CURRY SCHOOLWINTER 2014

Not ExactlyThe Way We Were

For most of its century-plus history the Curry School has maintained a stellar reputation, and our alumni understand the cachet of

holding a degree from the University of Virginia. We don’t foresee that ever changing.

Yet, not everything is exactly the way it was when you were a student here. Our program offerings and priorities—even our facilities—continually evolve.

Here is a recap of five ways the Curry School is not exactly the way it used to be:

New Research CentersMany of our society’smost intractable problems aredeeply complex and require expertise that cuts across multiple perspectives and discipline boundaries.

We have found that pan-university centers are a valuable mechanism for transcending depart-mental boundaries, bringing together scholars from many different fields. These centers can facili-tate problem-oriented research and public service, which are major priorities for Curry.

Since I became dean in 2007, three new centers have been established by the Curry School and are headquartered here:

• EdPolicyWorks:TheCenteronEducationPolicyandWorkforceCompetitiveness.• Youth-Nex:TheU.Va.CentertoPromoteEffectiveYouthDevelopment.• CASTL-HE: The Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning in Higher

Education.ThesenewcentersjointheCenterforAdvancedStudyofTeachingandLearning(CASTL),

which was founded in 2006 to examine teacher effectiveness based on rigorous scientific methods. Not only are these four centers working on issues important to children and families across the

nation, they attract eminent scholars and increase opportunities for our students at all levels to engage in high-quality research.

Multidimensional Faculty Similarly, the Curry School is recruiting forward-looking faculty scholars at all levels who rec-ognize that the problems we are trying to solve are bigger than any single discipline. In every program area, we highly value faculty members with expertise that crosses discipline boundaries. We encourage them to engage teams of scholars from multiple disciplines in collaborative work

connections

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Curry School Connections is published by the Curry School of Education and is sponsored by the Curry School of Education Foundation, P.O. Box 400276, Charlottesville, VA 22904

http://curry.virginia.edu/curryconnections

U.Va. Reunions Weekend

‘4s and ‘9sJune 6-9

For more information, visit www.alumni.virginia.edu/reunions

T.J. Society and Class of 1964 Reunion

May 12 - 14 To attend the Curry School

luncheon on May 14, call the Curry Foundation office at 434-924-0854 or email

curry-foundation@virginia.edu

BY BOB PIANTA, DEAN

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Five Things that Have Changed at Curry Since You Earned Your Degree

Saying Farewell and Seeing Old Friends

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/// Bob Pianta, Dean, congratulates Jane Hansen, who retired from our Reading program.

The Spring 2013 Faculty Retirement Celebration Brought

Back Some Beloved Former Faculty Members

/// Professor Dan Halla-han was hired by the Curry School in 1971. His retirement brought together Special Education faculty past and present. (Pictured are John Lloyd, Professor Emeritus Jim Kauffman, Paige Pul-len, Dan Hallahan, Profes-sor Emeritus Marti Snell, Rebecca Kneedler, and Sandi Cohen.)

/// Former Curry faculty members John Messinger and Vin Cibbarelli joined the celebration.

/// Former faculty members Sam Kellams and Jerry Moore congratulate Jim Esposito (background right: Joe Strzepek)

/// Jim Esposito retired after more than 40 years at the Curry School.

/// Bob Covert and Margo Figgins also retired in 2013. Bob joined the faculty in 1972; Margo came in 1986.

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Jim Bash (B.S. ’49, M.Ed. ’53, Ed.D. ’60 Admin & Supv) has two granddaughters who are graduate students in the Curry School: Amanda Stevens and Daisy Rojas....Jim is a faculty emeritus of the Curry School and a former director of the Curry Desegregation Center. John T. Betterton (M.Ed. ’72) retired from public school service in 2000 after 31 years of service then opened a public charter school under the new charter school law in North Carolina.... He plans to retire again in June 2014.Ginger Black (M.Ed. ’74 Reading) recently retired as a reading specialist from the Washington, DC, area to sunny Charleston, SC...Robert S. Brown, Sr., MD, PhD (M.Ed. ’58, Ph.D. ’63 Ed Psych) “In 2005, I closed my psychiatric practice in Charlottesville and went to work for the Department of Defense as a staff psychiatrist at an active duty Army Post in Virginia treating soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan...”Joseph Cipp (M.Ed. ’72) is a retired educator. “I was just about everything in that field: teacher, administrator, coach, superintendent, and even was elected to the board of education...”Rennie Coleman (M.Ed. ’71) has written a book due out spring 2014 detailing his life story ... Calise Conley (B.S. ‘48) graduated with the first groupofwomenadmittedtoEducation...[MoreofCalise’s UVA memories are online]Susan (Brown) Craig (B.S. ’61)“Myhusbandand I ... founded ENTRÉE Resources, and the pur-pose is to bring young people from European univer-sities to the United States for 12-month internships in their field of study...”Marby Davis (B.S. ’47) “In 1997 when I went for my 50th reunion and became a member of the Thomas Jefferson Society, those with whom I talked with did not know women had attended the University before the 1960s…[More of Marby’sUVA memories are online]J. Franklin Fitzgerald (M.Ed. ’53 Math Ed) ... retired in September 2010 from Boston University after 51 years. Joseph Flynn (M.Ed. ‘69 Special Ed) “After 40 years of working in alternative schools in Richmond, Va., the Adirondack region of New York, and the Whites of New Hampshire, it’s a pleasure to meld into retirement.”Richard Fowler (M.Ed. 60) ... taught adjunct graduate education courses in Foreign Languageteaching at Converse College for more than 30 years. “I remained coordinator of foreign language in Spartanburg until 2000 and retired.”Patsy Gochenour (M.Ed. ’71, Ed.S. ’86

Reading) ... “When someone inquires about what I have been doing since retiring from teaching, I quickly respond by saying, ‘I may have retired from the classroom in July 1991 but never from education or life!...’” Wendy Gold (Ed.D. ’73 Reading) since gradu-ating has lived in New York City with her husband and talented daughters... Thomas Grant (B.S. ’79 Math Ed) ... is cur-rently employed as an assistant professor at Guilford Tech Community College in North Carolina.Robert Gray (B.S. ’77 English Ed) ... has his own business, called Robert Gray Writing & Editing...William Gutsch (Ph.D. ’78) has just completed a term as president of the board of directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific ... He is Distinguished Professor of the College of Arts & Sciences at Saint Peter’s University, Jersey City, NJ...David Harrison (M.Ed. ’65) is a retired teacher of American History living in Charlottesville. He published his memoirs in 2012.Charles (Clay) Hundley (M.Ed 65) ... Retired in 1990 as chief of Review and Analysis of the U.S. DefenseLogisticAgency,Richmond,Va....Martha Hunt (M.Ed. ’73) ... retired from her second elementary principalship in 2006...Robert Jackson (B.S. ’70) retired early from teaching, having focused most of that time on middle school social studies.... His most recent book is Sangre de Cristo.Kenneth Katzen (M.Ed. 72) retired from a long and wonderful career as a teacher of problem students four years ago... Janet Whaley Larie (M.Ed. ’58) attended the 2013 TJ Society Luncheon at the Curry School.“Husband George and I have enjoyed living in Charlottesville for 25 years after his retirement...”Richard Lawson (M.Ed. ’72) after 40 years retired as a principal and central office administrator in North Carolina and became the executive director oftheChildren’sMuseumofWilmington...Brent L. Lloyd (M.Ed. ’71 Soc Studies Ed) is adjunct professor, Humanities and Social Sciences, Northwood University, Florida campus... Linda Karen Miller (M.Ed. ’78, Ed.D. ’91 Soc Studies Ed) ... is a retired teacher who always enjoyed making history come alive through historical interpretation...She now performs as Helen Stewart tocivicgroupsaroundLasVegas...Nancy Moga (M.Ed. ’79 Elem Ed) has been an elementary school principal in Alleghany County, Va., for the last 25 years.Thomas Osina, CAE, IOM (B.A. ’75) is cel-ebrating the 20th anniversary of the founding of his

company, Non-Profit Help... Judy Pearce (Ed.D. ’89 AV C&I) has retired and built a log house in Wise County, Va....Ken Plum (’67 M.Ed.) Del. Kenneth R. Plum (D-36th)becamethe longestservingcurrentmem-ber of the Virginia House of Delegates this year.… Maryanne Preston (B.S. ’58) “After retir-ing from 35 years of teaching, mostly in Texas, I embarked upon a second career ten years ago as registrarandmembershipdirectorintheMuseumofGeometricandMADIArtinDallas...”Gayle Prillaman (M.Ed. ‘74 Spec Ed) retired from teaching two years ago after teaching blind and visually impaired students for 38 years... Robert Reeves (B.S. ’56, M.Ed. ’57) is retired from 30 years in the US Air Force...Marilyn Smith (B.S. 64) is retired from an administrative position with the VA Hospital in KansasCity,Mo….Susan Roda (M.Ed. ’73) “... Retired in 2010 with my wonderful husband and made a permanent move to Florida where life is very, very good.”P. Randall (Randy) Shannon (M.Ed. ’67) retired as Dean of Student Services after 38 years of service to Tidewater Community College...David E. D. (Dee) Sinkler (B.S. ’65 Spec Ed) “After having open heart surgery to replace my worn-outaorticvalvewithapig’svalveMay2,2013,I’mback on my Harley Davidson…”Harrison W. Straley (Ed.D. ’75 Math Ed) retired after 54 years of teaching at Wheaton College (10 years),Woodberry Forest (29 years), and otherschools for 15 years.B. Charlene Wiser (B.S. ’58 Elem Ed) “Upon graduation in ’58, I taught for two years in Fairfax County, Va., before teaching for the Department of Defense in Germany. I married a career Army officer, Robert Wiser (M.Ed. ’65 Educ)…”Susan Wood (Ed.D. ’79 C&I) currently serves as Vice Chancellor for Academic Services & Research at the system office for Virginia’s Community Colleges in Richmond, Va...Sherri Zelloe-Asaro (B.S. 79, Ed.S 08 Spec Ed) is Director of Special Education and Federal Programs for Rogersville City School System in Rogersville, Tenn....

CLASS NOTES Submit your class note at curry.virginia.edu/classnotes/submit

Read more. Many class notes were abbreviated due to space limitations. You can read the full versions and view submitted photos at curry.virginia.edu/curryconnections.

CURRY SCHOOLCurry School ConnectionsP.O. Box 400268417 Emmet Street SouthCharlottesville, VA 22904-4268

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Not Exactly the Way We Wereto address significant problems. Recent faculty hires include an English education professor who conducts research with multilingual students, an elementary education professor with expertise in mindfulness, and a higher education policy professor with economics training doing research on interventions with high school students.

More Competitive Landscape The Curry School must remain vigilant in the face of increasing competition from institutions offering alternative pathways to teacher certification and online degrees across the whole spectrum of studies we offer. For-profit companies, like 2U Inc., have moved into the teacher preparation sector and are expanding into teacher professional develop-ment as well. Even some large charter school programs have launched their own teacher preparation programs, like the Relay Graduate School of Education.

The University and the Curry School will always provide a superior residential student experience, in part, due to eminent faculty instructors who provide challenging classroom experiences and collaborative men-torships. However, we cannot ignore emerging trends and marketplace demands. We must constantly reconsider how to deliver education most effectively and efficiently. Thus, curriculum and program offerings must remain flexible and subject to change.

A Modernized Curry GroundsIf you haven’t been back to visit us recently, you may not realize that the Curry School now spans three buildings—

• The beautiful new Bavaro Hall—completed in 2010—withinviting common areas and meeting spaces.

• RuffnerHall,whichhasbeenguttedandisundergoingcompleterenovation to provide state-of-the-art classrooms and research labs. It will reopen this summer.

• MemorialGymnasium,acrossEmmetStreet,whichhousesourKinesiology faculty and research labs.

A combination of state funding and philanthropic support have paved the way for most of our students to learn, study, and conduct

research incomfortable,contemporary,well-equippedenvirons.MemGym remains the exception, but that will likely change someday too.

Reliance on Philanthropic Giving If you were a student at the Curry School before 1976, there was no Curry School Foundation and no access to our own pool of private support for Curry activities. Today, we rely on philanthropic gifts to fill major gaps left by ever-decreasing state funding. Some federal and private grant money is available for very specific research activities, but we must depend on philanthropy both to advance early stage innovation and to maintain program excellence.

Some Things Never ChangeIt’s true that some aspects of the Curry School are no longer the way they were when you were a student here. Our national reputation remains high, though, and in many areas is climbing. As always, we attract some of the nation’s best scholars to our faculty, and our students are the cream of the crop.

Our commitment to excellence remains as strong as ever, and it ulti-mately drives every change we make.

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Rotunda RenovationThe U.Va. Rotunda will be closed for 2 years for major restoration, beginning immediately after final exercises this May. More info: http://www.virginia.edu/rotunda/

Do you have any specials memories of the Rotunda while your were at the Curry School ? Please tell us! Email Lynn Bell, Director of Alumni Relations, at lynnbell@virginia.edu or send a letter to her at the Curry School of Education, P.O. Box 400276, Charlottesville, VA 22904