From the fancy linen on the tables to the stylish business attire of the attendees, the 40th Anniversary Celebration for the Joint Ph.D. Program in Education between San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University (CGU) had all the appearance of a formal affair. Yet the feeling in the room at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center evoked something else entirely. Something warmer. A family reunion, perhaps?
Dr. Marva Cappello, director of the Joint Doctoral Program, chalked up the feeling to a sense of shared purpose.
"We all care about equity,” she said. “Even though everyone here is coming from multiple perspectives, they are not widely variant. One student might be studying indigenous Mexican populations, another student might be studying veterans, but really, at the heart of it is equitable educational access and uplifting sometimes marginalized populations. That's one reason why everyone here is so together."
About 50 doctoral students, alumni, faculty and staff attended the ceremony, which featured remarks by Cappello; Y. Barry Chung, dean of the College of Education; and Dr. DeLacy Ganley, dean of the School of Educational Studies at CGU.
Established in 1978, the Joint Ph.D. Program in Education’s mission is to develop scholars who are committed to research on democratic schooling, social justice and equal educational outcomes for all students, and the improvement of educational systems serving diverse communities. Thirteen doctoral students will be hooded in May, joining the ranks of 234 graduates.
If you didn't have a concern for issues of equity and social justice, you wouldn't apply. I think that creates a certain kinship among the students.—Dr. Rafaela Santa Cruz
In her remarks, Cappello gave recognition to the program’s forbearers Dr. Tomas Arciniega, former dean of the College of Education at SDSU, and Dr. Peggy Hawley, the program’s first director, who passed away in 2017. Dr. Alberto Ochoa, professor emeritus, who has taught in the program since the beginning, attended the celebration. He said the program succeeded because of the vision and vibrancy of its early faculty members.
"It's a feeling of satisfaction that people are engaged and the program continues to tackle issues that focus on inequality," Ochoa said. "What led me to be involved in the program for 40 years is working with students on dissertations that will have utility to the community."
Also in attendance was Dr. Rafaela Santa Cruz, who served as the Joint Ph.D. Program in Education’s director from 2005-2016. She credited the sense of mission of the applicants for making it such a long-lasting success story.
"We've had people choose our program even when we had limited funding because of the mission of the program and the quality of the faculty,” Santa Cruz said. “If you didn't have a concern for issues of equity and social justice, you wouldn't apply. I think that creates a certain kinship among the students."