A FORCE FOR POSITIVE CHANGE
2024 Annual Report
A FORCE FOR POSITIVE CHANGE
The Morgridge College of Education continues to uphold its mission to be a force for positive change in the lives of individuals, organizations, and communities through unleashing the power of learning. We believe education serves as the foundation and means for transformation within society, and view learning as a lifelong activity. At the Morgridge College of Education, we aim to promote educational change, social equity and provide leadership for the improvement of education, mental health, and information services and systems.
Our success has been made possible by the unwavering commitment of our faculty, staff, and students, as well as the generous support from our donors and supporters. At the core of our achievements is our dedication to serving diverse communities and promoting learning throughout the lifespan.
This year, we have further solidified our standing, with the U.S. News & World Report ranking us again among the top 100 best graduate schools of education.
In addition to national recognition, we have $7.8M in total research expenditures, and our professional scholarship is thriving with a total of 141 publications and 180 presentations, both domestic and international, confirming our status as an R1 institution. Morgridge’s Marisco Center was named a Denver University Research Institute, and we were #1 in FY23 New Research Awards, totaling at $13.3M (27% of total funding for DU). Morgridge also received a $3.8M Rural School Psychology award – reaffirming our dedication to serve our rural communities.
The Morgridge College of Education is preparing equity-minded, transformational education and mental health professionals, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, cultural competence, and experience to support lifelong learning, from pre-k onwards. Equitable access to high-quality education and mental health services are two of societies pressing needs. Our Morgridge students, alumni, and faculty are making a positive difference on these fronts, especially in our underserved, underrepresented, and under resourced communities in rural, suburban, and urban areas, by accelerating equitable access to education and mental health services in Colorado, across the US, and around the world.
Dean of the Morgridge College of Education
LEADERSHIP
Dr. Maria Salazar
Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs & Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Justice & Accessibility
Dr. Marc Guerrero
Associate Dean, Academic & Student Affairs
Assistant Dean, Enrollment & Marketing
Department Chair, Counseling Psychology
Department Chair, Higher Education
Department Chair, Research Methods & Information Science
Department Chair, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Dr. Michelle Knight-Manuel Dean
Tracee Duerson
Dr. Pat Garriott
Dr. D-L Stewart
Dr. Krystyna Matusiak
Dr. Doris Candelarie
Angela McNatt Assistant Dean, Budget & Operations
Dr. Paul Michalec Department Chair, Teaching & Learning Sciences
WHO WE ARE
Our Mission
The Morgridge College of Education’s mission is to be a force for positive change in the lives of individuals, organizations and communities through unleashing the power of learning.
We accomplish our mission in four ways:
• Preparing highly competent, socially responsible, ethical and caring professionals to promote learning in diverse settings
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• Actively reaching out beyond our College to engage in learning partnerships with others
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• Contributing high-quality research to our respective fields
• Modeling excellence in all of our own educational programs
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Our Vision
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The Morgridge College of Education will be a global leader in innovative and effective approaches for promoting learning throughout the lifespan.
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Transcending traditional ideas about education and schooling, we will embrace a new, comprehensive vision of learning as a lifelong activity that involves the whole person and can occur through a variety of methods, anywhere and at any time.
We will promote educational change and social equity and will provide leadership for the improvement of education, mental health, and information services and systems.
DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY
Dr. Jesse Owen, Distinguished Scholar Award University of Denver’s Distinguished Scholar Award is to recognize unusually significant and meritorious achievement in professional scholarship, as evidenced by publications and their enhancing effect on classroom teaching.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Dr. Chris Nelson, Reconciliation of Fort Lewis College’s Tribal Boarding School
Supported Fort Lewis College’s Boarding School Reconciliation Plan, focused on understanding history and improving support for Native/ Indigenous students, comprising 45% of the student body.
RESEARCH METHODS & INFORMATION SCIENCE
Dr. Keren Dali, leading two major research projects. Enhancing the Capacity of Public Library Staff to Serve Multilingual Communities and The Equitable Workplace Transition Program, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership grant.
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP & POLICY STUDIES
Dr. Kristina Hesbol, The Rural Innovative School Leadership Networked Improvement Community continues to meet six times annually with rural educational leaders and researchers from across 42 states, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Norway, and Sweden, collaborating to develop solutions for shared, persistent and complex place-based problems of practice in rural schools.
TEACHING & LEARNING SCIENCES
Dr. Amy McDiarmid, Rural School Psychology Program Training Director–SPIRIT The SPIRIT program is an innovative EdS degree addressing the mental health needs of students in rural schools and communities. Dr. McDiarmid co-wrote the multi-year grant and leads the program development and implementation for 14 school psychologists in 12 rural districts across Colorado.
TOP PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Dr. Douglas Clements
FACULTY AWARDS
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY
Dr. Pat Garriott
Emerging leader award from the American Psychological Association Committee on Socioeconomic Status.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Dr. Marc Guerrero
Equity & Social Justice: Mentorship Award at the 36th annual National Conference on Race and Ethnicity.
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP & POLICY STUDIES
Dr. Lolita Tabron
American Educational Research Association 2024 Review of Research Award.
TEACHING & LEARNING SCIENCES
Dr. Devadrita Talapatra
Edward S. Shapiro Mid-Career Scholar Research Initiative (MCSRI) Scholar, Society for the Study of School Psychology.
RESEARCH
METHODS & INFORMATION SCIENCE
Dr. Ruohua Han
Best Paper Reviewer Award by the 2023 Association for Information Science & Technology Annual Meeting.
891 Students (Fall 2023)
141 Publications
180 Presentations (Domestic & International)
200+ Community Partners
MARSICO INSTITUTE FOR EARLY LEARNING
Marisco named an official DU Research Institute.
“These new Research Institutes possess national and international reputations of significant stature, creating the peer reputation needed for their departments or divisions to become highly respected… They serve the fundamental mission of the University by creating an accessible educational environment that attracts, retrains, and retains top faculty and students.”
- Corinne Lengsfeld, Senior Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education
Dr. Erin Anderson Dr. Krystyna Matusiak Dr. Doug Clements
Dr. Keren Deli Dr. Erin Anderson
MAJOR INITIATIVES
SCHOOL BOARDS ARE AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE
HERE’S WHAT MORGRIDGE COLLEGE OF EDUCATIONS IS DOING
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP & POLICY STUDIES
The Morgridge College of Education is collaborating with Colorado school boards to address school closures, mental health and teacher retention.
Colorado’s school boards grapple with a range of issues, from fluctuating enrollment and changes in state funding to concerns about school safety and persistent teacher shortages. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened political attention have thrust school boards into even more turbulent waters.
“Effective school boards serve as strong advocates for their community,” says Dr. Lolita Tabron, associate professor in Morgridge College of Education. “As representatives of their community, they are well positioned to catalyze widespread democratic engagement to address the needs of their local school community.” That’s why Provost Mary Clark, Dean KnightManuel and Emeritus Chancellor Dan Ritiche gathered a year ago to address a question frequently on their minds: How might MCE support the important work of Colorado school boards?
“That led to loads of research to learn more about school board’s needs and issues our Colorado school boards are facing,” says Starla Sieveke-Pearson, clinical assistant professor in educational leadership and policy studies So, Pearson, Tabron and Doris Candelarie, clinical associate professor in educational leadership and policy studies, set out to lend MCE’s research and networking prowess to leaders who serve Colorado’s 800,000+ students impacted by school boards. Made up of democratically elected, unpaid members who are mandated to execute state policy and law, school boards play a crucial role in educational governance, says Pearson
You can read the full story here.
Dr. Anthony McWright
Dr. Carrie Olson
MAJOR INITIATIVES
$11M Rural Grant Funding
TEACHING & LEARNING SCIENCES
$3.8M Rural School Psychology Award
The School Psychology – Inclusive, Rural, and Innovative Training (SPIRIT) project within the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver aims to address the urgent need for improved mental health services in rural Colorado schools. Colorado’s rural communities have a ratio of 1:2,128 School Psychologist-to-student ratio, which is over four times the NASP recommendation, and in Colorado, 151 out of 178 school districts are in rural communities (CDE 2022; CDE, 2021).
SPIRIT aims to address this need for School Psychologists in rural Colorado by recruiting, training, and retaining 32 new school psychologists (SPs) through establishing a Hybrid Rural School Psychology Program. The Rural School Psychology Program began the first cohort of rural Colorado graduate students in June 2024 with 14 graduate students from 12 different rural communities in Colorado.
The Rural School Psychology Program’s primary objective is to address the shortage of school psychologists in rural Colorado by offering a modality that supports distance learning, and a curriculum tailored to the needs of rural Colorado communities. The Rural School Psychology Program is designed to allow graduate students to continue to live in their respective communities while completing virtual coursework and supervised fieldwork in their rural settings. Additionally, the Rural School Psychology Program is designed with a cohort model to foster professional networking and build a sustainable community of practice.
14 new school psychologists
29,792 rural students served annually
178,752 students served by 2029
113,960 hours of mental health services
Map of Colorado showing the locations of our rural initiatives
MORGRIDGE PRE- COLLEGIATE SCHOOLS
FISHER EARLY LEARNING CENTER
Colorado Governor Jared Polis visited Fisher Early Learning Center, part of the University of Denver’s Morgridge College of Education, earlier this month. He spent time with the children and teachers of two preschool classrooms as part of a state-wide tour of preschools in celebration of the state’s first year of offering universal preschool for every child.
The Fisher Early Learning Center has been a landmark on the DU campus since 2000. Established by the visionary generosity of Donne and Sue Fisher, it offers a unique preschool program that serves infants through pre-kindergarten. Serving approximately 200 students annually, 20% of whom have special needs, Fisher supports families and their young children through high-quality early childhood education; a mission and vision that promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion; and strong partnership with families and the community.
The experience provided by the Fisher Early Learning Center is made possible by the highly qualified educators and staff who work alongside the Center’s distinguished Fisher Inclusion Team (FIT) specialists. The team includes an Early Interventionist, a Speech/Language Pathologist, an Occupational Therapist, a Physical Therapist, a Licensed Social Worker, University of Denver graduate students, and a coordinator. In addition, Fisher benefits from its collaboration with DU’s Morgridge College of Education as both a site for research and teaching graduate students. “Governor Polis’ commitment to universal Pre-K is a great service to the children and families in Colorado,” says Michelle Knight-Manuel. “Research has shown that high quality pre-k programs, similar to the Fisher Early Learning Center that he visited today, have long term beneficial outcomes for children who attend them.”
MORGRIDGE PRE- COLLEGIATE SCHOOLS
RICKS CENTER FOR GIFTED CHILDREN
COLLEGE-LEVEL THINKING
Middle school students at Ricks Center for Gifted Children, serving students in prekindergarten through eighth grade, presented their creative business ideas at Ricks Shark Tank. Business professors from the University of Denver served as judges as each team took the stage to propose their savvy product ideas. From creative travel inventions to yummy edible creations, each team shared the product backstory, analyzed competitors, examined market size, and demonstrated a prototype for close inspection. The winners had the chance to present their products at the Entrepreneurship@DU Madden Challenge event at DU’s main campus.
CREATING POSITIVE CHANGE THROUGH SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE MEDIA
Award Winning Curriculum & Instruction (C&I) Student Jameka
Lewis’ work on social justice in the media is groundbreaking and life changing.
C&I student, Jameka Lewis, conducted a presentation at the Denver Press Club in 2021 about media bias against the Black Panther Party, specifically focusing on media bias against the Denver Chapter of the organization. Linda Shapley, who heads Colorado Community Media (the organization that oversees the Golden Transcript) was in attendance and Jameka and Linda chatted afterwards about how many articles the Transcript published about the Black Panthersall of which were negative.
A few months later, they submitted a grant proposal to Colorado Community Media, a nonbiased organization that funds various media-related projects, to further examine media bias against the Black Panthers. Their project was funded $10,000. They spent the year researching, conducting interviews and talking about how this biased reporting affected how members of the Golden community viewed not just the Black Panthers, but Black people in general.
Jameka Lewis, a senior librarian at the Denver Public Library’s Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, said “There is harm when it comes to media and the Black community in Denver and Colorado. If we want to repair the harms, we have to acknowledge that (they are) factual.”
The project was published in February 2023 and was recently awarded a Regional Journalism Award. You can read more about it here.
RESEARCH METHODS & INFORMATION SCIENCE
RESEARCH METHODS & INFORMATION
Humble Leader, Committed Archivist: One Grad’s Pursuit of a Dream
SCIENCE
Flynn came to DU for a degree in Library and information Science. They’ll come away with a diploma and so much more.
Humble Leader, Committed Archivist: One Grad’s Pursuit of a Dream
Flynn came to DU for a degree in Library and Information Science. They’ll come away with a diploma and so much more.
From serving as the president of the DU student chapter of the Society of American Archivists to heading up a research project on Chinese immigrants who lived in Park County, Flynn fulfilled their mission of coming to DU to gain experience worthy of their dream job. They're coming away with that, and much more. Seeking relationships with professors that could grow into mentorships, Flynn says DU faculty were present and personable during an admitted students' event—a rare occurrence for admissions events, they say. That, plus the quarter system and small, in-person cohorts made DU the perfect fit.
the 36th Annual NCORE Conference
From serving as the president of the DU student chapter of the Society of American Archivists to heading up a research project on Chinese immigrants who lived in Park County, Flynn fulfilled their mission of coming to DU to gain experience worthy of their dream job. They're coming away with that, and much more. Seeking relationships with professors that could grow into mentorships, Flynn says DU faculty were present and personable during an admitted students' event—a rare occurrence for admissions events, they say. That, plus the quarter system and small, in-person cohorts made DU the perfect fit.
Once on campus, Flynn catalyzed their passion for research, writing and telling the stories of people the history books have overlooked through research assistantships and research projects in classes. They were no longer “just doing the homework to get a good grade,” they say.
Once on campus, Flynn catalyzed their passion for research, writing and telling the stories of people the history books have overlooked through research assistantships and research projects in classes. They were no longer “just doing the homework to get a good grade,” they say.
Archival work isn't the flashiest of professions. “People usually imagine an archivist alone in the stacks, or as a stuffy old person,” says Flynn. But that image couldn't be further from Flynn's truth. They envision someone actively embedded in a community, unearthing and documenting forgotten stories— someone just like MCE faculty member, Dr. Matusiak, whom Flynn was immediately drawn to, thinking, "I want to work with her.”
Read the full story here.
Archival work isn't the flashiest of professions. “People usually imagine an archivist alone in the stacks, or as a stuffy old person,” says Flynn. But that image couldn't be further from Flynn's truth. They envision someone actively embedded in a community, unearthing and documenting forgotten stories—someone just like Morgridge faculty member, Dr. Matusiak, whom Flynn was immediately drawn to, thinking, "I want to work with her.”
Read the full story here.
STUDENT EXPERIENCE
At the Morgridge College of Education, we are committed to supporting students financially to enhance their overall experience. We understand that the cost of education and finding financial assistance can be stressful, which is why we offer competitive financial aid packages designed to provide the best possible funding options while managing resources effectively. Upon acceptance to a Morgridge program, every student is offered a merit-based departmental scholarship. The amount awarded varies by program, depending on its length, duration, and overall cost. Scholarships are tiered, based on the strength of each student’s application. These scholarships are funded throug Dean’s Scholarships and generous contributions from Morgridge community donors, with over $1.2 million of the more than $7 million in Morgridge tuition assistance coming from gift and endowed funds.
Select Morgridge students are offered Graduate Assistantship (GA) positions to augment their overall funding package. GAs come with a tuition waiver and additional stipend/paycheck in exchange for teaching, research, or service roles within Morgridge elsewhere at the University of Denver.
Should students need more financial support after receiving funds, they are encouraged to fill out a FAFSA and work with DU’s central Office of Financial Aid to explore state and federal aid options.
Morgridge’s office of Financial Aid also provides resources to help students discover additional funding beyond Morgridge and DU. We are creating a Canvas to build a ‘course’ that will serve as a central repository for information about internal funding sources, federal and state aid, and relevant external funding opportunities.
AWARDS & GRANTS
HIGHER EDUCATION & TEACHING AND LEARNING SCIENCES
HED student, Alice Kanyama, and TLS student, Isabel Makwecha, awarded one of the CCESL public good grants to provide menstrual products to help keep girls in school in Malawi.
FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR
K. Kayon Morgan
The prestigious award will allow K. Kayon Morgan to embark on a fourmonth project which will take her to South Africa and Jamaica.
DEAN’S STUDENT RESEARCH & DIVERSITY GRANTS
The Application of Multicultural Orientation (MCO) in Couple Therapy
Devin Kelly
Mapping the relationship between negative weight-related experiences and internalized weight stigma: The role of health knowledge, social media engagement, and critical consciousness
Chad Saunders
OUT & ABOUT: A Digital Academic, Social, and Mental Health Support Block for LGBTQIA+ Students in the Morgridge College of Education
Michelle Jestice
Promoting MCE Student Engagement and MCE Community Engagement Through the Curriculum & Instruction Student Representative Board
Jasmine Davis
