September 2015 Newsletter

SCHOLARSHIP NEWS

Three New Funds Established to Support Students

We are pleased to share that the School has recently established three new funds to receive donations from alumni and friends. The EdD Student Scholarship Fund and PhD Student Scholarship Funds will provide annual support to student(s) in those respective programs, while the CANDEL Program Fund will help provide the general support needs of the CANDEL program (EdD degree). These new funds join our existing School of Education Annual Fund and Teaching Credential/Masters Student Scholarship Fund. We greatly appreciate gifts of any amount to support the School through these special funds.

WORDS TAKE WING

We’re thrilled to announce that Sheila Hamanaka, the 2016 Words Take Wing: Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature author, will be the special guest on October 12 at a fundraising event for Words Take Wing. To learn more, contact Sarah Harlan at 530-752-8647 or sharlan@ucdavis.edu.

SCHOOL AND FACULTY UPDATES

Associate Professor Emily Solari Recruiting Children with ASD Ages 7-11 for Reading Clinic

Do you or someone you know have a child with an autism spectrum disorder who also struggles with reading comprehension difficulties? Emily Solari is enrolling children in her new Reading and Academic Development Center for a brief reading comprehension intervention tailored for children with ASD who are between 7-11 years old. Read more…

Assistant Professor Cassandra Hart Awarded $1.6 million US Department of Education Grant

Assistant Professor Cassandra Hart will work with Susanna Loeb of Stanford University and Brian Jacob and Brian Rowan of the University of Michigan. The researchers from University of California, Davis, will share in a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to launch a three-year study of K-12 virtual schooling in Florida. The study will explore how virtual schooling options affect students’ course progression, academic achievement and teacher effectiveness. 

Kevin Gee 2015-2016 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow

Assistant Professor Kevin Gee has been awarded a 2015-2016 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship. The fellowship award of $70,000 is intended to assist with the fellow’s salary replacement and research expenses for the fellowship period.  

Laurels for UC Davis

Washington Monthly Magazine ranked UC Davis 16th in the nation based on our contribution to the public good in the categories of social mobility, research and service, and ranked UC Davis 4th in the nation in the category of Best Bang for Your Buck….The Sierra Club ranked UC Davis number 2 on its list of America’s Greenest Universities, out of a field of 153 organizations, saying “UC Davis’s academic programs stand out for their environmental focus.”…And Greatist included UC Davis on its list of the 25 Healthiest Colleges in the United States, mentioning that Aggies “aren’t just fed good grub, they’re also educated about it.”

STUDENT SUCCESS

Paul Cody, who is earning his EdD through the School of Education’s CANDEL program, was awarded the Margene E. Orzalli Scholarship this summer at an awards ceremony with Chancellor Linda Katehi. He is the Assistant Director of the UC Davis Center for Student Involvement. The UC Davis Staff Scholarship Program was created to provide career staff employees an opportunity to continue their education while concurrently employed at the university. In addition, Paul received a STAR Award for going above and beyond the campus’s core values.

ALUMNI MAKING NEWS

Cirilo Cortez (MA ’08, PhD ’12) is back on campus three years after earning his doctorate in education. This summer he became the Director of Strategic Chicana/o and Latina/o Retention Initiatives for Student Affairs at UC Davis. “I earned a doctorate to be an example to the Chicano/Latino community not only here in Davis but statewide,” he said, “and to develop the skills I’d need to do more for this community. I saw myself being an advocate for their success in education. We need more professionals in higher education advocating for this population.” Read more…

EVENT PHOTO GALLERIES

UC Davis School of Education Fall Welcome

Check out the photo gallery from our September 21 Fall Welcome event! It was wonderful to see new students, family members, faculty, staff (and lots of kids) having a great time together. Thanks to everyone who attended and made this a special event.

Shakespeare Works When Shakespeare Plays

Did you attend this special teacher training conference over Labor Day weekend, or have you always wanted to know what goes on in the sessions? Watch the highlights via our slideshow. This year a special workshop included a lesson in making stage blood.