2024: New Leadership to Grow the School’s Reach and Impact

General School News

Prof. Tom Smith was appointed dean for the School of Education by Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan.

Research and Collaboration

Faculty and alumni of the UC Davis Capital Area North Doctorate in Educational Leadership (CANDEL) program published a themed issue of Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice. This special August 2024 issue, Voices from CANDEL: Leading for Equity and the Scholar-Practitioner Journey, responded to a gap in research by scholar-practitioners informing the field of educational leadership, and underscored the critical importance of a doctorate in education (Ed.D.) for fostering equity-driven leadership.

Alumni and Community Support

Sharon (Kurakazu) Takahashi, Cred. ‘75, and Gary Takahashi, both UC Davis alumni, made a generous gift to support School of Education students pursuing their multiple-subject teaching credentials who demonstrate financial need, with a special preference for first-generation college students.

In other news:

• Dr. Anne Jones, the School of Education’s Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Community Partnerships, was appointed to serve as a member of the Committee on Accreditation for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing for a four-year term starting July 1, 2024.
• Brent Sasaki was named the new Assistant Director of Development for the School of Education, and started his role on November 4, 2024.

Faculty News

• Prof. Danny C. Martinez was promoted to Full Professor. His research focuses on empowering non-dominant students in language arts and literacy education through broadening teacher development in social justice and expansive language ideologies.
• The School of Education welcomed Dr. Charles E. Wilkes II to faculty as an assistant professor. Wilkes’ research focuses on the teaching and learning of Black learners in K-16 contexts, including how mathematics instruction supports the learning of mathematical content and the nurturing of positive mathematics identities for Black learners.
• Prof. Lauren E. Lindstrom received a five-year appointment as a Distinguished Visiting Professor for the University of Johannesburg. In her first year, she presented at the international symposium, “Reimagining Support for Fathers of Children with Neurodiversity,” hosted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Centre for Neurodiversity.
• Dr. Maisha T. Winn, chancellor’s leadership professor in the School of Education, was voted president-elect of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She will join the AERA Council in 2024–2025 as president-elect, and her presidency will begin at the conclusion of the association’s 2025 annual meeting.
• Profs. Kevin Gee and Torry Winn were nominated to serve on the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting Policies and Procedures Committee and the Research Advisory Committee, respectively. They will both serve three-year terms.

Awards and Recognition

Prof. Alicia Rusoja was named a 2024 Society of Hellman Fellow, and received a $49,000 award to support her research on the transnational educational practices and experiences (PK-12 and community education) of undocumented Venezuelans migrating across the Americas and into the United States.

Prof. Emeritus Peter Mundy received the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s annual meeting in Melbourne, Australia.

Sam Blanco III, Program Director of the School of Education’s Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search programs for high school students, received the 2024 WESTOP Steve Holeman Award.

Speaking Opportunities

Prof. Michal Kurlaender was a featured speaker in the National Academy of Education and the Equity Assistance Center-South webinar “How to Improve Access to Rigorous Coursework,” which explored the vital role of rigorous coursework in academic success, including equitable access to preparatory schooling and courses from elementary and middle school through secondary education.

Prof. Alicia Rusoja was an invited speaker at Expo Educación Medellín 2024 in Medellín, Colombia, and presented on the panel “Education, Migration and Transformation: Inclusive and Equitable Schools.”

Professor Darnel Degand served as a keynote speaker at the Fifteenth Annual International Graphic Novel and Comics Conference in Norwich, England. His presentation was “From Golden Legacies to Afrofutures: The Common Themes in how Black Cartoonists use Communications Technologies.”

Dr. Lisa Sullivan, Continuing Lecturer/Supervisor presented “Equity focused supervision: Feedback from field supervisors on their needs and concerns” at the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE) Fall 2024 Conference.

Profs. Marcela Cuellar and Alexis Patterson Williams presented at the UCLA Civil Rights Project’s education research and policy briefing “A Civil Rights Agenda for California’s Next Quarter Century.”

Publications

Profs. Torry Winn and Maisha T. Winn co-edited the book Faith Made Flesh: The Black Child Legacy Campaign for Transformative Justice and Healthy Futures with Vajra M. Watson and Kindra F. Montgomery-Block.

Prof. Nicole Sparapani co-authored “Do Teacher Perceptions of Students’ Academic and Behavioral Skills Influence Time Spent in Small-Group Reading Instruction?” published in The Elementary School Journal.

Prof. Kevin Gee co-authored “Explaining disparities in absenteeism between kindergarteners with and without disabilities: A decomposition approach,” published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Prof. Elizabeth Montaño and Dr. Rosaisela Rodriguez co-authored “First-Generation Chicanas with Doctorates Advocating for the Next Generation of Educational Leaders,” a chapter in the book First-Gen Docs: Personal, Political, and Intellectual Perspectives from the First-Generation Doctoral Experience.

Profs. Jennifer Higgs, Lee Martin, Megan Welsh, Alexis Patterson Williams, and Danny C. Martinez co-authored “Simulating Identities: Ethical Considerations of Representing Racial and Ethnic Identity in Teaching Simulations,” published in the proceedings of the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences 2024.

Grants

The Office of Research awarded grants to Profs. Darnel Degand and Kevin Gee under the Humanities and Social Sciences Stimulating Exceptional and Essential Discovery (SEED) Funding Program.

Prof. Faheemah Mustafaa and a team of researchers received $25,000 in one-year seed funding for exploratory research in the category of “Challenging Ableism in STEM: Mapping the Intersectional Landscape of Disability Status with Gender and Race/Ethnicity.” The seed initiative was co-sponsored by UC Davis, University of California Alianza MX and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.

Prof. Megan Welsh received a 2023–24 Seed Grant for International Activities from UC Davis Global Affairs for her project “Enactment of Classroom Assessment Standards in Chilean Teacher Preparation Programs” in Chile.

Prof. Jennifer Higgs was among a group of researchers awarded a prestigious $3.5 million Transformative Research Grant from the Spencer Foundation. Their project aims to examine the implementation of Asian American Studies (AAS) in five states with divergent political contexts.

Three School of Education research teams were awarded 2024 Public Impact Research Initiative (PIRI) Grants by the UC Davis Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement.

• “Cultivating Youth and Community Resilience in Maui, Hawaiʻi”:
  Prof. Heidi Ballard and Ph.D. candidate Jadda Miller worked with Kihei Charter School and Kipuka Olowalu in Maui on wildfire mitigation through land stewardship.

• “Stewarding Future Veterinary Professionals”: Profs. Alexis Patterson Williams and Faheemah Mustafaa partnered with Breakthrough Sacramento to focus on diversifying the veterinary profession through education and outreach.

  “A Bilingual Documentary on COVID-19’s Impact on Latine/x Immigrant Communities”: Prof. Alicia Rusoja produced a bilingual documentary capturing the profound effects of COVID-19 on immigrant communities in South Philadelphia, offering insights into their resilience and political mobilization.