School of Education | EdLine | 2019

EdLine SPRING 2019

A NEW PATH FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

BALANCING ACTIVISM AND LEARNING

CHOOSING URBAN TEACHING

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CHOOSE TO BE AN EDUCATOR

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CREDITS Mark Mone, chancellor Johannes Britz, provost Alan Shoho, dean, School of Education Hope Longwell-Grice, associate dean of academic affairs Jeremy Page, assistant dean of student services Jessica Russell, assistant dean Kathy Quirk, editor, writer, photographer Nicole Schanen, marketing/communications account executive CONTRIBUTORS

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Carol Wacker, director of development PHOTOGRAPHERS

Diane K. Grace UWM Photo Services: Pete Amland Troye Fox Elora Hennessey Alan Magayne-Roshak GRAPHIC DESIGN

Kendell Hafner

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1 LETTER FROM THE DEAN 2 M3 6 STUDENTS 10 RESEARCH 14 SCHOLARSHIPS 16 CLUBS OFFER STUDENTS NEW EXPERIENCES 18 ALUMNI 22 FACULTY 24 BRIEFS 25 IN MEMORIAM 26 TRIBUTE TO BARBARA MICHAELS 27 PI LAMBDA THETA 28 DONORS

Letter from the Dean ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS ANECDOTES SHARED by children’s TV host Fred

Rogers was the advice his mother offered in the face of terrible and frightening news stories: “She would say, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”

That advice is more important than ever when bad news is coming at us from all sides – social media, television, radio, magazines and podcasts.

Here at the School of Education, we are continuing to help prepare some of the most important of those helpers – teachers, administrators, counselors and community nonprofit educators.

Last year, we worked with a local school to film a video, “Inspire the Next Generation: Teach,” to highlight the unsung daily work teachers do with children. You can see the video anytime you visit our School of Education webpage at uwm.edu/education.

In this issue we look at some of the amazing people who have been and are becoming educators – sometimes overcoming personal challenges to do so.

Two award-winning young alumni – Jesse Martin and Jorie Struck – have chosen to teach in urban schools here in Milwaukee. Jorie talks about how she teaches five sections with 150 students, half of whom speak a language other than English or Spanish. She is determined to help develop their abilities to communicate.

Safia Jama migrated from Somalia, overcoming language and cultural barriers, so she could become a teacher and help other children like herself.

Another of our alums, Marianne Luther, now retired, journeyed with her family to America from Germany as a child. With the help of what she learned at the School of Education, Marianne went on to become a teacher and had an amazing second career working for NASA. She is now a donor, giving back to the School of Education. Another donor, Julie Ihlenfeldt and her family, featured in this issue, have continued to honor the legacy of grandparents who were educators with scholarships.

Among our current students, we have outstanding young undergraduate researchers like Noah Wolfe and leaders like Alyssa Molinski, who serves as the UWM Student Association president for 2018-19. Pachoua Lor, a graduate student in adult and continuing education, is helping other aspiring students through her work at the Student Success Center. Rodney DePass, an Army veteran who left his job as a firefighter after 14 years, is preparing in his 50s to continue to serve others through his studies in community education.

We also have several stories about the School of Education’s continuing work with M3 (M-cubed) to help create a pathway to a better life for young people through collaborative efforts with Milwaukee Public Schools and Milwaukee Area Technical College.

So when today’s bad news makes you despair and you read dire predictions about the future of our schools, take heart in reading about all these helpers who have chosen to become educators.

Alan Shoho Dean, School of Education SPRING 2019 EDLINE 1

M3

2 anniversary for M nd

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COLLABORATIVE EFFORT CELEBRATES SUCCESSES, FOCUSES ON CHALLENGES

M³ CELEBRATED ITS SECOND ANNIVERSARY IN JANUARY with an event highlighting the impact

the initiative has had so far.

The educational collaboration, which involves UWM, Milwaukee Public Schools and Milwaukee Area Technical College, is an effort to improve education achievement and career success for area students.

The goal, UWM Chancellor Mark Mone said in his opening remarks, is to bring together the area’s three major public education institutions “to transform lives and create opportunities for individuals.” Together the institutions serve more than 130,000 students.

Presentations focused on the progress the M³ (pronounced M-cubed) efforts have made and the challenges they still face.

Keith Posley, superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, noted that four-year high school graduation rates have improved from 58.2 percent when the M³ partnership started two years ago to 62.2 for the class of 2017.

“We have made progress, but we know this rate is ultimately not where we all want it to be,” Posley said. As MATC president, Martin noted the success of the MATC Promise program introduced in 2015, which offers free tuition to eligible students.

That program has been extended to adult students interested in completing a degree. She said that MATC had already enrolled some parent-child teams, including a father and son who did the plumbing program together.

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M³ has also succeeded in efforts to let students and parents know what they need to do to prepare for higher education. With the help of workshops, the number of FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) applications increased from 60.8 percent with the class of 2016 to 74.6 percent.

However, challenges remain. Both MATC and UWM struggled to keep their MPS grads after the first year. MATC's retention rate fell from 49 percent in 2015-'16 to 44 percent in 2017-'18, and UWM's held steady at 65 percent. While these are below the goals set out when M-cubed was launched, all three institutions said they would continue to work toward the target goals in the 2019-20 school year: an MPS graduation rate of 72 percent, post-secondary enrollment within a year of 60 percent, FAFSA completion of 80 percent, and college retention after the first year of 55 percent for MATC and 72 percent for UWM. Mone said the pathways to education are vitally important, and the M³ institutions are working hard to create those and to support students in not only accessing higher education but also completing their degrees.

UWM students talked about the impact M³ has already made on their lives. First-year student Mawah Kromah, who plans to major in education, talked about the support she received at her MPS high school — James Madison Academic Campus — and the summer bridge program that helped her graduate from high school and enter college.

Chancellor Mark Mone and other leaders of the M3 initiative spoke at the January event.

(Left to Right) Vicki Martin of MATC, Keith Posley of MPS, Chancellor Mone and Phyllis King of UWM.

GOALS 1 Raise aspirations, readiness and student success 2 Educate families about the value of post-secondary learning 3 Align curriculum and services from middle school to post-secondary education to create a seamless system 4 Create and cultivate a culture of learning in which there is an expectation to continue education after high school 5 Engage the student voice, provide safe spaces, and commit to equity and inclusion

MPS students earning college credit at UWM and MATC 10 CREDITS AVAILABLE FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

MILWAUKEE PUBLIC SCHOOLS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE getting a taste

of college and earning credits through the M3 Early College pilot program.

M3 (pronounced M-cubed) is a multifaceted collaboration among the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee Area Technical College and MPS, which collectively serve more than 130,000 students. M3 features a variety of programs and initiatives designed to help achieve many goals, including boosting student achievement and ensuring that students have the necessary resources to advance to college and into the workforce.

The M3 Early College pilot program debuted in the spring 2019 semester with more than 30 MPS students. They attend English and mathematics courses at MATC as well as an educational psychology course at UWM that focuses on the foundations for academic success.

Students who complete the dual enrollment program will earn 10 college credits, including four MATC math credits, three MATC English language arts credits and three UWM educational psychology credits. The credits also count toward their high school degrees.

Izzabella Zupet is a senior at Ronald Reagan International Baccalaureate High School. Prior to learning about the program, she hadn’t really thought about college, so the program became a doorway to a new opportunity. “This course (educational psychology) has helped me believe that college is possible for me,” Zupet says. “I can make a better future for myself.”

Inspiring such belief in students was one of the key drivers behind the program, according to Vicki Bott, who manages the UWM portion of the dual enrollment program. Many of the enrollees would be the first from their families to attend college. “If they can see themselves as college material, see

themselves in college,” Bott says, “that’s a real positive.”

Julian Hall, a senior at Ronald Reagan International Baccalaureate High School, learned about the program from his guidance counselor. Although it meant adjusting his schedule away from a more familiar routine at Reagan, he felt the benefits were worth it.

“I was all for it, even though I’d have to leave school and not be there with my friends,” Hall says. “But I had to focus on my future. Getting 10 credits, I would love that.”

All three M3 institutions are contributing time and resources to the M3 Early College pilot program.

MPS provides lunches and pays for the classes. MATC provides bus passes for all the students. UWM adjusted one of its educational psychology courses – originally designed for first-year college students – so that it could be tailored to high school students.

“We feel this is an ideal time to offer this course as the students are preparing for their transition into college,” says Jacqueline Nguyen, a UWM associate professor of educational psychology who co-teaches the Pathways to Success in College course with graduate assistant Travis Love.

The course covers everything from how to interact with instructors to note-taking, academic writing and study skills. It also covers social and emotional skills, such as managing stress and relationships.

And during one recent session, students learned about undergraduate research opportunities available to them should they attend UWM. “The students are doing well in class,” Love says. “They’re really engaged.”

Bott says program organizers hope to expand the program to include 100 students during the next school year and offer it in both the spring and fall semesters.

Jacqueline Nguyen, associate professor of educational psychology, chats with high school students in her preparation for college class.

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M3

A new path to special education

Guadalupe Rodriguez works with 4-year-olds at Morgandale School as a paraprofessional.

PLUS PROGRAM HELPS PARAPROFESSIONALS EARN TEACHING DEGREES

LENARD HASLETT, A PARAPROFESSIONAL AT MAPLE TREE School, always wanted to complete

his education degree.

“I know there is an overwhelming need for black men to become teachers,” he says. “I will be able to help more students by achieving my degree.”

Guadalupe Rodriguez works with 4-year-olds at Morgandale School as a paraprofessional. Her class is a mix of youngsters, some of whom have special needs, a group she loves working with.

Like Haslett, Rodriguez had thought of going back to school to become a certified special education teacher, but couldn’t really afford to quit her job to do that.

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Now a new effort, the PLUS program, is helping her and other paraprofessionals in Milwaukee Public Schools work toward becoming certified special education teachers while continuing their employment as paraprofessionals.

The collaborative program involving the M³ (M-cubed) partners – Milwaukee Public Schools, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Milwaukee Area Technical College – is helping motivated classroom helpers like Rodriguez and Haslett prepare to lead their own classrooms.

The teachers-to-be start at MATC and complete their pre-professional courses, then move on to complete their bachelor’s degree and certification

as special education teachers at UWM. Principals nominate paraprofessionals for the program. They are mentored by strong lead teachers in their own schools, and are able to do their student teaching at the same school where they are working. With the growing need for special education teachers, schools are happy to help these aspiring teachers with great potential complete their degrees, according to Mary Stone, PLUS Program Coordinator.

Haslett is in his first semester at UWM; Rodriguez is in her fourth semester at MATC. Both have been able to continue working full-time while pursuing their degrees.

There are now 20 students in the program from the first cohort, with seven more added for the second cohort.

Currently UWM has six students who started in spring 2019 in the Exceptional Education program, according to Stone.

In addition to those now at UWM, two more plan to move from MATC to the School of Education in the summer, with another four to six coming in the fall of 2019.

Stone describes a meeting with a woman who talked with emotion about her desire to become a teacher. “She said, ‘I wanted to be a teacher for so long, and I just couldn’t find a way to do this. This is the way I’m going to be able to make this dream a reality.’”

The financial and academic support has been vital for him, says Haslett.

“My experience so far has been phenomenal. The financial support is incredible. There is always someone in the program willing to help navigate you through unclear times.”

PLUS students receive some financial support for tuition through a U.S. Department of Education grant received

by Donna Pasternak, lead investigator and professor of English education, and Kristen Taylor, formerly director of UWM’s Office of Clinical Experience.

The grant’s focus is to help provide a pipeline of prepared teachers experienced in culturally relevant practices. MPS’s Tuition Assistance program also helps.

Two of the students now at UWM also received the Project Engage grant for early childhood special education, a U.S. Department of Education grant received

by Maggie Bartlett, coordinator of the Special Education Early Childhood Program.

The cost of completing degrees goes beyond what the project provides now, and the partners will be approaching local philanthropists for additional financial support, according to Stone.

"What we’re seeing is a group of nontraditional students who are already skilled and very passionate about working in special education.”

The PLUS (Professional Licensure with Undergraduate Support) program was developed by Judith Winn, an associate professor at UWM, now retired; Adria Maddaleni, operations manager, MPS Office of School Administrators; and Jennifer Mikulay, MATC associate dean, academic assessment and evaluation.

“We thought there was an untapped group in MPS of paraprofessionals who don’t have college degrees,” said Winn.

“People who have the skills and the desire but haven’t been able to go back to college

and get a degree.”

The initial program is set up for special education teachers, but the hope is that it will eventually be expanded to recruit and prepare teachers for other areas, such as bilingual education, according to Stone.

“The special education paraprofessionals are so excited about this,” Stone said. “What we’re seeing is a group of nontraditional students who are already skilled and very passionate about working in special education.”

“This is an excellent opportunity for paraprofessionals,” says Haslett, who says he’s already applying what he’s learning in classes in his own classroom.

“It does help in the classroom with organization as well as understanding certain behaviors and how to address them.”

Rodriguez likes the PLUS program because her college teachers work with the paraprofessionals to schedule classes around their work hours. She is bilingual and her eventual goal is to become certified in both bilingual education and special education for early childhood.

She plans to stay in MPS. “I think it’s best for us to stay within our community to help others because it’s a community in need.”

“We’re really excited,” says Stone. “The students are doing very well and making great progress.”

PLUS students now at UWM include (left to right) Lynn Blue, Margaret Hanson, Michael Unanka, Lenard Haslett, Meredith Newton, Laura Cantoral.

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STUDENTS

Alyssa Molinski at UWM’s student food pantry.

SOE student balances activism and learning EVEN BEFORE SHE GRADUATES, ALYSSA MOLINSKI ALREADY has experience

juggling two demanding jobs.

She is a student in the School of Education’s Early Childhood Education program and has also served as the Student Association president for 2018-2019.

Molinski, who grew up in Menomonee Falls, says her family inspired her to go into education.

“I come from a family of educators, so that’s what made me choose teaching.

Also, I’m the oldest of four children.

Growing up, we always played school, and naturally I had to be the teacher. I would never allow anybody else to do it.”

She chose UWM’s program because of its affordability, and also because it allowed her to live at home her first

two years.

Faculty members Professor Nancy File and Lynn Sedivy, a senior lecturer, inspired her to add a certificate in English as a second language to her early childhood program. Even though she’s busy in student government, she puts a great deal of time and energy into her class work. “I just love the School of Education here. I truly feel connected to all of the faculty and staff that I’ve worked with.”

When a seat opened for a senator from the School of Education at the end of her freshman year, Molinski applied for it. She represented the school during sophomore year and then Academic Affairs her junior year, serving as Student Association vice president. In the spring of 2018, she ran for president and was elected.

Two key planks in her platform were encouraging students to register and vote and helping eliminate food insecurity among students.

“The elections really impact students.

For example, at the state level, the budget cuts we’ve received in recent years and the politics of the UW System really affect students here at UW-Milwaukee.”

The UWM Food Center and Pantry opened in the spring semester of 2017,

and by the end of 2018 had more than 500 visits. “I just want to make the food pantry so much a part of who we are that students feel comfortable accessing it,” Molinski said. The food center and pantry received the UW Regents’ Diversity Award in February 2019 for its work to support all students.

Molinski is planning to graduate at the end of the fall semester 2019.

After graduation, she would like to be an English as a second language teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools, she said.

Eventually, she added, she’d like to go on to graduate school and work toward a career in school administration.

Faculty members and advisors in the School of Education are proud of Molinski’s success.

"Alyssa is a shining star. We always encourage our students to get involved on the campus, and she obviously took that to heart,” said Robert LongwellGrice, senior academic advisor.

“One thing that’s been interesting to me is watching Alyssa grow in her skills in advocacy and making a difference," said Nancy File. “It will be interesting to see how she can apply what she likes to do within a field that she’s becoming a member of.”

Undergrad education researcher: UWM a perfect fit IF ANYBODY WAS DESTINED TO BE A UWM student, it was Noah

Wolfe. His grandmother, Cheryl Kader, was a faculty member.

His parents met and fell in love at the campus Hillel Jewish organization. His mom got her B.S. in education from the School of Education. His brother goes to UWM. His sister is arriving next fall. And he was born at the former Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital, now UWM’s Northwest Quadrant.

“UWM runs in my family. Literally my whole life has been wrapped around UWM,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe, now a junior majoring in exceptional education, grew up in Shorewood, just up the road from the campus, and took classes on campus when he was in high school.

The summer before his first year, he initially applied to a lab that focused on autism, but it was full. So he talked to Kyla Esguerra at the Office of Undergraduate Research, who suggested Associate Professor Chris Lawson’s lab on cognitive development in the Department of Educational Psychology.

“So I met with him,” says Wolfe. “He’s very outgoing and really cool. He shot me an email that said we’d love to have you in the lab. I literally fell in love with the work.”

Wolfe co-wrote an abstract with Lawson and another student, and has already presented a poster at the Midwestern Psychological Association conference in Chicago. He has also presented as well at undergraduate research symposiums at

UWM and other UW System campuses.

“I can’t say enough good things about him,” says Wolfe of his mentor. “We actually just launched an experiment that I’ve been working on since August, learning how to use websites and code and all that. Results have already started feeding in. I’ve been emailing back and forth with Dr. Lawson, and I called my dad.

I was so happy.”

The research is similar to what he and Lawson have been doing with children, looking at how they learn information in one context and then apply that knowledge to new questions in a different context.

With children, the researchers generally use flash cards, but with undergraduates the research can be done with the online surveys. “When we test undergraduates, it takes a month to get 40 responses because you have to schedule it, and somebody has to be in the lab, so that’s why this (new website) is really useful technology.”

When he’s not studying or researching, Wolfe co-manages Stone Creek Coffee on Downer Avenue. “I like being busy.

I always tell people that if I have time to procrastinate, I will.”

“I may try teaching or school administration first, but I’ve decided this is what I want to do,” Wolfe said. “I want to go on and eventually get a PhD in educational psychology. It’s been amazing to say the least.”

Noah Wolfe (center) works with mentor Chris Lawson (left) using flashcards.

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STUDENTS

Living the dream AS AN IMMIGRANT HERSELF, SAFIA JAMA’S INTEREST in teaching English

to others is a subject close to her heart.

“I can understand what it is like to learn in a second language, to come here as an immigrant.”

Jama, who is scheduled to graduate from the School of Education’s early childhood education program in December 2019, came to the U.S. from Somalia as an immigrant fleeing that country’s civil war and unrest.

“I have always wanted to be a teacher,” she says. “It was a longing, something I wanted to do.”

Her journey to a degree was a long one. One of her first inspirations was her dad, a single father who encouraged her learning. “My father was the instrument of everything I’ve become.” She was fortunate, she says, that he helped her attend a private school where she learned English.

When she came to America, she settled in Minneapolis in a Somali community, known as Little Somalia. “The people there were very hardworking, very resourceful and very family-oriented.”

With the help of a mentor – Sylvia Haux – Jama got a job as a typist with the Job Corps and moved to a community

in South Dakota that was 98 percent Native American. “It was a different experience and it was amazing. It was a crash course in a different lifestyle and culture.”

As she hung out with her fellow Job Corps members, Jama’s English improved. Her mentor, Mrs. Haux, continued to encourage her, telling her, “You need to become a teacher.”

When she met her husband, himself a Somalian immigrant, they made the decision to move to Milwaukee.

Jama delayed heading to college, however, while her husband completed his master’s degree in economics at UWM, and they raised three children.

His studies and their children were her priorities during that time.

“My husband was an inspiration to me,” she says, working 50 hours a week as a Milwaukee Transit System bus driver while completing his degree. She and her family now have a home in Greenfield.

“It took a lot of sacrifice and time, but we are now living the American dream.”

After coming to UWM, she did well in her coursework, but found the PRAXIS test a challenge, failing it once. Not being a native English speaker and growing up

Helping others IF THERE’S A THEME TO HIS LIFE, it’s service, says School of

Education senior Rodney DePass.

“I joined the Army to serve my country; then I became a pastor to serve a congregation and finally I became a firefighter to serve the community.”

Now as a nontraditional student in the School of Education’s community education program, DePass is preparing for another career — hoping to serve young people through a nonprofit.

DePass, who is a senior, is in his 50s and a grandfather.

He plans to graduate in the fall of 2019.

When he had to retire from the Milwaukee Fire Department after 14 years because of injuries, he decided to return to UWM,

Safia Jama and her family.

in a different culture, says Jama, made tests more challenging. “Imagine having a question about Mr. Potato Head if you don’t know who Mr. Potato Head is.”

But Jama persevered and passed the test, keeping her course grades up at the same time. “I told myself ‘you’ve come this far; failure is impossible.’” This past spring, she was inducted into the Pi Lambda Theta education honor society, in which she is also an ambassador.

“My experiences can help me understand my students – their anxieties and achievements. I want them all to appreciate this free education they are being offered. That doesn’t happen in other countries,” Jama said.

Her family, her UWM professors and colleagues were instrumental in her success, she says, summing it up: THANK YOU!!!

where he’d started before joining the fire department. “I have always had a passion to pursue a higher level of education.”

Having taken over for his late father-in-law as pastor at the West Side Church of God in Christ for two years, he initially came to UWM thinking about pursuing a degree in religious studies.

However, with the help of his advisor he came to the conclusion that community education offered him a way to continue his career of service. “I do believe that God has a calling for my life.”

He and his wife, Dele, have two sons, Jammal and Skyler.

His oldest son has a set of twins and another child, so he’s also a grandfather. His veteran’s benefits from his years in the Army are helping with the tuition, and that was an incentive for coming to UWM, he says. And, he likes the fact that the university has a strong contingent of veterans, although that was not something

Helping a new generation PACHOUA LOR’S REASONS FOR BECOMING A SUCCESS coach were simple —

“I wanted to help students like me, who are the first generation to go to college.”

Her interest started when she was a student in precollege programs like Upward Bound and tutoring in her hometown of Holmen, Wis. “That student support led to my interest in becoming someone who could help students like me, who may also be children of refugee parents or first-generation college students."

Lor, who plans to graduate in May 2019, is a graduate student in the School of Education. She is also a graduate assistant in UWM’s Student Success Center. She provides individual success coaching for first-year grant recipients in the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars, and also supervises a team that provides peer mentoring to the scholarship students.

She is also the first daughter and first child born in the U.S. to a Hmong family that came from Southeast Asia. She is the fifth out of eight children. She sees

the generational changes within her own family and community.

“The narrative for Hmong-American students is shifting a little bit. It’s another generation, so they may not have an emotional connection to family members who were born in refugee camps or the ability to make connections through the Hmong language.”

After graduating from UW-La Crosse with a B.S. in sociology and ethnic racial studies, she joined AmeriCorps working with the City Year program in Milwaukee.

That and her own experiences helped cement her interest in working with students who needed help in navigating the pathway to higher education. Her concentration in the administrative leadership program is in adult, continuing and higher education administration.

The program she’s in has paired up well with what she is doing in the Student Success Center, says Lor. “We would talk about theories or principles of how to support students. So hearing the one-onone stories of first-year students helps me connect with those theories."

Two courses and faculty members have been especially helpful to her, says Lor. One was Associate Professor Cheryl Baldwin’s class in multicultural leadership. Another class she approached with some concern but that really helped her was Assistant Dean Jeremy Page’s strategic planning and budgeting class.

he was aware of when he enrolled.

A number of faculty members in Educational Policy and Community Studies have supported him, says DePass.

“Professor Gary Williams (director of the Institute for Intercultural Education and an associate professor) has been a huge inspiration.” Florence Johnson, senior lecturer, and Julie Kailin, associate professor, have also mentored and encouraged him, says DePass. “They’ve been a tremendous help.”

His eventual goal is to continue to serve the community.

“My passion, my vision is to one day open a nonprofit for inner-city youth, maybe to initially partner with an existing program to help teach life skills to young men.”

Johnson says she thinks he will do well with that vision.

“I believe he can accomplish anything he decides to. He is a conscious leader who will do wonders in his community."

Pachoua Lor, graduate student, at work in the Student Success Center.

“I went in there feeling like I was not going to do well because it was completely new information, but it was great.”

First-generation students often face big challenges, she says. “I think it’s important for students to hear that people care about them --having someone listen to their personal narrative and understand the intersectionality of their struggles, whether as a commuter student or someone who speaks English as a second language. It’s really important to make them feel at such a big institution that they matter and someone wants to help them on their path to graduation.”

DePass chats with Florence Johnson, one of his mentors.

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RESEARCH

Why women leave engineering UWM RESEARCHERS ARE EXPLORING HOW DIVERSITY CAN IMPACT INNOVATION IN ENGINEERING WORK TEAMS

NADYA FOUAD HAS DEDICATED HER CAREER TO

exploring how individuals decide on their careers, as well as the broader impact those decisions have.

She is a UWM distinguished professor of educational psychology, and in 2016, she was named the inaugural Mary and Ted Kellner endowed chair of educational psychology in the School of Education. Her research and expertise have drawn top recognition in her field, including a prestigious lifetime award.

Much of Fouad’s work has centered on those who are underrepresented in different areas of the workforce, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). That includes examining why so many women leave the engineering field.

Fouad’s most recent project, however, expands her focus from individual career paths to look at 10 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

professional engineering teams. Specifically, she’s partnered with UWM faculty members Romila Singh and Ed Levitas to see how diversity in those teams affects their innovation and effectiveness.

“We decided to find out,” Fouad says, “if you have more diverse teams, will it be related to the bottom line?” And although the project is in its early stages, it’s built upon previous research conducted by Fouad and her colleagues.

In 2007, Fouad published a study looking at the barriers that steered high school and middle school girls away from science and math while also examining ways to encourage their interest. A vital factor, Fouad found, involved parents and teachers helping to instill self-confidence in girls. Then, a few years later, a conversation with a doctoral student raised additional questions about women in the STEM fields, particularly engineering. Mary Fitzpatrick had

Nadya Fouad (left) with Romila Singh and Ed Levitas.

left engineering to pursue a doctorate under Fouad in “If you look at what companies are looking for, they are counseling psychology. “Did you know that half of women trying to innovate to stay relevant and to stay on the leading leave engineering?” Fitzpatrick asked Fouad. edge,” says Schlitz, who holds UWM master’s and doctoral The question prompted Fouad to join with Singh – an degrees in mechanical engineering. “If they don’t draw ideas associate professor in the Lubar School of Business who from people of all kinds, not just women, but people from focuses on organizational behavior and human resources – different cultures, functions and backgrounds, it’s going to for a groundbreaking study. Published in 2012, their National be very hard to be innovators. That’s really the ultimate Science Foundation-funded work explored why women with business reason to be inclusive.” engineering degrees leave the field.

Now, Fouad, Singh and Levitas want Although women had earned 20 percent to pin down the value of that diversity "We decided to find out of the engineering degrees awarded over and inclusiveness. For the study’s first if you have more diverse the previous 20 years, they made up only phase, the UWM research team laid 11 percent of the engineering workforce. the groundwork, designing a survey teams, will it be related “The women in engineering study hit to get at the factors that make teams to the bottom line?" a nerve,” Fouad says. “We were hoping successful. They’re developing a database for 800 respondents, and we got over of 200 diverse teams and reaching out to 5,500. More than 500 women who responded to the survey link organizations like the Society of Women Engineers, the Society had graduated in engineering, but they never became engineers. of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the National Society of That’s huge.”

Black Engineers to create a list of survey participants. They’ll Common wisdom had held that women left for child-rearing also include engineers from the 2012 study on their survey list. or family reasons. The study found, however, that most who A key part of the research is determining how to measure team left were not staying home. An uncomfortable work climate success. The researchers plan to use indicators like new products, topped the reasons women decided to leave the field. Many patents and patents pending, the publishing of papers, as well as of the women surveyed said the lack of other female engineers other measures of innovation and productivity. “We are looking and women mentors made engineering a lonely field for them. at things we can document,” Fouad says.

Nearly half of the women surveyed said they were discouraged The ultimate goal is to determine not only what factors make by working conditions, such as too much travel, lack of teams successful, but also how those traits can be replicated in advancement, low salary, or inflexible or non-supportive other teams. climates. On the other hand, women who had stayed in Although the project is challenging, team members see engineering did so for the same reasons as men – their their own diverse perspectives and disciplines as an advantage. companies invested in their training and professional “It’s stretching us all,” Singh says, “because we’re all learning development, recognized their contributions, and offered different areas of research.” them opportunities and clear paths to advancement.

“That’s the value of interdisciplinary work,” Fouad says.

In the wake of that study, Fouad has served on a committee “We’re arguing that teams do better work, and not one of us on engineering preparation for the National Academy of could do this by ourselves.”

Engineering. In 2017, she received the Leona Tyler Award for Lifetime Achievement in Counseling Psychology from the American Psychological Association. It’s given for distinguished contributions in research or professional achievement in counseling psychology.

Along the way, a reporter asked Fouad a simple question with a complex answer: Why did it matter that a workforce was diverse? And much like the question from her doctoral student, this one sparked an expanded line of research.

Fouad, Singh and Levitas – a professor of business in the Lubar School who studies learning, innovation and creativity – are exploring the chemistry of engineering work teams. To shed light on the question of why diverse work teams are important, their NSF-funded study will look at it from different angles, including how diversity relates to innovation and effectiveness.

“Generally speaking in the innovation literature,” Levitas says, “innovation results from a diversity of ideas being refined into new ideas.”

This concept has a foothold in the professional world. Lei Zhang Schlitz, an executive vice president at Illinois Tool Works and a 2018 UWM Distinguished Alumni award-winner, offers an example.

SPRING 2019 EDLINE 11

RESEARCH Tracy Borkin, chair of the Bradley Tech English Department.

Learning to argue well HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM LEARNING PERSUASIVE WRITING

TEENAGERS MAY LOVE TO ARGUE, BUT LEARNING to do it well is

critical to their development as well-informed and active citizens.

“Student writers have always struggled with creating arguments that were respectful, well-developed and supported with data and evidence,” says Donna Pasternak, professor of English education and director of UWM’s National Writing Project affiliate site, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Writing Project (UWMWP).

The School of Education houses the the Writing Project, and working in collaboration with local teachers, has supported teachers across grade levels and disciplines to help K-12 students improve their argumentative writing over the past two years.

Research showed the students taught by the teachers involved in this professional development significantly improved their ability to write persuasively between the beginning and end of the school year.

UWM and the teachers are working through a grant-funded project called the College, Career and Community Ready Writers (C3WP). As an affiliate site of the National Writing Project, UWM received two awards of $20,000 to work with teachers on this critical skill.

“Considering the focus on argumentative writing in so many real-world events, we thought it would be exciting to become involved in this project,” says Pasternak. “Considering the 12 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

current lack of civil discourse in the United States, it’s a timely skill to study.”

UWM worked with 18 teachers in southeastern Wisconsin schools in 2016-17, then focused on teachers at high-needs schools in 2017-2018.

All of the teachers involved the first year were teacher leaders who had been part of the UWM Writing Project’s invitational summer institute. Those involved the second year were a mix of teacher leaders and new fellows interested in studying this topic further.

The goal, says Pasternak, was to help teachers teach their students to write argumentatively about a topic, and substantiate their arguments with evidence from credible sources. Students were evaluated at the beginning and the end of the school year on their skill in creating arguments, supporting them with evidence, and distinguishing credible sources.

After the advanced institute with the site’s teacher leaders in 2016-2017, the project received a second grant through the National Writing Project in May of 2017, specifically to work with a high-needs school. Three teachers at Bradley Tech had taken part in the first year of the program, and continued it into the second year. Bradley Tech’s Science and English Departments had worked with UWMWP several years ago on two separate onsite institutes on writing, so teachers were already familiar

with working in collaboration with the university.

A student teacher joined the project,and the seven teachers met weekly with Pasternak, starting in August 2017, and on their own to introduce the argumentative writing process into their classrooms, developing lessons around literature readings like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Animal Farm,” as well as articles, political cartoons and stories about gangs, policing and other community issues.

Between August 2017 and April 2018, results Donna Pasternak showed that 67.2 percent of student writing samples contained a claim that was nuanced, debatable and defensible, an increase of 15.2 percent. In addition, 70.2 percent of student writing samples competently and effectively selected evidence to support claims, an increase of 35.1 percent. Finally, 50.7 percent of student writing samples competently and effectively explained how the evidence connected to the claim, an increase of 31.5 percent.

The C3WP program is now at 50 sites in 41 states so there are already examples of how students have used the writing strategies they’ve mastered. Students at a Montana school, for example, wrote letters to the editor about challenges to ambulance service in their rural area. The letter sparked community debate, and led to a ballot measure that resulted in county voters approving continuation of the service.

Many of the students at Bradley Tech also wrote to real people about issues they were concerned about. The seven teachers also offered professional development to colleagues at the school and shared the argumentative writing techniques at a community meeting.

Nationally, the C3WP has an overall goal of improving participation in democracy. The National Writing Project summed it up in an article titled “For the Sake of Argument,” published by the American Federation of Teachers in spring 2018.

“The NWP’s approach to argument writing starts with having students understand multiple points of view that go beyond pros and cons and are based on multiple pieces of evidence, which ultimately enables students to take responsible civic action," the article said. "At its core, C3WP supports students in navigating an increasingly dense informational world so they can become informed citizens who are prepared to participate in and ultimately strengthen a healthy and vibrant democracy.”

Teachers at Bradley Tech offered professional development to colleagues at the school and shared the argumentative writing techniques at a community meeting.

SOUNDING AN ALARM: BACKGROUND NOISE CAN HURT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT FROM ECHOING HALLWAYS AND DRONING AIR CONDITIONERS to loud lectures

and whispered secrets, schools can be noisy places. But a new study suggests high background noise can significantly distract some students during testing time.

In a study in the journal Urban Education, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee researchers Bo Zhang and Regina Navejar tracked 122 high school students’ reactions to background noise in a large, highpoverty urban school district.

Prior research suggests even moderate background noise above 65 decibels—about the level of a noisy classroom—can be distracting and cause problems if it is consistent over time.

To read the rest of the story, please visit the Education Week website at bit.ly/2FWlCbM. SPRING 2019 EDLINE 13

SCHOLARSHIPS

2018-19 Scholarship winners Congratulations to the School of Education’s scholarship winners for 2018-2019. Many thanks to the generous donors who are helping these students make their education dreams come true every year. Here is the complete list of those who received awards this year.

FRANK ADAMS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP D Mary Louise Williams (deceased) R Adelina Benavides DR. ROBERTA T. ANDERSON ’55 SCHOLARSHIP D Dr. Roberta T. Anderson R Megan Steensen WILMA H. BERG SCHOLARSHIP D Wilma H. Berg (deceased) R Paige Marie Blanchette, Alyssa Lynn Molinski AMY TESSMER BOENING SCHOLARSHIP D Estate of Amy Tessmer Boening R Atsuko Suka Borgmann, Jesus Castellon, Rachel Dobrauc, Rachel Lynn Haos, Khuloud Labanieh, Calvin Lewis, Parisa Meymand, Erin O’Halloran, Rebecca Olsen Reece, Leah M. Rineck, Molly Ann Wolk, Xinzhu Wu ROLLAND CALLAWAY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP D Joan Callaway (deceased) and the Callaway family in memory of Rolland and Joan R Kaylee Keller PI LAMBDA THETA LURA CARRITHERS D Beta Epsilon Chapter of Pi Lambda Theta R Emily Andrews, Atsuko Suka Borgmann, Molly Janssen THOMAS CHEEKS EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP D Multiple individual donors R Ebenezer Keane Randolph

DEAF/HARD OF HEARING EDUCATION CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP D Multiple individual donors R Kathleen Therese Tokarz CHRIS AND SVEN DIKANDER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP D Ellen Swan Dixon and estate of Helma Christine Dikander R Rylee Anne Anderson, Brooklyn Marie Benish, Moriah Marie Boehlen, Clarissa Rae Elmore, Molly Mackenzie Janssen, Mercy E. Ndon, Eric Adam Neuman, Ruth Marie Niles II, Laura Kim Sherbeck, Margaret Mary Simonelli, Megan Elaine Steensen, Shakayla Ranea Telford EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP D Multiple individual donors R Jenna Adelle Ebert, Elizabeth Anita Franzke, Kaitlyn Merry Kaiser, Raquel Marie Sylvester, Samantha Wawronowicz, Noah Aaron Wolfe JOSEPH AND LORETTA EISERLO/ROBERT KUEHNEISEN SCHOLARSHIP D Estate of Robert Kuehneisen R Rylee Anne Anderson, Cameron Kristoffer Blau, Cheryl Yvette Bledsoe, Madeline Kaylee Bohn, Jenna Claire Buchberger, Alexandra Campos, Nicholas Joseph Comella, Annette Eve Colley, Leticia Cortes, Allison Marie Craighead, Justin

14 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Decker, Stephen Christopher Drena, Emily Kathleen Duelge, Eliza Mae Eiden, Emma K. Eiden, Sarah Katherine Elliott, Clarissa Rae Elmore, Mercedes S. Goetzinger, Alyssa Raquel Guehlstorf, Mark Hamilton, Stephanie Brooke Hauski, Madeline Noel Hogue, Jennifer Lares, Samantha Lou Lewis, Emily Michelle Lipovsek, Hannah Ludwig, Anna Grace Lueth, Cecily Lyons, Madeline Monica Mollwitz, Mercy E. Ndon, Eric Adam Neuman, Hannah Josephine Perri, Emily Nicolette Putnam, Madeline Sadie Rice, Jessica Jo Robel, Amy Elizabeth Sadler, Emma Schmick, Jena Lynn Schneider, Lucy Seger, Sidney Kathleen Serra, Laura Kim Sherbeck, Jessica Rachel Skaggs, Angela Marie Spingola, Kali Ann Steilen, Margaret Eleanore Stelmacher, Madeline Mae Stollenwerk, Ericha Christine Stuberg, William Frank Thiemann, Katherine Michele Thompson, Jordan May Walesh, Savannah Lee Wallace, Yana Marie Walljasper, Cullen Michael White

EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP D Norma Jeanne Larson R Rebekah Jean Freda EXTRA HELP FUND D Nancy Lindenberg R Five anonymous students awarded

THE MARGARET FERRIS SCHOLARSHIP FUND D Margaret Ferris R Devon Breeze, Lauren McKinney THE JAMES FISHER ADULT EDUCATION FUND D James C. Fisher R Calvin Lewis SALOMON H. FLORES MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP D Maria Flores in the name of the family of Salomon H. Flores R Andrea Itzel Delgado ROBERT E. GALLEGOS FUND D Maria L. Gallegos R Irasema Garcia RANDY GOREE FUND D Family and friends of Randy Goree R Jason Schmiedling GREATER MILWAUKEE FOUNDATION CECILE M. FOLEY EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP D Greater Milwaukee Foundation Cecile M. Foley Education Scholarship Fund R Kalia Wanglue Vang GREATER MILWAUKEE FOUNDATION DONALD P. TIMM FUND SCHOLARSHIP D Greater Milwaukee Foundation Donald P. Timm Fund Scholarship Fund R Jason Peter Anderson, Anna Benton, Olivia Renee Cross, Samantha Ann Everhart, Kari S. Garon

SYDNEY G. HAMBLING ’37 SCHOLARSHIP D Marguerite D. Hambling (deceased) R Oscar Hernandez

Santiago, Kirsten Leigh Kjar, Janae Ellen Teer Rocio Trejo RICHARD AND DAWN HANEY SCHOLARSHIP IN SCIENCE EDUCATION D Dr. Richard E. (deceased) and Mrs. Dawn A. Haney R Kasheah Raeann Jennings, Anthony James Lueck REUBEN K. HARPOLE, JR. EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP D Mildred and Reuben K. Harpole, Jr., Alpha Phi Alpha Foundation, Helen Bader Foundation, Marshall & Isley Corporation, Wisconsin Energy Foundation, Multiple individual and corporate donors R Ebenezer Keane Rudolph WILLIAM B. HARVEY SCHOLARSHIP D William B. Harvey R Cheryl Bledsoe JOHN AND LOUISE HATTON SCHOLARSHIP D Mr. John (deceased) and Mrs. Louise Hatton R Emma K. Eiden, Alexandra Michelle Mathusek EARL AND KATHRYN HENRY SCHOLARSHIP D Patricia Finlayson, Jill Finlayson, Earl Henry and Susan Yates R Emma K. Eiden

D

DONOR(S)

HERD-BARBER INNOVATION AWARD D Jackie Herd-Barber R Morgan Bohnert JEAN E. HOFFMANN SCHOLARSHIP D Jean E. Hoffmann R Maureen Flanagan THE LORENA JACOBSON MATH EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP FUND D Lorena Jacobson R Eleanora Michels Frank, Dominic Thomas Freres KELLNER SCHOLARSHIP D Mary and Ted Kellner R Lauren Ling Mascari, Willy Anthony Diaz Tapia HENRY KEPNER MATHEMATICS EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP D Henry Kepner R Eleanora Frank, Dominic Thomas Freres RUSSELL “BUD” KNAPP SCHOLARSHIP D Evelyn A. Knetzger R Michelle Lee Kornitz ALYCE K. KRAEMER SCHOLARSHIP D The family of Alyce M. Kraemer R Torrance Harris, Alissa Marie Rake, Angela Marie Spingola COZETTE (KRUEGER) SCHOLARSHIP D Estate of Evelyn A. Krueger ‘42 R Madeline Noel Hogue, William Frank Thiemann, Angela Marie Spingola

R

RECIPIENT(S)

$407,447 TOTAL AMOUNT OF SCHOLARSHIP MONEY AWARDED

ROBERT KUEHNEISEN/ TEACHERS FOR A NEW ERA SCHOLARSHIP D Estate of Robert Kuehneisen R Courtney Sue Bernd, Thomas Luca Boffeli, Jeffery Craig Christensen, Siobhan Anello Gavagan, Elaina Genthe, Emily Louise Haas, Allison Beverly Hochmuth, Megan Hofschulte, Ericka Sarena Johnson, Rachel Elizabeth Johnson, Kirsten Leigh Kjar, Jamie Kathryn Lalasz, Nina Linneman, Pachoua Lor, Alexandra Louise Maier, Jenna Lee McGlin, Kelsi Marie Meyer, Kathleen Leigh Monahan, Alannia Marie Mosley, Kate Marie Negri, Jenny Dodoy Nithalangsy, Haley C. Pierson, Kristina Michelle Schell, Julie Catherine Schneider, Jennifer Moore Vice-Reshel, Allyson Kay Von Ruden, Xiaoling Wu ROBERT AND HOPE LONGWELL-GRICE SCHOLARSHIP D Robert and Hope Longwell-Grice R Olivia Renee Cross

LOVE KINDNESS AWARD D Mike Robertson R Jeffrey Stempniewski DOROTHY B. MAKSIMOWITZ SCHOLARSHIP D Henry A. and Dorothy B. Maksimowitz Trust R Christopher Gaza, Jessica Katherine Krause, Abigail Elizabeth Myers MICHELLE A. MILLER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP D Mr. Edward and Ms. Faye Miller MILWAUKEE STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP D Paul Melrood on behalf of the Milwaukee State Teachers College Class of 1941 and multiple individual and corporate donors R Matisen Kristine Ardis, Katherine Marie Bilicki, Sarah Katherine Elliott, Samantha Lou Lewis, Anna Grace Lueth, Cecily Lyons, Megan Nicole Perri, Jenna Johann Portz, Emma Schmick, Lucy Seger, Sidney Kathleen Serra, Margaret Mary Simonelli, Kali Ann Steilen, Yana Marie Walljasper

255 SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO 189 STUDENTS

CASPER AND MARY ONDREJKA SCHOLARSHIP D Linda Paul R Alexandra Campos MARGUERITE PAVLIC-GOSTOMSKI SCHOLARSHIP D Family and friends of Marguerite Pavlic-Gostomski R Cheryl Yvette Bledsoe, Josephine Hildebrandt, Brianna Marie Suggs CHESTER A. AND MILDRED RAASCH ’45 SCHOLARSHIP D Estate of Chester A. and Mildred Raasch R Fatima Alsharifi, Kou Chang, Amanda Rian Hanrahan, Maxwell Banks King, Debra Lynn Klich, Emily G. Kuhnen RACINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION JEANNETTE F. SOKOL SCHOLARSHIP D Alice Sokol R Brandon Lindemann THE EMILY KACHEL ROBERTSON ’80 SCHOLARSHIP D Emily Robertson R Megan Elizabeth Bohnert, Macey Marie Davis

RUSSELL D. ROBINSON ADULT EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP D Helen Robinson R Christianne Lindsey Swartz JUDITH ’57 AND GERALD B. SALINSKY SCHOLARSHIP FUND R Brittany Nicole Tessmer SCHOOL OF EDUCATION GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP D Dean Alan Shoho R Emily Elise Carroll, Michael Clark, Margot Frazier, Marie Therese Fredrickson, Alice Rose Flees Husain, Michael B. Kozlowski, Roshi Lawrence, Abigail Elizabeth Myers, Karaline Mae Naegele, Theresa Mary Schumaker, Kalia Wanglue Vang SCHOOL OF EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT FUND D Walter and Ruth Mundschau R Ramjro Arteaga, Kalia Vang

AVERAGE AWARD

$2,155.81 PER STUDENT

URA M. AND JOHN G. SILVEUS SCHOLARSHIP D Estate of Marian Silveus R Quentin Badger ARTHUR AND MAGDALENE SINGER SCHOLARSHIP D Estate of Arthur and Magdalene Singer R Joy Arnoldson, Jenna Ebert, Elizabeth Franzke, Kaitlyn Kaiser, Drew Kellog, Jenna Portz, Raquel Sylvester, Samantha Wawronowicz, Noah Wolfe CLARA HERTEL SLAYMAKER SCHOLARSHIP D Dale Ihlenfeldt (deceased) and Elinor Slaymaker Ihlenfeldt R Macey Marie Davis, Jessica Catherine Krause STELLA JOHNSON STAUNT SCHOLARSHIP D Norma Jean Larson R Kate Nelson JENNIE D. STEINBERG SCHOLARSHIP D Jennie D. Steinberg ’42 (deceased) R Sienna Marie Kellner

LEAH D. TEMKIN ’69 SCHOLARSHIP IN ADULT EDUCATION D Leah D. Temkin R Michael A. Garamoni DEAN ALFONZO THURMAN & U.S. BANK EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP D Dr. and Mrs. Alfonzo Thurman, U.S. Bank Corporation, multiple individual donors R Alexandra Campos, Andrea Itzel Delgado, Josephine Arline Hildebrandt, Brianna Marie Suggs HARVEY A. UBER SCHOLARSHIP D Edith “Edie” M. Anderson R Rebekah Jeanne Freda, Jessica Catherine Krause LOUISE S. ULM SCHOLARSHIP D Jack F. (deceased) and Corinne V. Reichert R Alicia Megan Blando, Rose Peri Irwin CAROL AND LUCY WAECHTER SCHOLARSHIP D Lorna Waechter (deceased) R Alyssa Raquel Guehlstorf, Stephanie Brooke Hauski, Cecily Lyons, Cullen Michael White

If you would like to help fund Student Success, please visit the Give to UWM webpage. Or contact Carol Wacker at 414-229-3080 or wackerc@uwm.edu to explore opportunities to support students, ensure research excellence, and enable ongoing collaborations with community schools and organizations.

Students, donors, family and faculty celebrated at the Scholarship dinner.

SPRING 2019 EDLINE 15

CLUBS African drumming and dance are among the school’s clubs.

Clubs offer elementary students new experiences COMMUNITY MEMBERS HELP OUT

LEANNE EVANS STOPPED BY HOPKINS LLOYD COMMUNITY

School for a meeting and immediately was stopped in the hallway by students wanting to know: “Is it CLUBS day today?”

It wasn’t that day, but the students’ response is an indication of how popular the clubs – held every other Friday during each trimester – are with students.

CLUBS, as the project is formally known, stands for Community Learning Unique to our Building and Students.

The idea is that students can pick out topics – outside the regular school subjects – that they are interested in and learn about them from members of the community.

During the fall trimester, for example, clubs included cooking, yoga, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), books, community gardening, hip-hop dance, African drumming, soccer and filmmaking. The young filmmakers, working with students from UWM’s docUWM film program, are actually making a documentary about the program.

Evans, an assistant professor of early childhood education 16 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

in UWM’s School of Education, is the culturally responsive facilitator for Hopkins Lloyd, working with a team from the school as part of a $5 million federal grant. The three-year grant, in partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools, is from the U.S. Department of Education’s Supporting Effective Educators Development program.

The project, which includes 12 Milwaukee Public Schools, is designed to help foster culturally responsive teaching, approaches that educate teachers for increasingly diverse classrooms.

“The clubs are one of our vehicles to develop teachers’ culturally responsive practices,” says Evans of the approach at Hopkins Lloyd. Bringing in community members to lead the clubs gives students and teachers a chance to meet a wide range of professionals and learn more about the people in the community and Milwaukee area, according to Evans.

The clubs are happening along with professional development for teachers during in-service and staff meetings. Evans is working with a grant team that includes UWM faculty, doctoral

UWM students worked with a video club.

students, and culturally responsive fellows, who are teacher leaders within the 12 MPS schools. Glenn Carson, a school-community liaison from United Way, joined Evans and teachers in seeking out coaches, business owners and other professionals from the community to lead the clubs. “As the community-school liaison, Glenn has had a tremendous impact on introducing Hopkins-Lloyd to rich and varied community partners," she says.

“What’s really effective about CLUBS is that it’s a diverse group of community partners that are introducing the students to new things – one of our tenets is that we are going to be open to trying and learning about new things. Another tenet is that we are going to explore multiple perspectives, that we don’t just see the world in one way, that we can live alongside other people’s perspectives.”

The dance club, for example, incorporates hip-hop, ballroom dancing and salsa.

The third tenet, says Evans, is that the students have an integral role in planning,

designing and evaluating what kind of clubs they want.

Toward the end of the fall semester, the CLUBS team had a meeting with student representatives from kindergarten through eighth grade. “They sat with us and talked about what they liked, what they didn’t like, what other kids were saying about things. They were really honest and offered suggestions.”

Some of the fall semester clubs will continue; others won’t. New clubs for popular subjects like coding and web design may be on the list. “There’s a lot of interest in sports – some you might not think about like lacrosse and tennis,” says Evans. One of the rules of the clubs is that students commit to the same club for five weeks, but they can try something new each trimester. All Hopkins Lloyd students kindergarten through eighth grade fill out a request form with first, second and third choices.

“One of my favorite things I saw were the kids in the STEM program creating Bluetooth speakers,” Evans says. The

community member leading the group was taking an old-fashioned speaker and turning it into a Bluetooth speaker, explaining the system to them as he worked. “It was a session of innovation and tinkering.”

Evans is researching the impact the clubs have – documenting the students and the community members’ experiences.

One goal is that by working with community members from soccer clubs, yoga studios, film students and others, the students can see new possibilities for their futures, she says.

“It’s a lot about the possibilities – ‘what can I be?’ It’s not just other people who do web design or African drumming.”

Cooking is on the menu for one of the school's clubs.

SPRING 2019 EDLINE 17

ALUMNI

Jorie Stuck works with students in her classroom at Riverside University High School

Urban teaching TEACHING IS CHALLENGING AND FINDING GOOD TEACHERS for urban

schools is difficult.

That may be common wisdom, but two UWM School of Education alumni are proving that good teaching, while still challenging, has a home in their urban classrooms.

Jesse Martin of James Madison Academic Campus and Jorie Struck of Riverside University High School received statewide awards for their teaching from the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English at the group’s annual conference the weekend of Oct. 19.

Jorie Struck was selected as the winner of the Outstanding Student Teacher of the Year Award for the 2017-2018 School year for her work from January to June at Bradley Tech. Jesse Martin won the Nancy Hoefs Memorial Award for Outstanding First Year Teachers for last year’s work at James Madison.

18 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Both are passionate about their work and their students.

Struck teaches five sections of first-year English, and of her 125 students onethird have a first language –15 different languages – that is not English or Spanish.

That diversity brings a special dimension to her classes, she says.

As the students were preparing to read Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian,” for example, they had a discussion about the idea of needing to leave where you are in order to find success.

“Students who immigrated to the United States or whose parents were immigrants really brought forth some great personal evidence about why they left their homes in different countries,” says Struck. “It provided students who have lived here their whole lives a unique perspective, specifically with regards to the things we take for granted like access to education and being guaranteed the right to learn every day.”

Martin’s classes at James Madison are 97 percent Africa-American, and the majority live in poverty. Many have experienced trauma in their lives, so building a trusting, respectful climate in

the classroom is the foundation Martin works on.

In reading “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” for example, Martin asked the students to write a short autobiography. “They shared some really, really intense emotional experiences, but you have to have that trust. If you have that human connection, it comes naturally. I think people want to trust people.”

After graduating from Marquette with a degree in communication, Struck took a service learning opportunity in Cape Town, South Africa where she said she felt called to teach.

“Even though I had dirt-floored classrooms of 40 students who spoke Xhosa, a language filled with clicks I didn’t understand, I had never felt so at home in my life. I felt like I had a natural physical response to teaching that — despite it being the most stressful thing I’d ever done – I felt physically, emotionally and mentally fulfilled.”

Growing up, Martin moved around a great deal because his father was in the military. The family ended up in rural Wisconsin when he was in 7th grade.

He originally came to UWM to study

classical guitar. “UWM has a wonderful program, and I loved it.” But he decided he wanted to make a different type of contribution to the universe, and after finishing his undergraduate degree in English, he moved into the postbaccalaureate education program.

Both Martin and Struck found UWM, with its emphasis on urban education, perfectly fit what they wanted to do.

“I was steeped in this culture of teachers who worked in Milwaukee public schools and who loved it,” says Martin. “I felt there was an obligation to give back to the city that had given me a teaching career.”

“I think UWM’s focus on urban education was the biggest determining factor in my decision to join the program,” says Struck who went into the post-baccalaureate/master’s program for her degree in curriculum and instruction.

“I have always felt drawn to urban education Jesse Martin because I think the works with his change makers and class at James Madison people who are fighting Academic to ensure all students Campus. have access to equal, exceptional education are working in these communities.”

“I love working with diverse learners, English language learners, students who may not have been afforded the same opportunities as others who still want to be and deserve to be successful inside and out the classroom.”

A triple play for education THE THREE TEMPLE SISTERS FOLLOWED IN EACH other’s

footsteps on the path to careers in teaching and education.

Ava Evans, who graduated in 1972 and her sisters, Carole Gupton, ’67 and Arleen Temple, ‘71 all grew up in Milwaukee, the three youngest of a family of 10.

All three came to UWM for their education degrees – Gupton in exceptional education; Temple in early childhood education and Evans in curriculum and instruction 1-8.

The three came back in midAugust of 2018 to visit the School of Education, enjoying a tour of Enderis and visits to some of the programs.

All three give credit to the School of Education for preparing them for long and successful careers.

After starting out as a teacher in Milwaukee, Gupton became a methods and materials specialist, special education coordinator and principal. She retired in 2002 and joined the University of Minnesota’s School of Education for 10 years, and still works with districts and administrators.

“I like being part of the education field,” she says.

Temple taught young children in Milwaukee Public Schools. “I just loved my job. I loved coming into school every day.” She taught at Hopkins Street School in the same classroom in the same grade for all 34 years.

Evans taught in MPS for 32 years, retiring in 2005. “I had some wonderful classes. In fact, one of my best classes was in my last year of teaching. I’d see things changing

and everything, but I really enjoyed my job.”

All three say they made the decision to enter the education field early.

Gupton was inspired when, as a sixth grader, she was asked to fill in briefly in an emergency in a special ed classroom full of younger students.

They weren’t behaving very well, she recalls, and Gupton decided she could do better. “I decided I would teach and I would teach in special ed.”

“I had a scholarship and I knew I wanted to be a teacher,” says Gupton. “Everyone said this (UWM) was the best place if you wanted to be a teacher, I think because it had been a teachers’ college.”

Temple was one of 25 high school students chosen to come to UWM as part of a special two-year program called Project Destiny, most of them interested in becoming teachers. “I liked UWM so I stayed.”

Their summer visit grew out of a UWM alumni reception Gupton went to in Minneapolis, where she met Chancellor Mark Mone and Diane Grace, director of major and planned giving, who helped them plan the trip.

They took pictures with the Panther statue and the fountain, but also in front of Mitchell Hall.

They were glad to see other old favorites from the Teachers’ College days were still here, and that the Golda Meir Library, brand new when they were here, was still a center of campus life.

“We really like the mix of the old and the new,” said Gupton.

SPRING 2019 EDLINE 19

ALUMNI

Good Dad KAREN EHRLE EARNED HER DOCTORATE IN EDUCATION at UWM because she

wanted answers to the question that kept her up at night: exactly why do some teens thrive in the classroom and others find school so confusing and alienating?

At UWM she discovered some parenting theory studies that seemed to provide a partial explanation. Upon completion of her dissertation, a friend told her about the single father of a family at her school in a poor, crime-ridden urban Milwaukee neighborhood: “He has no money, he has no car, he lives in an apartment. And he has these perfect, fabulous children.”

So Ehrle went to interview him.

“Fifteen seconds into my talking to him, I knew he was channeling all those (education and child rearing) theories perfectly. Even though he didn't know any of the theories, he was the poster child for the research.”

Out of that interview grew her recently published book, “Good Dad: The Story of an African-American Father,” which tells the story in his own words, written in a down-to-earth style at the fourth-grade reading level to be accessible to children, families and low-level readers.

For Ehrle, the journey to her doctorate and to publication of the book was a long

Karen Ehrle was inspired to write the book by the experiences of one father.

20 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

one. She talks of the several “electric moments” that propelled her.

The first was when she was teaching in a program at Waukesha North High School for students at high risk of dropping out of school. A young man she’d been working with looked at a happy picture of her four daughters on her desk.

“He picked it up and he said, ‘if I had been born in your house, I would have turned out like these girls.’ He was a wonderful young man who had figured that out about his life. That’s why I say my work started with a broken heart.”

Determined to help, Ehrle came to UWM, asking if she could work toward a doctorate, and do research, even though she didn’t have a master’s and had been out of school for many years. Eventually UWM said yes.

interview, there was never any doubt that the book would be exactly his words.

Those words are still so true and honest, that to this day, they jump off the page for me.”

Of course, the process was neither obvious nor easy and took years. She had envisioned a pretty book with numerous photos of the father and his children. But, although the father was fine with the book and his children loved it, he did not want to be identified or have his pictures used.

That put the project on hold for awhile until Ehrle discovered the possibility of using stock photos. “I looked on the internet and discovered I could buy pictures. When I realized I could use all different fathers throughout the book, that was another electric moment.”

After printing out a few books on

“When you have children, it’s not about you any more. It’s about them. I have dedicated my life to my children. My fear is failing them as a parent, and I am not a man who fears many things.”

After finishing her degree, her advisor got her involved in writing some articles for an encyclopedia on business and industry for high school students. “In that work I trained myself as a writer.”

That was the point where she met the man who became the subject of “Good Dad.” “When I finished transcribing the

Shutterfly, she found a local printing company that was very interested in the book and willing to publish it. “I found it was easier to do this privately than to get an actual publisher.”

Ehrle jokes that building a website and getting the book on Amazon was even harder than writing the book, but that has been accomplished. It’s essentially a nonprofit enterprise, she says, adding it was more important to get the story out than to make money. The father who inspired the book receives part of all the proceeds.

She’s received some objections to the work. Some people question the idea of a white woman telling black families how to raise children. Ehrle answers that although she is the writer, she’s not offering advice; she’s simply telling one father’s story. Other people ask why identify the father as African-American?

Couldn’t he instead be just a plain father?

To this, Ehrle responds that the book is a pushback against an entrenched stereotype of African-American fathers.

“This is a celebration of a very good dad, and the fact he’s African-American is just fine.”

Freer welcomes students at the start of the 2018-19 school year.

ALUMS HONORED AS GOLD AWARD WINNERS TWO SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ALUMNI WERE HONORED Oct. 12 at the UWM

Alumni Association Awards at the Pfister Hotel.

Jacarrie Carr, who earned his BS in community education in 2015, was honored as a Graduate of the Last Decade, as was Nathaniel Deans, Jr. who earned his B.S. in English and education in 2011.

Freer’s studies prepared her for administration SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ALUMNA REBECCA (BECKY) FREER, associate dean of

students at UWM, received the Outstanding Performance and Service Award at the annual fall awards ceremony at the Union.

Freer served as interim dean of students in 2017-2018.

“As interim dean of students, Becky has overseen sweeping changes in the way that office operates, moving that office into new territory to deal with a changing student demographic,” wrote Rob Longwell-Grice, senior advisor in the School of Education in nominating her.

Having completed her own doctorate in Urban Education-Adult and Continuing Higher Education, she now teaches online courses in that area, and mentors interns.

She credits her studies in the School of Education for helping prepare her for her responsibilities.

“I am a big-picture thinker, and my experience in the program has given me more tools so that I can be influential in creating conditions that promote equity and access in higher education,” she says.

Freer cites a number of specific key skills and knowledge from her studies that she’s been able to apply to her work: • “While taking classes, I quickly noticed that I was able to speak more confidently in meetings. I trust my knowledge in understanding higher education research and I was able to apply this knowledge to my experience as a campus administrator. It especially helped me as I served on a campus committee related to budgeting and the Chancellor’s Strategic Opportunities Work Group to help UWM achieve its goal to be an outstanding learning environment.

• “I can confidently use data to better understand students’ experiences and to strategically set goals. Because of my graduate coursework, I know how to navigate national datasets such as that in IPEDS, Institutional Research Data, find comprehensive resources on specific topics in higher education to guide our practices.

• “I specifically focused my research on working-class and poor students.

As such, I was able to apply my knowledge when I applied for the Dash Emergency Grant. UWM was awarded that $630,000 grant to help students overcome unexpected financial barriers.

• "I also have a greater understanding of systemic and structural barriers that may impede students’ success.”

Jacarrie Carr, who earned his master’s degree in cultural foundations of education and eommunity leadership in May, 2018 at UWM, started Jacarrie’s Kicks for Kids while he was still an undergraduate. Since 2013, hundreds of families have benefitted from his efforts to collect and distribute free, clean, comfortable shoes to Milwaukee students. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Carr has worked on other projects to improve the lives of Milwaukee young people. In the fall of 2017, he received the first Love Kindness award. That award, established by donor Mike Robertson, is given to a School of Education student who exemplified how to treat others and build a better community.

Nathaniel Deans Jr. returned to his alma mater, Riverside University High School after graduating cum laude from UWM. As one of the few male teachers of color at Riverside, he serves as a role model. He inspires his students to develop a love of English and challenges them to take actions that will improve their community. He goes beyond the classroom to mentor students and new teachers. He often brings his students on field trips to various events and activities at UWM. In 2017, he received the Start, Stay, Succeed Champion Award from the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation.

Jacarrie Carr (left) and Nate Deans (right) with Rob Longwell-Grice.

FACULTY

Retirees TOM BASKIN, associate professor of educational psychology,

ANTHONY (TONY) HAINS, who had been with UWM since

retired in summer 2018 after 14 years at the School of Education. He taught and did research on health and applied psychology.

1986, was a professor in counseling psychology, school and clinical mental health counseling in the Department of Educational Psychology. He retired at the end of the spring 2018 semester. He was a licensed psychologist in Wisconsin and taught courses in counseling psychology, essentials of counseling, advanced counseling strategies, and counseling children and adolescents.

MICHAEL BONDS retired in August after more than 40 years at

UWM as a student and faculty member. He was a professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies and served two terms as department chair. He also served the community as a member and president of the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of School Directors.

BARBARA J. DALEY, professor of adult, continuing and higher

education, is planning to retire June 2, 2019. Daley teaches courses at the graduate level on adult learning, program planning, organizational learning, qualitative research and continuing professional education. During her career, Daley published over 100 manuscripts including peer review articles, book chapters, sourcebooks, and conference papers.

In addition, she chaired 24 dissertation committees and served as a committee member on 70 others. Daley served as associate dean in both the School of Education and the College of Nursing, as well as serving as interim dean of the School of Education.

ALISON FORD, an associate professor in special education:

middle childhood-early adolescence in the Department of Exceptional Education, retired at the end of the spring semester 2018. She had been with UWM since 1990. She worked closely with Milwaukee Public Schools to achieve high-quality, field-based certification programs for special education teachers. In addition, she had a long-standing interest in developing a meaningful and inclusive curriculum for students with cognitive disabilities.

LINDA POST, associate professor in the Department of

Curriculum and Instruction, retired in 2017, but her retirement was not included because of the EdLine publication date that year. She served UWM for 41 years, including 14 years as the chair of the department. She was a long-time liaison for UWM with MPS and the UW System’s Institute for Urban Education. In addition, she was one of the principal investigators for the Teachers for a New Era project, funded by the Carnegie Foundation to increase the quality of teaching in K-12 classrooms by improving the quality of teacher education programs and enhancing the position of teacher education at each participating TNE institution.

JUDITH (JUDY) WINN, who had been with UWM since

1996, was an associate professor of special education: middle childhood – early adolescence in the Department of Exceptional Education. She was also coordinator of the UWM/MPS internship program for preparing special education teachers, and coordinated the teaching experiences for the special education primary/middle certification program. She was also instrumental in organizing the PLUS program (see story on page 4).

Promotions Congratulations to the School of Education faculty members whose promotions were formally approved at the Board of Regents meeting in Milwaukee last spring. They are: ELISE FRATTURA, who was promoted from associate professor

CHRIS LAWSON, who was promoted from assistant professor

to professor in the Department of Exceptional Education;

to associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology;

LAURA OWENS, who was promoted from associate professor

to professor in the Department of Exceptional Education;

JACQUELYN NGUYEN, who was promoted from assistant

MICHAEL STEELE, who was promoted from associate professor

professor to associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology.

to professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction;

22 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

AWARDS PROFESSOR DONNA PASTERNAK received the 2018

Richard A. Meade Award for Research in English Education for her book, “Secondary English Education in the United States” (Bloomsbury, 2018). She is the lead author of the book, which originated from a study of English Education across the United States that was supported through a UWM Research Growth Initiative grant.

The award recognizes an outstanding piece of published research on either the preservice or in-service education of English/language arts teacher development at any educational level, any scope or any setting.

Pasternak and her colleagues received the award Nov. 16 in Houston during the English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE) luncheon at the National Council of Teachers of English’s annual meeting.

Co-authors include independent scholar Samantha Caughlan; Professor Heidi Hallman, University of Kansas; Professor Laura Renzi, West Chester University of Pennsylvania; and Dean Leslie Rush, University of Wyoming.

NADYA FOUAD, Kellner endowed professor of

educational psychology, received the Leona Tyler Award for Lifetime Achievement in Counseling Psychology from the Society of Counseling Psychology, Division 17 in August 2018. She also gave a keynote talk at the American Psychology Association event. The award is given to stimulate and reward distinguished contributions in research or professional achievement in counseling psychology.

Welcome new faculty DANTE SALTO will be joining the

Department of Administrative Leadership as an assistant professor this fall. He is a native of Argentina, where he earned his undergraduate degree at the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba in Cordoba, that country’s second largest city. After spending time doing graduate work in Austin, Texas, he applied for and received a Fulbright Fellowship to earn his doctorate. Before coming to UWM, he lived in Cordoba, while completing postdoctoral training at his alma mater.

XU LI will be joining the School of

Education’s Department of Educational Psychology in August. He was born in the southwestern Sichuan province in China. He was accepted into the School of Mathematical Sciences in Beijing Normal University for college.

After exploring career options, he decided to earn his master’s degree in counseling psychology at Beijing Normal University. He earned his doctorate in counseling psychology at the University of Maryland.

SIMONE CONCEIÇÃO, professor and chair of

the Departmet of Administrative Leadership, was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame on Nov. 10 in New Orleans. In a speech to the organization, former colleague Larry Martin described her as an innovator in the use of technologies and their applications to online teaching and learning.

Martin is a professor emeritus and also a member of the Hall of Fame. School of Education Dean Alan Shoho flew to New Orleans to honor Conceição at the induction.

Conceição teaches courses in distance education, use of technology with adult learners, instructional design, and adult learning.

Her research interests include adult learning, distance education, impact of technology on teaching and learning, instructional design, learning objects, staff development, and international education. She is the author of a number of books on distance learning as well as numerous other articles and publications.

LEAH ROUSE, a former School of

Education faculty member, is rejoining the School as part of the Electa Quinney Institute. She was born and attended school in Milwaukee, but spent a great deal of time with her grandparents in the rural Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

She earned her BA in Spanish and a BS in Criminal Justice from UWM and completed her master’s degree in Educational Psychology. She completed her doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in counseling psychology.

Before starting her career in psychology, she worked as a Milwaukee police officer. Her research has focused on law enforcement wellness. She has also worked closely with American Indian tribes in Wisconsin on wellness and mental health issues. For her work, she was honored in 2014 with the UWM Faculty Distinguished Public Service Award.

SPRING 2019 EDLINE 23

BRIEFS

CHEERING ON THE PANTHERS School of Education faculty, staff, donors, alumni and friends showed their Panther Pride at the men’s basketball game March 2 against Wright State University. The event kicked off with a pre-game reception.

Lyndee Belanger, who earned her B.S. in elementary education in 2004, brought some special guests with her – a group of students from Milwaukee School of Excellence. Belanger (at far right in the photo) is a fellow with the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship and dean of curriculum and instruction at the school.

CAREER FAIR Students from UWM’s School of Education and other colleges and universities had a chance to meet with more than 40 potential employers at the 4th annual Education Career Fair Saturday, March 2, 2019.

The School of Education, in collaboration with the UWM Career Planning and Resource Center, hosted the event, which attracted representatives from school districts, nonprofits and other employers from Wisconsin as well as from other states.

The representatives discussed job opportunities as well as internships and practicums. Students also had the opportunity to get a free professional photo taken for their resumes.

If you would like to help fund student success, please visit the Give to UWM webpage.

Or contact Carol Wacker at 414-229-3080 or wackerc@uwm.edu to explore opportunities to support students, ensure research excellence and enable ongoing collaborations with community schools and organizations.

24 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

CELEBRATION OF TEACHING 2018 Congratulations to the teachers honored at this year’s Celebration of Teachers and Teaching, held Oct. 10 at Cardinal Stritch University. The annual event, which started in 2013, is sponsored by the Education Deans of Greater Milwaukee.

UWM’s School of Education Dean Alan Shoho is a member of the group, along with education leaders from Marquette University, Mount Mary, Cardinal Stritch University, Carroll University, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Alverno College, Milwaukee Area Technical College and Concordia University.

This year’s celebration honored teachers who do exemplary work in special education. Heidi Hamilton (above center), a teacher at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, received the Advanced Career award.

Hamilton, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Mount Mary universities, earned her teaching certification at UWM. Kaitlyn Moquet (above left) of the Stellar Collegiate Charter School in Milwaukee was honored with the Early Career award for teachers who have been in the classroom less than three years.

IN MEMORIAM

In Memoriam Ms. Gregoria Karides Suchy, PhD., 1945

Ms. Leah M. Leonhardt, 2012

Ms. Marie Joan Sattell, 1991

Miss Yvonne D. Kastelic, 1967

Mr. Lorin Stein, 1975

Mr. LaVern G. Prinsen, 1970

Mrs. Arlene A. Schulz,1955

Mr. Neal C. White, 1968

Mr. Robert A. DiDonato, 1973

Mr. Joseph C. Haupt,1989

Mr. Fredrick T. Benz, Jr., 1974

Mrs. Shirley Jean Anderson, 1953

Ms. Corinne A. Boduch, 1972

Ms. Rosalie Greco, 1979

Mr. Lawrence L. Grogan, 1972

Mrs. Patricia Graham,1954

Mr. Achilles Arestides, Jr., 1969

Mr. Sylvarius R. Claas, 1985

Mr. Mark Sauer, 1990

Ms. Rose K. Kreitzer, 1972

Mrs. Marie D. Reinhardt, 1952

Mr. Thomas B. Mielke, 1969

Mr. Keith A. Wunrow. 1963

Ms. Andrea J. Fischer, 1989

Mr. Jerome J. Persak, 1975

Mrs. Ann H. Tisdale. 1985

Mrs. Sunny Mendeloff, 1988

Mrs. Serene W. Rubin, 1979

Dr. Anita L. Zeidler, 1991

Mrs. Joan E. Herman, 1973

Dr. Nicholas R. Schaeve, 1967

Mrs. Ann H. Tisdale, 1985

Mrs. Sandra H. Kahn, 1960

Mr. Alfred J. Zietlow, 1968

Mrs. Barbara A. Eichmann, 1988

Mrs. Doris M. Nowak, 1977

Ms. April M. Swick, 1994

Mr. Ronnie Johnson, 1993

Ms. Ruth E. Derse, 1967

Mr. George J. Baskfield, 1963

Ms. Jean M. Bjornson, 1967

Mr. Russell E. Reinhardt, 1952

Mr. Joseph A. Perez, 1969

Ms. LaVerne C. Ferguson, 1942

Ms. Olivia A. Andrea, 1978

Mr. Gary R. Farber, 1977

Mr. Kenneth E. Hitzke, 1961

Mr. Paul T. Schulz, 1973

Ms. Helen W. Korpi, 1983

Ms. Christine Stock, 1985

Ms. Linda M. Kurtz, 2002

Mr. Jerome S. Parker, 1975

Mr. George J. McCloud, 1968

Mrs. Mary Cupery, 1961

Mr. Michael T. Maloney, 1961

Ms. Isabel Groth, 1967

Mrs. Dorothy T. Mackowski, 1948

Ms. Kathryn J. Philipp, 1952

Mr. Gerald G. Reichert, 1977

Ms. Lisa L. Carothers, 1981

DR. ANITA ZEIDLER, former

UWM ad hoc instructor and senior lecturer, passed away on September 3, 2018.

Zeidler was a highly valued member of the UWM Department of Educational Psychology in Learning & Development for 25 years and retired from UWM in 2016.

She was an icon and a civic leader in Milwaukee. She was the daughter of legendary Milwaukee mayor Frank Zeidler, she was deeply devoted to education, the development of civic leaders, and labor – continuing to work at one of her favorite events, the Milwaukee Labor Day Parade, up to the time of her passing.

Zeidler was a board member of the Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion, vice-president of the United Nations Association-Greater Milwaukee, and she taught courses in the Learning & Development program on cognition, motivation, and learning for 25 years, inspiring hundreds of teachers, counselors, administrators, and psychologists in training.

GREGORIA KARIDES SUCHY,

who influenced the life of nearly every UWM musician to graduate before 1999, died Oct. 3 at age 94 in Pasadena, Calif.

She earned her B.S. in music education in 1945 and began teaching at UWM. Her academically rigorous yet supportive approach is the basis of the hundreds of “Suchy stories,” fondly recalled by grateful alumni. Suchy was a pioneer in experimental music at a time when female composers were not well accepted.

Suchy, who grew up in Milwaukee as the daughter of Greek immigrants, played piano from a young age and had already performed publicly by age 9.

In 1998, UWM honored Suchy by showcasing her compositions in a tribute concert and by establishing the Gregoria Karides Suchy Scholarship for Composition/ Music Technology. In 2015, she was the recipient of a UWM Distinguished Alumni Award.

SPRING 2019 EDLINE 25

PI LAMBDA THETA

Barbara Michaels, surrounded by her family at the reception.

Education Honorary Celebrates 55 Years BARBARA MICHAELS HONORED AT PI LAMBDA THETA

TWENTY-FOUR NEW MEMBERS WERE INDUCTED INTO the

Pi Lambda Theta education honorary society last fall.

The event also celebrated the group’s 55th anniversary at UWM and paid tribute to Barbara Michaels. Michaels helped found UWM’s Beta Epsilon Chapter, and is a long-time supporter of the university and the School of Education.

Michaels, who earned her bachelor’s degree in 1956 and a master’s degree in 1960 from the School of Education, was a primary school grade teacher for 40 years. Even after retirement, she remained an active and engaged supporter of the university hosting numerous events, serving as president of the UWM Alumni Association as well as one of the organizers of the 26 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Women’s Giving Circle. In 1997, she received the Alumni Association’s Community Service Award.

Among the projects the Women’s Giving Circle has supported is the edTPA, a performance-based assessment tool. Michaels recalls that when she graduated in 1956, all she had to do was fill out a postcard to receive a lifetime teaching license. “I also had to be able to play the piano and know how to swim because I had to teach music and physical education, too,” she recalls. “Today, the list of requirements is much lengthier and includes examinations and submission of a video showing the student actually teaching.”

UWM’s chapter of Pi Lambda Theta now has more than 1,000 members.

Fall 2018 Inductees MAGEN BABCOCK

PAIGE KONITZER

KAYTLIN SWEDA

Undergraduate degree in English education

Master's degree in adult, continuing and higher education administration

Undergraduate degree in special education, middle childhood-early adolescence

ADELINA BENAVIDES

ANGELA MARTINI

Master’s degree in higher education administration

Undergraduate degree in English education

BETHANY BLOUNT

NEDRA MCCLAIN

Post-baccalaureate certification in English as a second language

Master's degree in school counseling

MORIAH BOEHLEN

Urban education PhD Program

Undergraduate student in middle childhood early adolescence CYNTHIA EASTERN

Post-baccalaureate teacher certification for exceptional education, early adolescence-adolescence CATHERINE GLOGOVSKY

Post-baccalaureate certification in theatre education ANDREW GRAHAM

Master’s degree in curriculum and instruction DEANNA HAWK

Post-baccalaureate teacher certification program for English as a second language and Spanish

VERONICA OCAMPO DE ROCHA

MACKENZIE PHILLIPS

Undergraduate student in middle childhood-early adolescence RACHAEL PRIDGEON

Undergraduate student for interpreter training

LYNN SZOPINSKI

Undergraduate degree in community engagement and education CRYSTASANY TURNER

Urban education PhD program MICHELLE TURNER

Urban Education PhD Program KRISTIN WISELY

Urban education PhD program, exceptional education focus MOLLY WOLK

Urban education PhD program

MILIJANA RAJIC

THEODORA ZAJA

Master’s degree in school counseling

Master’s degree in curriculum and instruction

TYLER REUM

Post-baccalaureate teacher certification for math education ANNA SAGE

Undergraduate degree in early childhood education

The new inductees are pictured here with Associate Dean Hope Longwell-Grice at far left; Barbara Michaels, far right, and Rob LongwellGrice, scholarship and recruitment coordinator and chapter advisor; and Jeremy Page, assistant dean of student services, at right.

DONORS

Marianne Luther celebrates a birthday with colleagues in the space program.

From School of Ed to NASA SCHOLARSHIPS HELPED HER

MARIANNE LUTHER TOOK HER DEGREE FROM THE School of Education from the

classroom to the space program.

Luther, now retired and living in North Carolina, is still an active supporter of the School of Education. She recognizes the need for scholarships from her own experience.

“My scholarships were small ones, but everything helped,” she says. “I very much appreciated that, since my parents weren’t really able to pay my expenses.

Being first-generation immigrants, they had to start from scratch.”

Luther had emigrated from Germany in 1956 at age 14 with her parents. She vividly recalls the trip, because the family traveled on a Holland America Line ship at the time that the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria collided. The Stockholm had passed their ship just a few hours before that tragic accident.

The family settled in South Milwaukee, where her father took a job as a watchmaker and she graduated from South Milwaukee High School. When Luther’s father died shortly before she started college, she chose UWM to stay 28 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

close to her widowed mother. “It turned out to be a very wise choice. My days at UWM were characterized by very hard academic work, but also lots of understanding and accommodation.”

She particularly remembers how library personnel helped her balance her classes with a job at the library that helped pay expenses.

At UWM, she majored in secondary education with a focus on Latin and German, her native language.

After graduation in 1964, she started her teaching career, eventually marrying and moving to Florida. She earned her master’s degree in linguistics at Florida Atlantic University. While teaching for 18 years at the high school and as adjunct faculty at the university level, she also did some work as a translator.

That work eventually led to a job at Siemens Corporation, reviewing its dictionaries from around the world in German, English and Spanish. “I don’t speak Spanish, but I was sufficiently familiar with the grammar to complete the task.”

A job as a technical writer for the Bendix Corporation led to an offer to help write the proposal for the Space Transportation Systems Operations Contract in Houston. When that contract was awarded, she became the supervisor for technical training and documentation at the Johnson Space Center (JSC).

“That was the beginning of my second career.”

One experience she particularly remembers from that time was helping an astronaut who wanted to prepare a speech in German to present at a meeting of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Bonn, Germany.

“It had to be fairly carefully worded,” she recalls with a laugh, “because I didn’t want to start World War III.“ She didn’t hear anything back from the astronaut for a while, but when she ran into him at JSC, she asked him how it went.

“He rolled his eyes and said, ‘I got myself into hot water.’ Apparently he did such a good job of delivering the speech that the audience assumed he was fluent in German and peppered him with questions that he neither understood nor could answer. Fortunately, some of his ESA colleagues came to his rescue.”

“That was a good deed that didn’t turn out quite the way it was meant to be,” says Luther.

Now that Luther is retired, she still does some translations and occasionally even runs into fellow UWM alums visiting North Carolina.

She credits UWM with helping her prepare for both of her careers. “Over the years, my training and linguistic background and general ability to communicate with most types of people have really helped me.”

“The wonderful atmosphere at UWM I will never forget. I very much appreciate what UWM did for me, and I try to

“The wonderful atmosphere at UWM I will never forget. I very much appreciate what UWM did for me, and I try to express my gratitude by sending a nice donation to the School of Education."

At the space agency, Luther eventually became chief of the Astronaut Appearances Office.

With astronauts traveling all over the world, and visitors from other space agencies, she was able to use her language as well as public relations skills.

“You literally have to deal with the whole world and keep everybody happy,” Luther says. “I found that to be an amazing job. I loved it. It was very rewarding. I was working with a group of highly intelligent, creative humans.”

express my gratitude by sending a nice donation to the School of Education.

The knowledge that I never would have been able to afford a university education in Germany sensitized me to the fact that there are current students just as much in need of assistance as I was. " "That realization and my ability to roll over funds from my RMD (required minimum distribution) motivated me to send a meaningful gift to my beloved alma mater.”

Julie and Elinor Ihlenfeldt with a portrait of Clara Hertel Slaymaker.

Supporting future teachers IHLENFELDTS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIP HONORING CLARA SLAYMAKER

JULIE IHLENFELDT AND HER MOTHER, ELINOR, AREN’T educators

themselves, but they are supporters of teachers and teaching.

That’s why they have continued to support a scholarship set up by Dale Ihlenfeldt, Elinor’s husband and Julie’s father. In fact, Julie has included it in her estate plans.

The scholarship is named for Clara Hertel Slaymaker, Julie’s maternal grandmother, who was a teacher.

Clara Slaymaker graduated from Milwaukee Normal School in 1915, a predecessor institution of UWM, according to Elinor Ihlenfeldt, and lived close to the university.

“She lived in a house just a few blocks from here, just the other side of Locust,” says Julie Ihlenfeldt, who is a pharmacist.

Her mother, Elinor, studied psychology before retiring to raise her children.

“Both of my grandmothers were teachers, and one of my grandfathers,” she adds.

So when Julie Ihlenfeldt discovered her late father had set up a scholarship, she and the family decided to continue it, even though her father hadn’t left any specific instructions about the scholarship, and Julie wasn't even aware of it.

“I just did it. He didn’t like to establish things with his name

on it so he established it in his wife’s mother’s name, partly in her honor and in honor of other teachers in the family.”

Her father thought education scholarships were important, and that’s why he originally set up the scholarship, according to Julie Ihlenfeldt. “He never pushed it on us, though.”

"Clara Hertel Slaymaker taught in the Beloit schools until she retired when she got married,” says Elinor Ihlenfeldt. “She stopped working when they were married. That’s what they did back then.”

While only one of Julie’s siblings is a teacher – a nursing professor at Front Range Community College in Colorado – she says, “We have been lucky enough to afford an education.

Everybody isn’t that lucky. It’s nice to know that we are able to help somebody become a teacher who hasn’t been that fortunate.”

With so many single-parent families or both parents working, teachers often have to take on multiple roles educating and guiding children, says Julie Ihlenfeldt.

“Teachers today have one of the most challenging jobs there is,” she adds. “We are lucky to have been offered the opportunity to help support future teachers through scholarships.”

SPRING 2019 EDLINE 29

DONORS

Thank you to our donors $10,000 + Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Domer Greater Milwaukee Foundation Karleen Haberichter Dr. Mary T. Kellner and Mr. Ted D. Kellner Dr. Henry S. Kepner Ms. Marianne Luther Meemic Foundation Ms. Nancy A. Lindenberg Society for the Study of School Psychology Mrs. Judith S. Salinsky and Dr. Gerald B. Salinksy Dr. Leah D. Temkin $1,000+ Ms. Willette Bowie* Employ Milwaukee, Inc. Estate of Robert A. Burke Chicago Community Foundation Community Foundation of Utah* The Cudahy Foundation Maria D. Cruz* Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Fabos* Ms. Patricia K. Finlayson* Ms. Maria E. Flores* Ms. Maria L. Gallegos* Mr. and Mrs. Allen B. Greeler* Dr. and Mrs. Patrick J. Griffin* Mrs. Louise H. Hatton* Mr. Richard Herbst Ms. Julia A. Ihlenfeldt* Mrs. and Mrs. Robert C. Jasna Ms. Karen Ann Johnson* Emily Kachel Robertson '80* Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kalmbach* Edward D. Kopelke* Mrs. Evelyn A. Knetzger* Ms. Norma Jean Larson Mrs. Barbara J. McMath and Mr. Robert Ferriday III* Mr. and Ms. Kenneth F. Neusen, PhD Ms. Ivy E. Nevala* Northwestern Mutual Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. O'Toole* Mrs. Jean E. Reif* Mike Robertson Jeannette Seloover Johnson '62 and R. Douglas Johnson* Mr. Jack D. Simpson Mr. and Ms. Matthew Slaggie*

30 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Ms. Judith A. Steinke* T. Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving Diane L. Thieme '73* Mrs. Anne Blommer Walker and Dr. Bruce E. Walker* Mr. and Mrs. Bruce B. Weber* Ms. Jill D. Wiedmann* $500 - $999 Dr. Christine and Mr. Robert Anderson Mr. and Mrs. James R. Belland Mrs. Barbara L. Conroy Ms. Arleen K. Bolton and Mr. Andrew Finlayson ExxonMobil Foundation Dr. and Mrs. James C. Fisher Mrs. Margaret A. Glancy Ms. Rosalie Greco Ms. Kerri Korinek Ms. Willette M.S. Knopp Michael A. Krukowski and Ms. Lisa M. Mosier* Dr. Laura Lee L. Luebke Dr. Joan M. Prince Ms. Helen A. Profft Ms. Rose E. Purpero Spang Roberta Hannah Thorson Anderson, PhD '55 Drs. Phillip and Aaria Troiano Ms. Patricia Anne Vitucci-Kessenich and Mr. Patrick Kessenich Ms. Joan Yuen Mrs. and Mrs. Daryl Wunrow $250-$499 Ms. Beverly A. Archibald Mr. and Mrs. Melvin A. Backer Steven A Cadwell Judith S. Carson Ms. Martha E. Carter John C. Donovan John Harpole John Harrits Ms. Janet M. Jenness Johnson Controls Foundation Ms. Annalee L. Kinney Mr. and Mrs. Gene Klurfeld Mr. Donald F. Lodzinski Mr. and Mrs. James Albert Marsho Ms. Mildred Michalski Mr. and Ms. David P. Misky

Mr. and Mrs. James Albert Marsho Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ptacek Peter J. Roidt Dr. Lois J. Seefeldt Mr. and Mrs. James R. Stark, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Gary Taxman Dr. Terrie Temkin Anne M. Terrell Mrs. Carol L. Wacker Ms. Mary M. Walker Ms. Cathy Wegner Dr. John A. Zahorik $100-$249 Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Adams Ms. Susan K. Apple Dr. Mora A. Anderson Ms. Carol A. Pettey Baermoth Ms. Gisella K. Benning Dr. William D. Bergum Mrs. Ann Wilcox Bleuer Mr. Clarence J. Bianco Ms. Elizabeth Bispo Mr. Robert and Mrs. Kathryn Blakesley Dr. and Mrs. William K. Boylan Dr. and Mrs. Christopher L. Brace Sandra Brehl Mrs. Susan E. Bremer Mrs. Arlene L. Callison Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Cameron Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Dallosto Mrs. Ronald J. DeVillers Ms. Ann S. Demorest Ms. Susan M. Denes Mrs. Sarah K. Dergazarian Ms. Barbara L. Elwood-Goetsch Ms. Lynn R. Esser Mrs. Helen M. Evans Ms. Laura K. Fitzsimmons Ms. Mary Ellen Flanagan Mr. and Mrs. Victor Franco Mr. Gary T. Fritz Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Fugate John F. Gallagher Mrs. Marjorie G. Ganzel Ms. Rachel Gray-Gallant and Dr. Marshall L. Gallant, Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Gerald R. Gensch Mrs. Mary Anne Goetzman Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Goldstein Mrs. Mary Beth Goodspeed

Mr. and Mrs. Dan Grimm Mrs. Cecile T. Grunert Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin G. Grunst Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gundrum Paul A. Gunderson Ms. Jane F. Hamilton Ms. Jean M. Hamilton Mrs. Jeanne C. Hartge Ms. Doris F. Hansen Ms. Susan J. Hansen Dr. Teretha F. Harper Ms. Nancy R. Harrison Mrs. Mary E. Hauser Mrs. Phillip M. Henrickson Ms. Jennifer L. Heritsch Ms. Beverly A. Hess Mrs. Luaine A. Herzog Mr. and Mrs. Mark Hill Stanley A. Hilestad Ms. Ruth M. Holst and Robert Peter Thiel Mr. Raymond D. Horvath Myron G. Howard Mr. and Mrs. Ryan G. Huckstorf Jeffrey M. Jensen Ms. Margaret L. Jacoby Ms. Susan W. Karpel Mrs. Rona A. Kasdorf Mrs. Joseph W. Kmoch Mrs. Barbara A. Knetzger Dr. and Mrs. John G. Konings J. Thomas Krimmel Mrs. Christine M. Kronschnabel Mrs. Joan M. Kutter Mr. Thomas J. Kubiak, Sr. Mrs. Bonnie L. Larson Chad M. Lehman Christine B. Lesniewski Stephanie M. London Dr. Patricia A. Luebke and Mr. and Mrs. John H. Klarich Peter M. Koneanzy Ms. Kerry A. Korinek Mr. and Mrs. Roland R. Kohl Mrs. Robin Krayer Kubicek Ms. Ann Lederman Mrs. Janice M. Liebenstein Dr. George P. Longo Ms. Nancy A. Ludwig David W. Marshall Mr. James A. Mather Ms. Billie L. Matson

WHAT IS THE UWM FOUNDATION AND HOW DOES IT WORK? Ms. Anne M. Malletti Ms. Shirley A. Metcalfe Ms. Barbara Michaels Robert A. Miller Robert D. Moser Sherman Moore, Jr. Mrs. Shirley L. Mueller Ms. Pamela A. Nelson-Martin Ms. Barbara N. Pittman Mrs. Mary Lynn Oliver John Y. Olson Rogers Onick Mr. and Mrs. Dennis M. Pelzek Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Ptacek Mr. and Mrs. William A. Pohlmann Dr. David Pritchard and Ms. Kathleen Rogers Russel R. Prust Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Rasmussen Ms. Donna L. Rehbeck Mrs. Janice M. Reed Ms. Maria S. Rodriguez

Ms. Mary L. Roepke Ronald L. Rogers Mr. David J. Ross Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Roth Mr. and Mrs. Tony J. Rufer Terry L. Schubert Anne P. Schulz Ms. Julie A. Seguin Ms. Deborah L. Semrad Ms. Joan E. Simuncak Ms. Maureen M. Sinkter Dr. Sheila K. Feay-Shaw and Dr. Steven Shaw Mr. and Mrs. Mark B. Shumow Mr. and Mrs. William Sinclair, Jr. Mr. and Ms. Gordon K. Skare Jeffrey T. Stemper Mrs, Carole Starck Ms. Sally A. Stock Mr. and Ms. George Stone Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan P. Stolz Ms. Audrey J. Strnad Gary L. Strealy

Martin J. Strecher Ms. Ms. Marianne K. Thompson Bonnie M. Thomson and Jeffrey J. Jones David Tomczyk Ms. Susan K. Umbaugh Mrs. Karen A. Vande Sande Mr. and Mrs. Gerald T. Vigue Mr. James I. Walczak Ms. Linda R. Walker Beth Waschow Ms. Sharon E. Wegner Ms. Mary D. Weinlein Mr. and Mrs. David A. Winter Clarence (Jim Wudi) Ms. Marcia G. Zientek Dr. Dennis C. Zuelke * Members of Chancellor’s Society for donations of $1,000 or more to the SOE and/or the University.

CHAPMAN SOCIETY Many donors plan gifts to the School of Education beyond current donations.

Here are the donors, members of the Chapman Society, who have made such gifts to the School of Education to date. A number have chosen to remain anonymous.

Edith M. Andersen Roberta T. Anderson Ray W.G. Bayley Hazel C. Bayley Ralph H. Bielenberg Barbara J. Boseker Sandra L. Brehl Robert A. Burke Hilma Chris Dikander Margaret H. Ferris David and Cathy Gawlik Howard W. Gorler Eleanor Greenfield and Dr. Sidney Greenfield Karleen B. Haberichter Carol A. Hacker Marguerite D. Hambling

Adeline H. Hartung Grace M. Iacolucci Julia A. Ihlenfeldt Helen W. Korpi Marsha M. Krueger Evelyn A. Krueger Robert Kuehneisen Norbert G. La Combe Augusta G. Leeb Hope and Robert Longwell-Grice Irena Macek Henry A. Maksimowicz Isabelle K. Mathews Ruth C. Mundschau Steve Phan Chester A. Raasch

Ann Starr Raskin Lorie Rieden Emily Kachel Robertson Russell D. Robinson Judith S. Salinsky Jeannette Seloover Johnson and R. Douglas Johnson Magdalene A. Singer Jennie D. Steinberg Amy P. Tessmer-Boening Diane L. Thieme June S. Vrsata Joseph F. and Marion L. Ward Beth Waschow Clarence M. and Phyllis Ann Wudi Sandra W. and Gary R. Yakes

OCCASIONALLY, THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION’S DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

gets questions from donors and potential donors about how their money will be used and managed.

Money donated to the university is managed by the UWM Foundation, a tax-exempt organization, founded in 1974, which is separate from the university and has its own mission statement.

The foundation’s mission is to support the educational, literary and scientific endeavors of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by receiving, managing and distributing gifts to benefit the university’s students, faculty, programs and community.

UWM has a dual mission of being a top-tier research university while making sure that all students have access to a college education. The foundation supports this mission through gifts from generous donors.

The foundation manages the money that donors give and makes sure it’s used according to the donors’ wishes. For instance, a donor can give a gift to the UWM Foundation and ask that it go specifically to the School of Education. Donors can further designate their gift for a specific scholarship fund, program or other need. Or they can give it with no restrictions.

In addition, the UWM Foundation provides leadership, oversight and direction to its affiliated corporations, the UWM Real Estate Foundation and the UWM Research Foundation.

These corporations create new university facilities to support student life, research, academics and regional economic development, and provide new sources of revenue from research commercialization and entrepreneurial activities.

The UWM Foundation can only support UWM,, and the funds cannot be given to any other nonprofit organization. Basically, the foundation is like the bank that holds the philanthropic dollars given by donors for the benefit of UWM.

DONORS

"It is so important to give children a sense of possibility and hope early in their lives. When I work with students, I encourage them to dream about where they want to go.

After all, it’s a big world out there.”

Education alumna to receive honorary doctorate MARY KELLNER WILL BE HONORED AT UWM’S May 19 commencement with

an honorary doctorate in educational psychology for her longtime and tireless work as an educator, counselor, mental health advocate and philanthropist.

She has been a teacher and guidance counselor as well as a volunteer serving on boards of many nonprofits, particularly in education.

“It breaks my heart to see inequities in our schools,” she said in a previous interview with UWM. “It is so important to give children a sense of possibility and hope early in their lives. When I work with students, I encourage them to dream 32 UWM SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

about where they want to go. After all, it’s a big world out there.”

Kellner earned her master’s degree in educational psychology from the School of Education in 1978. She also has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from UW-Madison and her doctorate in education from Cardinal Stritch University.

She has been an active alumna of UWM, serving on the UWM Foundation from 2000-2009 and co-chairing the UWM Scholarship Campaign. In 2012, she received the UWM Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award. She currently is a co-chair of the university-wide fundraising effort – Made in Milwaukee, Shaping the World: The Campaign for UWM. The Kelben Foundation, which she and her husband Ted established, has provided support to business, education and entrepreneurship programs and scholarships at UWM. “I have always seen UWM as a gem in the community,” Kellner has said.

“So often I talk with wonderful kids who are graduating from high school, and they tell me they want to go to college but can’t afford it. That is why it is really important that we help them get access to a good education,” she said in a 2015 interview.

At UWM’s School of Education, the Kelben Foundation has funded an endowed chair in educational psychology and an endowed professorship in early childhood education, as well as scholarships for education students.

“This has been wonderful recognition for our Department of Educational Psychology and a huge support for our research because the gift provides a research assistantship to a doctoral student,” said Nadya Fouad, the Mary and Ted Kellner Chair in Educational Psychology. “The student who has had the

RA position these past three years is now in very good shape to secure a faculty position.” Fouad was one of Kellner’s professors when she was at UWM. “When I got my master’s in counseling at UWM,” said Kellner, “I had some excellent professors, including Nadya Fouad. I realized how essential counseling is in setting children on the right path in life.”

Nancy File, now the Kellner Professor in Early Childhood Education, met Kellner many years previous to that appointment. Both worked on a program committee at Next Door, which serves young children through the Head Start program.

“She was always very strongly focused on what the children needed and what would serve them well,” said File. “She would get right to the heart of what it’s all about. ‘This is what we need for the children and what they need from us.’”

The scholarships provided by the Kelben Foundation are particularly valuable to students in early childhood education, File added. “One of the major issues many of our students face is how to afford college. These students are especially aware they can’t come out with a lot of debt, because in the career they’ve chosen, they won’t be earning as large a salary as graduates in other fields.”

Those who have worked with Kellner say she has a unique ability to work quietly and effectively behind the scenes in the community, listening, gathering information and then moving forward without fanfare. “She is deeply committed to making a difference in Milwaukee, particularly for children, but wants NO credit for that work,” said Fouad.

This honorary doctorate from UWM will provide well-deserved recognition for Kellner, whose career, service and generosity reflect her passion for advancing education in Milwaukee.

School of Education student Ebenezer Keane-Rudolph spoke at the scholarship banquet.

We’re in the final stretch of the campaign DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION:

I have great news to share.

As of today, the School of Education has raised $7 million toward an $8 million goal as part of the university’s Made in Milwaukee, Shaping the World campaign. We are in the final stretch, working to raise another million over the next few months. It’s a tough race, but I know we can do it.

If you have been thinking about how you can support the School of Education and help secure the future of education, now is the time. There are a number of ways to participate.

Your passion can be your legacy! If you have been a loyal supporter over the years, turn that passion into a forever gift.

A small bequest can be a very significant gift for us.

If you have remembered the School of Education in your will or trust, but have not shared this joyful news, now is the time. It is possible we can count it toward our campaign goal.

And you will be recognized as a major contributor.

If you have another idea of how to provide for the School of Education, please let us know. Some people give stock (they don’t have to pay capital gains tax); some name us a partial beneficiary of a retirement fund (heirs can be taxed heavily, but not nonprofits). Even an insurance policy you no longer

need can be turned into a gift.

And that minimum required distribution you HAVE to take – you can roll that over to the UWM Foundation to benefit the School of Education (and you won’t have to pay income tax).

The campaign is addressing our university’s most urgent needs: • Student success • Community engagement • Research excellence You provide support for our faculty and students to continue ground-breaking research, addressing complex issues like: achievement gaps among ethnic groups; early childhood literacy; and culturally relevant practice.

Consider joining the Women’s Giving Circle. Gifts of $1,000 and up are pooled together and awarded on a competitive basis to faculty putting their research to work in classrooms across the community.

Of course we welcome and celebrate gifts of all types and sizes. Every dollar counts. Please help us get to the finish line. $8 million is indeed achievable.

Carol Wacker Director of Development

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID

P.O. Box 413 Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413

MILWAUKEE, WI PERMIT NO. 864

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