymakers, students and communities.
Just two years after its founding, the School of Education is
making steady progress toward building its leadership and funding
capacity to grow and serve the region’s education community. With
the establishment of a Board of Advisors, the School gains key
support and guidance from a group of regional leaders in
education, business and government. A major grant from the
National Science Foundation enables the School to strengthen its
commitment to providing the very best professional development
for teachers and serving as the professional home for teachers
statewide.
Making good on the dean’s vision to lead the state in research
and outreach in education policy and leadership, the School of
Education establishes a new doctoral program in educational
leadership and becomes the home of the statewide network for
afterschool programs. In addition, the School sees enrollment in
all academic programs grow and celebrates the recognition many of
its alumni and faculty receive for excellence in their fields.
Eager to raise the profile of teachers and strengthen the
training they receive, Dolly and David Fiddyment of Roseville,
Calif., establish the School of Education’s first endowed chair
with a $1 million gift. The chair is one of only a handful of
academic chairs in the country focused on teacher education.
From the founding of an innovative preschool to a three-fold
increase in students and faculty, the School of Education is on
the move at the five-year mark. Partnership, collaboration and
philanthropic support are the keys to the School’s rapid growth
and realization of its overriding purpose to make a difference in
ways that will benefit real kids in real classrooms every day.
In the midst of the campus’ centennial anniversary, the School of
Education’s Center for Cooperative Research and Extension
Services (CRESS) marks its 20th anniversary. Offering the most
respected teacher professional development; innovative and
effective outreach to schools and organizations serving youth;
and evaluation services to government, schools and university
researchers, CRESS deeply reflects the School’s commitment to
doing work that really matters in and out of schools to enhance
the education of all learners.
After seven years, the School of Education moves into its
permanent home at the corner of First and A Streets, the City of
Davis entrance to campus. Before the dust settles, the School
launches several new programs aimed at strengthening teachers’
understanding of academic literacy, empowering youth to find
their voice, and encouraging alumni to become more engaged with
the School.
The School of Education continues to grow, introduce new programs
and events, and, most notably, take big leaps into enterprises
few schools of education are willing to try. Case in point: the
School launches a new center that will seek to create
partnerships and leverage the talent and expertise of the
university to create new, cutting-edge programs, services and
products for the K-12 marketplace.
As the School of Education grows, so too does its reputation,
particularly among alumni, foundations, and others interested in
supporting and partnering with the School. The School achieves
what appears to be a monumental goal: reaching the halfway mark
in its ultimate goal to raise $16 million toward the $1 billion
campus goal for The Campaign for UC Davis.
In addition to growing graduate programs and adding new outreach
programs aimed at teachers and youth, the School of Education’s
faculty continue to teach more and more undergraduates. The
excellence of faculty undergraduate teaching and the confidence
that government, foundations and corporations have in the quality
of faculty research and instruction is reflected in the awards
and grants faculty receive.
