Chizhik Named Coordinator of SDSU's Liberal Studies Program

By Michael Klitzing

San Diego State University’s Liberal Studies program has a new leader. Dr. Estella Chizhik, professor in the School of Teacher Education, has been named the new coordinator of the major, which provides a multidimensional education in a variety of disciplines for undergraduate students interested in teaching, the education field and other professions. 

Chizhik, who has more than 20 years of experience at SDSU training educators and conducting research in the teacher educator field, will assume the new role in January 2021. Informed & Inspired spoke with her about why she’s passionate about teacher education, her vision for the major and more.

$16.5M Grant Furthers SDSU’s National Leadership in Vocational Rehabilitation

By Michael Klitzing

San Diego State University has been awarded a $16.5 million federal grant to keep the university at the forefront of improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities. 

The U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) will provide the funding over five years to support a new center, housed in SDSU’s Interwork Institute, that will provide quality management to the 78 public vocational rehabilitation agencies nationwide that connect people with disabilities to career resources. 

COE STORIES: Ph.D. Candidate Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk

Meet Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk a local teacher and doctoral candidate in the Joint Ph.D. Program in Education between San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University. In the latest installment of the COE Stories video series, learn about what she loves about the program as well as her research into student support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online MAT Equips K-12 Teachers for Virtual Success

By Michael Klitzing

Natasha Sebestyen remembers the feeling of shock. It was March 13 — a Friday — and the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak was about to crest in the U.S. 

An instructional assistant in a second and third grade combined class in Irvine, Sebestyen checked her email to find a clear message from her school district: Get ready to send your students home with all their things. There will be no school for at least three weeks. 

“It was a little scary, I'm not going to lie." she recalls. “We had half an hour to get the kids all their books, all their supplies, all their materials.”