COE Climbs to No. 52 in U.S. News; No. 26 in Educational Administration

By Michael Klitzing

San Diego State University’s College of Education moved up three spots to No. 52 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 list of best graduate education programs. 

COE’s educational leadership programs also garnered a No. 26 ranking in the publication’s educational administration specialty ranking. 

“Our latest rankings reflect a growing national acknowledgement of what we in our college have long known — that SDSU’s education programs are among the best in the country,” said Y. Barry Chung, dean of the College of Education. 

Dean Chung Earns American Counseling Association Fellows Award

By Michael Klitzing

San Diego State University College of Education Dean Y. Barry Chung has been named a recipient of the 2022 Fellows Award from the American Counseling Association (ACA) — the world’s largest association of professional counselors. 

 

The Fellows Award is a distinctive honor that recognizes ACA members who have advanced the counseling profession throughout their career. Making the recognition more unique is the fact that Chung is a renowned scholar in counseling psychology — a distinct field with a separate professional organization. 

 

COE DIFFERENCE MAKERS: Lambros Seeks to Raise Visibility for School Psych

By Michael Klitzing

It was in the Land of Enchantment where Katina Lambros became fully enchanted with the field of school psychology. In the early 2000s, Lambros worked with Indigenous and Native American communities in Albuquerque-area Head Start settings. While implementing self-determination curricula for students showing early signs of emotional and behavioral challenges, she realized how much she still needed to learn. 

“I remember thinking, ‘We'll just be able to go in there and implement this really great research-based curriculum,’” Lambros recalls. “Then I’d realize that they only had one textbook in the entire classroom, or that they lacked consistent educational staff. When you're faced with the barriers, the inequities and the access issues that are present in everyday school settings, it changes your perspective.” 

Alfaro to Receive CABE Innovation Leadership Award

By Maria Keckler

Cristina Alfaro, associate vice president of International Affairs at SDSU, is receiving the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) 2022 Innovation Leadership Board Award. 

The award honors Alfaro’s exemplary leadership and contributions in the field of K-20 biliteracy and bilingual education over decades of her professional career. 

Alfaro will be recognized during CABE’s 2022 Conference, to be held March 29 through April 2, and she will be a featured speaker during the conference. 

College of Education Shines at Student Research Symposium

Heather Thorogood and Rosa Tejeda

By COE News Team 

Five San Diego State University College of Education-affiliated students won awards for outstanding scholarly accomplishment at the university’s 15th annual Student Research Symposium (SRS). SRS, a public forum where SDSU students present their research, scholarship, and creative activities, was held March 4-5 in Montezuma Hall. 

Here is a rundown of the winning students and projects: 

Donor Spotlight: Alumna Supports STE Graduate Students

By Jenna Ponce

SDSU is a family affair for Adeline Williams, her daughter, and grandson. With two College of Education graduates and a soon-to-be Engineering graduate, Williams is proud to lead three generations of Aztecs. Williams is as passionate about learning as she is about supporting research across campus. 

Adeline Williams, who loves learning, is leading the way for a family of Aztecs. Williams and her daughter Carolyn are both Education graduates, and her grandson Tyler is a current Engineering student. Williams and her family know the importance of education, and more so, the importance of research. 

Navarro Martell Shows the Write Stuff in Winning AERA Honor

By Michael Klitzing

Editor's Note: A Spanish version of this article is also available.

Throughout her career in academia, nothing has made Melissa Arabel Navarro Martell’s imposter syndrome creep in quite like writing. 

It’s a remnant of her experience of coming to the U.S. from Tijuana as a sixth grader, and transitioning from one nation’s school system to another. Mexican schools, she explains, typically do not teach writing composition until middle school. In the U.S., that usually happens at the elementary level. 

Navarro Martell Es Reconocida con un Premio

Por Michael Klitzing

Editor's Note: An English version of this article is available. 

A lo largo de su carrera académica, Melissa Arabel Navarro Martell aborda el tema del síndrome del impostor en su escritura, la incapacidad persistente de creer que el éxito propio es merecido. 

Es un resultado de su experiencia de venir a los Estados Unidos desde Tijuana como estudiante de sexto grado y hacer la transición del sistema educativo de una nación a otra. Ella explica que las escuelas mexicanas normalmente no enseñan composición y escritura hasta la educación secundaria; mientras en EEUU eso sucede en las primarias. 

Alumna Marlys Williamson Earns Nation’s Top STEM Teaching Honor

By Michael Klitzing

Marlys Williamson’s fifth-grade science classroom at Wolf Canyon Elementary in Chula Vista always revolved around hands-on learning. So when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and students were sent home, she faced a moment of crisis. 

“That was the biggest panic moment for me,” recalled the San Diego State University School of Teacher Education alumna (’05, ’06). “How can I reach students in their homes, while they’re in their PJs with their dogs and their stuffed animals?” 

Her solution was to gather all the supplies she could from her classroom and get to work. 

A Class by Themselves: Remembering SDSU's Two National Teachers of the Year

Left: Gabay with students at Serra High. Right: McBrayer honored in the Rose Garden by President Clinton.

Editor's Note: This story is part of SDSU NewsCenter's 125 Years of Excellence coverage. 

By Michael Klitzing

In the early 1990s, the United States had about 2.5 million teachers. So when a San Diego State University graduate was singled out as National Teacher of the Year in 1990, it was an extraordinary accomplishment on its face. 

Just four years later, it happened again. 

Vasquez Among 25 Women Lauded for Contributions to Higher Education

By Michael Klitzing

Marissa Vasquez often likes to repeat the quote “lifting as you climb.” Indeed, the credo of legendary feminist and racial justice activist Mary Church Terrell succinctly cuts to the heart of the matter. 

Vasquez, an assistant professor in San Diego State University’s Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education (ARPE), traveled the community college pathway herself as a student. As such, she views her work to empower underserved and underrepresented community college students as a personal responsibility. 

Alumna Phet Pease Earns Nation’s Top STEM Teaching Honor

By Michael Klitzing

Khamphet Pease (’05) will have to wait a bit longer for her day at the White House. 

The alumna of San Diego State University’s teaching credential program and Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship was named one of 102 recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) — the U.S. Government’s highest award for ​​K-12 mathematics and science teachers. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony took place virtually on Feb. 24. 

But while a makeup visit to Washington, DC is in the works, Pease’s students and colleagues at San Diego’s Wilson Middle School have already given her a day she’ll never forget.