SPRING 2001

Thoughtful, knowledgeable, and effective educators for a diverse society

Woodring News and Notes...

Kim Retirement

After thirty years at Western, Educational Foundations professor Robert Hyung-chan Kim retired at the end of winter quarter. His commitment to teaching, scholarship, and professional leadership has brought national and international recognition to Western Washington University.

His work in international studies, especially his scholarship on Korean education, is legendary. His scholarship has deepened our understanding of the continuing relationships between educational policy and practice, and the larger social forces that shape them.

Kim also leaves a legacy with the many students he has taught over the years, both in the Educational Foundations Program and the American Cultural Studies Department. The cultural perspective he brought to his courses has challenged students and expanded their horizons. His life and work have brought great distinction to our university.

In recognition of his professional contributions, his former colleagues have recommended him for Emeritus status. Although Kim will continue to teach several classes each year for Western, the focus of his research will be with the very presti-gious Seoul National University and Koryo University in Gochiwon, Korea.

Additional Faculty Updates

Included in WWU's recent tenure and promotion awards were the following:

Karen Hoelscher has also received the University Diversity Achievement Award for 2000-2001. One such award is given each year by the President for the furtherance of efforts which enhance diversity and multicultural understanding on the WWU campus.

Les Blackwell, who retired from Instructional Technology in June 2000, was awarded the distinction of Professor Emeritus by President Karen Morse.

Angela Harwood, Secondary Education, was awarded the WWU Excellence in Teaching Award for 2001; only two such awards are given each year.

Staff Updates

In an effort to consolidate Woodring's teacher certification and endorsement activities, and in recognition of many of the teacher certification responsibilities that Dana Edward (Dean's Office) had assumed, Dana's position has been changed to Certification Officer and Endorsement Specialist. In this role she will continue to process requests for intern substitute certification as well as the Residency Certificate and accompanying endorsements. Responsibilities related to the new professional certification will also fall under Dana's purview. Kimberly McDaniel, Woodring Extension Services, will work with Dana to support extension student certification and endorsement needs.

Sherry Haskins was hired last winter as Program Coordinator for the Department of Adult and Higher Education, replacing Jan Roehl who retired after more than 30 years of service at Western.

Lisa Anderson, Special Education, will receive her M.Ed. in Student Personnel Administration in June.

Internet Rights Forum

The Educational Foundations Program Area and the Whatcom County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union recently co-sponsored the third annual Education Law and Social Justice Forum. Aaron Caplan, ACLU attorney, moderated the forum's discussion on the Internet rights of students, teachers, and professors. Specific topics explored during the forum included appropriate discipline procedures related to student misuse of school computers, home computers, and home web sites; legal guidelines for using school computers for political activity; problems inherent to academic freedom and Internet use; and legal issues regarding chat rooms, Internet sites, and e-mail. For more information on the annual Education Law and Social Justice Forum, please contact Lorraine Kasprisin at 360/650-3347, or lorraine.kasprisin@wwu.edu.

Oral History as Community Theater

James Lucal, faculty member in the Human Services Department at Woodring's Seattle campus, is involved with a special project in which stories from community members are told and enacted by trained actors. Participants include the Friends of Third Place Commons; the Shoreline Historical Museum; students from Shorecrest High School; and Threshold Ensemble, a theater group Lucal directs.

The project involves the collection, telling, and spontaneous enactment of oral histories related to the local area in order to help build community cohesiveness and a sense of place in the Lake Forest Park neighborhood.

Educators and Human Services Professionals Honored

Over 280 people gathered at the Best Western Lakeway Inn on May 12th for Woodring's annual Awards for Professional Excellence program and luncheon. Western President Karen Morse and Provost Andrew Bodman joined Dean Marv Klein in congratulating the 31 teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, superintendents, school secretaries, school board members, volunteers, and others. They were nominated by their peers and selected for making outstanding contributions in the fields of education or human services.

Woodring Student Wins Honors

Hollie Renee Johnson, who graduated Winter 2001 with an interdisciplinary B.A. degree along with a certificate in elementary education, has won the Outstanding Honors Student of the Year Award for 2001. Studying with Kate Wayne, Educational Foundations faculty member, Hollie wrote a paper for her final project focusing on educational reform and its relationship to both the concept and the language of redemption.

In her paper, School Reform and the Metaphor of Redemption, Hollie establishes the antecedents of American faith in school as a redemptive institution, paying particular attention to how the incorporation of science as an authority is linked with historical concepts of change and progress. The contradictions between perception and practice reveal multiple and conflicting tensions embedded within the public education system. Within this context, Hollie discusses the language of reform and the significance of rhetoric in defining the boundaries of educational change.

George Mariz, Director of the Honors Program, stated, "The Honors Program expects work in the senior project to meet a high standard; Hollie's was exceptional." Wayne adds, "Involvement with a person like Hollie, with her vivid intelligence and sneak-up-on-you-wit, is a pure joy." Johnson's project will be available in bound form for reading at the Honors Program office. For further information on the program or on Hollie's extraordinary achievement, please contact George Mariz at 360/650-3034.

Woodring Students Honored

The following students have received awards this spring for their outstanding achievements in the Woodring College of Education. Each department determines its own award winners by choosing one student of any class standing, and by selecting a senior student who has made "the most" of his or her time in the College.

This year's winners of the Woodring Outstanding Student award are:

The WWU Outstanding Graduating Seniors were:

Return to Educator Spring 2001 Home Page