Zhejiang University will award Istvan Kecskes, Professor in the Department of Education Theory and Practice, with an honorary degree and professorship for his work in the cognitive aspects of bi- and multilingualism by the recommendation of the Cognitive Science Research Center of the university on June 16, 2008. Zhejiang University is one of China's five most prestigious universities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang_University).

The Comparative and International Education Policy Program (CIEPP) in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, is a partner in a major grant competitively awarded by Chile's National Science and Research Council (Chile's NSF equivalent). The grant establishes a Higher Education Policy Program (HEPP) in Chile. Its head is former minister Jose Joaquin Brunner. Dr. Andres Bernasconi, longtime colleague in CIEPP and Collaborating Scholar in the Program for Research on Private Higher Education (PROPHE), also housed in EAPS, is the key liaison between the HEPP and CIEPP. Along with CIEPP, other foreign associate institutions are the Institut für Hochschulforschung Wittenberg, Germany, and the Centro de Estudios en Gestión de la Educación Superior of the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain.

HEPP will contribute to the establishment and development of the academic field of higher education policy in Chile by producing specialized knowledge; transferring this knowledge to policy formulators, decision makers and executives; training researchers, policy professionals and institutional management leaders; creation of a national network and participation in international networks; and the diffusion of knowledge. Conceptually, the research will refer to the main challenges that face public policy in this area which stem from the sector's own nature, organization and system dynamics.

The grant provides HEPP with $140,000 annually for up to 6 years. This is the only National Science and Research grant made this year to a private university in Chile.

R. Hamilton "Hamp" Lankford, Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, has been selected by the SUNY Research Foundation to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, an award to honor those respected by their faculty peers for a history of academic achievement and leadership in their field of study, by their students for efforts inside the classroom and out, and by their campus for contributions made to further the mission of the institution and the well-being of the community in which the institution resides. This is a SUNY-wide recognition, and Dr. Lankford is this year's sole recipient. Dr. Lankford will be honored at an event sponsored by the Research Foundation on April 14.

Gilbert Valverde, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies and core faculty in its Comparative and International Education Policy Program (CIEPP), was elected by the membership of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) to a 4-year position on its Board of Directors. The CIES is the principal scholarly society for comparative education in the US, and one of the most important internationally in this field.

Dr. Valverde seeks to encourage CIES outreach to countries in the developing world, where there often is little knowledge of what comparative research suggests about strengths and weaknesses of policy approaches adopted in the U.S. and Europe. Valverde aims to promote the CIES as an interlocutor in groups and venues advancing education reform internationally and also in groups involved in the design and implementation of the large-scale cross-national studies and evaluations.

Dr. Valverde’s new position helps to advance the University at Albany’s plans for internationalization, through opening up further the links with a vibrant, global professional group of scholars and officials concerned with international education. Valverde also will, by his presence on the CIES Board, draw the attention of leading researchers and analysts around the world to the scholarship, policy analysis, and graduate education EAPS and its Comparative and International Education Policy Program.

We are pleased to invite all students to submit applications for the School of Education scholarships to be awarded in May. Attached is the brief application form. Students may apply for as many scholarships for which they qualify (only one application form is necessary).

Students must submit the following with their applications:
    • Copies of all relevant transcripts
    • A brief letter that addresses
        o their learning goals in their academic program
        o how they are qualified for each award/scholarship            for which they apply
        o how this funding will help them in their continued            studies

Complete applications are due in ED 239, by 5 p.m. on Friday, February 15. The selection process will be completed by April 14. If you have any questions, please contact the Dean’s Office, deanphillips@uamail.albany.edu, or 442-4985.

Class of 1956 Scholarship: awarded to an undergraduate senior or graduate student accepted to or enrolled in a School of Education program who intends to pursue a career in teaching and demonstrates financial need. The Office of Financial Aid will verify the financial need requirement of this award.

Beta Zeta Scholarship: awarded to a student accepted to or enrolled in a School of Education program and plans to pursue a career in teaching. Preference is given to female students.

Delta Omega Scholarship: awarded to an outstanding female student in a School of Education program that leads to initial, permanent, or professional certification in teaching.

NEW! Louise Swire Baldwin & Norman Burton Baldwin Technology Scholarship: awarded to a student whose course of study or research demonstrates a commitment to the integration of technology and learning. This may include a masters or doctoral student who is pursuing a career in technology in education or who is conducting research on the uses of technology for learning and knowledge access.

Malcolm Blum Endowment: awarded to a student enrolled in full-time study in a School of Education program that leads to initial, permanent, or professional certification in teaching.

Anna Maria Bonaventura Memorial Scholarship Fund: awarded to a student enrolled in a School of Education program related to teaching English as a second language.

Mary M. Briggs Scholarship: awarded to a UAlbany undergraduate senior or graduate who is accepted to and enrolled in a School of Education initial teacher certification program and demonstrates financial need. The Office of Financial Aid will verify the financial need requirement of this award.

Arvid J. Burke Scholarship: awarded to a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding academic potential and talent in any of the advanced degree programs in the School of Education. Preference will be given to students in Educational Administration & Policy Studies, but students in other programs will be considered.

NEW! Elizabeth Christen Scholarship: awarded to a student in a literacy program who has a special interest in adult literacy.

Richard M. Clark Scholarship: awarded to a School of Education doctoral student who is either sole or first author of a paper which has been accepted for presentation at a professional meeting.

Kenneth & Kathleen Doran Scholarship: awarded to a student accepted to or in the early stages of a School of Education program that leads to initial certification in teaching.

Dr. Kimberly E. Esterman Memorial Award: awarded to a student working in the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program and enrolled in a graduate program in the School of Education. Preferred recipients will have a demonstrated interest in working in alcohol, drug, and/or suicide prevention programs at the collegiate level and be enrolled in a counseling psychology program.

NEW! Ira & Elsie Ferber Freedman Scholarship: awarded to a graduate student pursuing a career as a teacher in the public schools.

NEW! The Jean Edgecumbe Groff ’38 Graduate Scholarship in Education: awarded to a School of Education student enrolled in a masters or doctoral program who demonstrates both academic merit and financial need.

The Cathy Bertolino Hoey Scholarship: awarded to a School of Education student who has demonstrated steady academic performance as well as financial need. The Office of Financial Aid will verify the financial need requirement of this award.

Jack’s Fund: awarded to a School of Education student who has demonstrated exceptional academic achievement and who has expressed an interest in working with disadvantaged individuals as part of their career goals.

The Dr. Ralph B. Kenney Endowment: awarded to a graduate student in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology who is enrolled in the school guidance program.

Gertrude Hunter Parlin Teacher’s Scholarship: awarded to a student accepted to or enrolled in a School of Education program that leads to initial, permanent, or professional certification in secondary teaching.

Stella R. Pietrzyk Scholarship: awarded to a student in the Reading Department who recognizes the importance of children’s literature. The award will support the student’s attendance at a national conference on reading.

Bette Knowlton Roe Scholarship: awarded to a student accepted to or enrolled in a School of Education program that leads to an initial, permanent, or professional certification in teaching.

James Ryan Northeast Career Planning Scholarship: awarded to a 2nd year master’s student in the Rehabilitation Counseling program.

The Paul Saimond Memorial Scholarship: awarded to a School of Education student pursuing a career in secondary teaching or in school leadership and who shows exceptional academic achievement and demonstrates financial need. The Office of Financial Aid will verify the financial need requirement of this award.

Gladys G. Sawyer ’37 & J. William Sawyer ’31 Scholarship: awarded to a full-time undergraduate student pursuing a career in education.

The Secondary Education Scholarship: awarded to a student enrolled in a School of Education program that leads to an initial, permanent, or professional certification in secondary teaching who demonstrates an intent and ability to teach high school.

NEW! H. Craig Sipe Science Education Scholarship: awarded to a matriculated School of Education student, who demonstrates financial need and who has exceptional academic achievement. First preference will be given to students demonstrating an interest in pursuing a career as a science teacher, preferably chemistry or physics.

The Gene M. Winter Scholarship: awarded to a doctoral student whose dissertation focuses on issues in Higher Education, preferably (but not exclusively) with regard to two-year college administration.

Robert Bangert-Drowns has been named acting dean of the University at Albany's School of Education. Virginia Goatley has been named vice dean in the School of Education. Bangert-Drowns and Goatley assumed these roles after Dean Susan D. Phillips was appointed the University's interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs in January. For further information, visit http://www.albany.edu/news/campus_news/
2008/0308/bangert-drowns.shtml.

At the 2007 New York State Reading Association Conference, NYSRA was pleased to present its Friend of Reading Award to the School of Education Child Research and Study Center researchers Donna Scanlon (Department of Reading), Frank Vellutino (Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology), Lynn Gelzheiser (Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology), and Kim Anderson (Department of Reading) for their efforts to increase educators’ understanding of Response to Intervention. The New York State Reading Association created the Friend of Reading Award to recognize those who have promoted excellence in the field of literacy instruction in New York, to recognize individuals who have contributed to the improvement of literacy instruction in New York State, and to recognize individuals who promote the importance of reading in the daily lives of children.

The School of Education is pleased to announce that the School Psychology Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) program has been awarded full program approval from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) for a five year term. This approval acknowledges the well-constructed and comprehensive program aligned with NASP standards. Please join the school in congratulating Drs. Deborah Kundert and David Miller, and our colleagues in School Psychology for their very fine work both in the CAS program, and in the NASP approval process.

The Division of School Psychology is one of four divisions in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology in the School of Education. In addition to the CAS degree that prepares students for practice as a school psychologist, the division offers an APA-accredited Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree that prepares students for the practice of professional psychology. Further information about School Psychology and its programs may be found at: http://www.albany.edu/schoolpsych/index.htm.

Professor Dianna Newman, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, has recently received a number of new funded awards in the School of Education Evaluation Consortium, totaling over $1.2 million. Professor Newman serves as the Director of the Consortium.

Working with the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, a grant for $388,034 over four years will evaluate systems transformation. In addition, $437,000 will be received over four years to assist with the evaluation of the Safe Schools award granted to Schenectady School District by the US Department of Education, with another $45,000 received to assist with the US Department of Education Safe Schools award to the Schenectady Boys and Girls Club over three years. Working with the Syracuse School District, the Consortium will be receiving $312,000 over three years for the evaluation of the federal-state math-science partnership award to improve instruction in mathematics and in the sciences. Finally, partnering with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s award from the National Science Foundation, the Consortium will be working to evaluate the Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement initiative there for three years.

Judith Langer, distinguished professor, founder and director of the Albany Institute for Research in Education (AIRE) and co-director, Center on English Learning & Achievement (CELA), and Arthur Applebee, distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, and co-director, Center on English Learning & Achievement (CELA) have just received a $497,775 grant from the Spencer Foundation for a National Study of Writing Instruction. This builds on previous work supported by the National Writing Project and the College Board, bringing total support to $847,775.

The Spencer study will begin by examining writing instruction in 20 middle and high case study schools situated in 5 states that differ in the standards and assessments they use to frame what they believe students should know and be able to do with respect to writing. The second part of the study, a national survey, will contextualize the studies of individual schools as part of a national portrait of writing instruction. A stratified national sample of public school teachers in grades 6 through 12 will examine the extent to which influential factors in the case study schools apply across grades and subjects at a national level, the impact of specific state level polices, and the relationships between teachers’ practice, their previous experiences, and their perceptions of the students they teach. This research will provide the necessary foundation for a comprehensive research agenda contributing to meaningful reform of writing instruction across the nation.