CBB's Angela Byars-Winston Honored With 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award

By Michael Klitzing

Angela Byars-Winston (’91, ’92) was instantly delighted when she found out she’d been named the San Diego State University College of Education’s recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award. And when she glanced at her calendar and learned that the date she’d be honored — April 23 — was National Take a Chance Day, the honor began to feel even more special. 

 

“That didn't land on me lightly,” said Byars-Winston, who will be one of 10 SDSU graduates honored by SDSU Alumni at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. “There were so many people — mentors — who took a chance on me” 

ARPE's Toni Saia Inducted into Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame

By Michael Klitzing

Toni Saia has recognized from an early age that she mingles in a world that was not built with her in mind. A proud disabled woman and wheelchair user, she’s fought most of her life to break down environmental barriers placed in her path. There has been no shortage of them. 

 

“Very early on, I knew my advocacy skills had to be top notch,” Saia recalls. “When I was 5 or 6 in public school, I was told, 'Children like you play on this side of the school yard.’ There was a line on the ground. I remember going home and saying, ‘Mom, I'm not playing behind that line.’” 

COE DIFFERENCE MAKERS: EDL's Wright Motivated By Untapped Potential

By Michael Klitzing

Waterbury, Connecticut is known as The Brass City, an homage to its proud past as a hub for brassware manufacturing. In the early and mid 20th century, the industry's abundant blue-collar jobs were a magnet for migration, both from abroad and in the Jim Crow South. James Wright's large family — his mother had 15 siblings, and he counts more than 50 first cousins — was part of the latter, adding to a Black community that now makes up more than a fifth of Waterbury's population. 

But by the 1970s, The Brass City was starting to tarnish. The forces of deindustrialization caused factories to shutter and livelihoods to vanish. 

CCBMW Offers Black Wellness Providers Connections, Community

The CCBMW leadership team from left: Candea Mosley, Myra Hollis and Sesen Negash.

By Michael Klitzing

San Diego State University alumnus Ojore Lateef Bushfan (’07, ’09, ’15) intimately understands the importance of having Black wellness providers available to meet the needs of the Black community. That knowledge comes not only from his vocation as a marriage and family therapist, but also as a Black man who himself finds empowerment through therapy. 

 

“As a client who's worked with an African American practitioner, it feels nice to be able to talk to someone who gets it — who understands the experience,” said Bushfan, a graduate of the College of Education’s Community Based Block and Marriage and Family Therapy master’s programs. “I think it provides an opportunity for folks of African descent to lean into this thing called therapy, because it's very vulnerable, disclosing painful things. Rapport is important.” 

See What COE Researchers Have in Store for AERA Conference

By COE News Team

The 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is coming to our own backyard. The world's largest gathering of education researchers will be held in San Diego April 21-26. 

 

Several San Diego State University College of Education faculty and alumni will be presenting their research at the conference. Here is a sampling. If you would like your presentation added to this listing, contact mklitzing@sdsu.edu. Explore the full schedule.

ARPE Faculty Emeriti Create Scholarship for Doctoral Students

From left: Emeriti ARPE faculty members Ron Jacobs, Bobbie J. Atkins, Caren Sax and Fred McFarlane.

By Michael Klitzing

Even in retirement, San Diego State University’s Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education (ARPE) faculty are a tight-knit group. ARPE’s faculty emeriti still get together for regular happy hours where they — as professor emeritus Caren Sax puts it — “solve the problems of the world.” 

 

At the very least, they’ve solved some financial worries for future doctoral students. 

Education Doctoral Student Awarded Fulbright Scholar Grant

By Michael Klitzing

As the reality of his Fulbright acceptance and upcoming semester abroad in Belize sinks in, Al Schleicher finds himself excited less by what he can gain from the experience than by what he can leave behind. 

Schleicher, a student in San Diego State University’s Joint Ph.D. Program in Education with Claremont Graduate University (JDP), will head to the Central American nation in January 2023 as part of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. He’ll be partnering with the University of Belize’s teacher education program on a project to build capacity to better train and support teachers.