News
Spring 2014 Student News
PhD Student Angie Cortes received the 2014-15 UC Davis Dissertation- Year Fellowship. Only six 12-month fellowships are awarded each year to doctoral students who are in the final stages of their doctoral work demonstrating strong potential for university teaching and research. Recipients receive a stipend of $25,000 and their in-state fees are covered. They also receive a research fund of $500 and a travel allowance of $500.
Early Career Fellowship Awarded to Danny C. Martinez
Danny C. Martinez, assistant professor of education, has been selected to be a 2014 Concha Delgado Gaitan Presidential Fellow by the Council on Anthropology and Education. This early career fellowship is intended to support professional development and mentoring in the field of educational anthropology.
Only five fellowships are awarded each year, which pairs up early career scholars with senior scholars and comes with a $500 travel award to cover the cost of presenting at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association.
Alumnus Featured on Capital Public Radio to Discuss His Novel
May 2014
Ken White (BA ‘72, Credential ‘73) has written Getaway Day, a coming-of-age novel set against the backdrop of the 1962 World Series. The novel is published by Tate Publishing and is available through the publisher, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. White studied English and history at UC Davis before receiving his teaching credential. He worked on campus for Instructional Television from 1969-1975 and for the College of Engineering from 2006-2009.
Alumni Council Chair Honored for Service by Cal Aggie Alumni Association
2014
Sandi Redenbach (Credential ’73), a retired English and theater arts teacher who overcame a tumultuous adolescence, was awarded the 2014 Aggie Service Award for her dedication of time, energy, volunteerism and leadership in support of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and UC Davis.
Heidi Ballard Co-Writes Policy Forum: Next Steps for Citizen Science
Science, March 28, 2014
Heidi Ballard, associate professor of education, co-wrote a piece for Science highlighting the growth and evolution of citizen science projects.
California School Principals Give High Marks to UC-Prepared Teachers
Posted - April 2, 2014
Public school principals in California say beginning teachers who received their credentials through the University of California are among the best prepared in the state, according to a recent survey.
Teachers as Students: Preparing the Next Generation – Q & A with the Dean
March 2014
Dean Harold G. Levine shared his thoughts on preparing teachers for 21st century classrooms in the March/April issue of Leadership, a publication of the Association of California School Administrators. Read the full Q & A here.
Danny C. Martinez Honored for Research on Black and Latino Youth’s Language and Literacy Practices
In recognition of his scholarship on the use of language among Black and Latino youth in urban English Language Arts classrooms, the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research (NCTEAR) has honored Danny C. Martinez, assistant professor of education, with an award for his continued work to increase diverse perspectives into how we examine language and literacy in multicultural and multilingual communities.
Jamal Abedi Recognized by Peers for Distinguished Public Service
March 2014
Professor Jamal Abedi has received a 2014 Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award from the UC Davis Academic Senate. The award recognizes significant contributions to the world, nation, state and/or local community through distinguished public service. Up to four (4) awards are made annually.
Alumna Nancy Chinn Honored for Research and Leadership on Concussion Management
Posted - Feb 2014
The concussion management program at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, Calif. was named as the 2014 Grand Silver winner of the NASPA Excellence Awards. The effort is led by Dr. Nancy Chinn (EdD 2010), chair of the Disability Resource Management Department.
Alumnus Tony Barcellos Receives Award for Scholarship and Service
Tony Barcellos (PhD ‘05) received the American River College Patrons Club’s 2014 Faculty Chair. The annual award recognizes an American River College professor for exceptional teaching, commitment, and service to education.
Michal Kurlaender Named Among Most Influential Education Researchers
Associate Professor of Education Michal Kurlaender has been named among the 200 most influential education researchers in the country.
Past Words Take Wing Author Recognized for Lifetime Achievement
Authors Fredrick and Patricia McKissack are the recipients of the 2014 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The announcement was made today by the American Library Association (ALA). Patricia McKissack was the featured author of Words Take Wing: Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature in 2007. Read more here.
New Book About Fiddyment Family Traces History of California Pioneers
David Fiddyment, a major donor to the School of Education and an innovative leader in California agriculture, and co-author Christina Richter have released Walk with me, I want to tell you something – The Story of the Roseville Fiddyment Family.
For 150 years the Fiddyment family owned and operated ranches in some of the most picturesque countryside in northern California. Their history has links to the Donner Party and the Gold Rush. It includes the struggles and triumphs of being one of the most successful long-term ranching families in the state. Seven generations of this family have called Roseville, California their home. This is their story. David, along with his wife Dolly, established the School’s first endowed chair the Dolly and David Fiddyment Chair in Teacher Education.
Michal Kurlaender Named Chancellor’s Fellow
November 19, 2013
Michal Kurlaender, associate professor of education, has joined an elite group of UC Davis faculty members named 2013-14 Chancellor’s Fellows. The honor recognizes outstanding records of achievement among early career faculty. Each fellow receives a $25,000 prize to support his or her research, teaching and service activities. Kurlaender retains the title of Chancellor’s Fellow until July 1, 2018. The Davis Chancellor’s Club and the university’s Annual Fund support the program.
Research on Community-Based Professional Development and the Politics of Profanity
November 2013
Vajra Watson, director of research and policy for equity, published an article titled “Censoring Freedom: Community- Based Professional Development and the Politics of Profanity” in Equity & Excellence in Education, Vol. 46, Issue 3, 2013. In the Special Issue: Social Justice Approaches to African American Language and Literary Practices, Watson documents the tensions rising from a program that encourages youth to write and perform poetry that taps into their lived experiences in tough neighborhoods and often contains profanity.
Leveraging Funding for Expanded Learning
Article by Renee Newton, Frank Pisi, and Joanne Bookmyer
In an article in the November/December 2013 Leadership magazine, a publication of the Association of California School Administrators(ACSA), the UC Davis School of Education’s Renee Newton, Frank Pisi and Joanne Bookmyer make the case for California school districts with expanded learning programs to use a portion of the extra Common Core funding they are slated to receive to ensure children in out-of-school-time programs are well prepared to tackle the new standards. Read the full article at ACSA’s site.
Newton is the director of the Center for Community School Partnerships in the School’s CRESS Center, Pisi is director of the California Afterschool Network, and Bookmyer is director of collaborative projects.
Attending elite colleges benefits even those less academically prepared
Research by Professor Michal Kurlaender featured in article by Karen Nikos, UC Davis News Service
July 2013
University of California-eligible students with weaker high school grades and test scores typically fared about as well, after four years in college, as higher-ranking students who were admitted, according to a new University of California, Davis, study.
Professor Cary Trexler Awarded Grant from Vietnam Education Foundation
July 19, 2013
The U.S. government’s Vietnam Education Foundation has awarded a U.S. Faculty Scholar grant to Glenn Young and Cary Trexler of the University of California, Davis. Both are associate professors, Young in the Department of Food Science and Technology, and Trexler in the School of Education.
The one-year grant will support the establishment of a participatory research class in Vietnam, for Vietnamese undergraduates, to guide them through projects related to preharvest, postharvest, food science, crop science and food safety.
Dean Speaks on Next Generation Science Standards
On July 10, 2013, Dean Harold Levine addressed the California State Board of Education on the adoption of Next Generation Science Standards.
“The next-generation standards demand next-generation teachers,” Levine said. Most of them learned science the old way, which is what these new standards are designed to change. “In order to break this cycle, teacher education programs must evolve innovative ways of educating our new teachers into a world of hands-on learning, interactive teaching and new habits of mind that prioritize conceptual understanding, learning how to learn and learning across academic fields,” he said. Read full coverage at EdSource.
