Friday Memo 4/3/15

 Good Friday
As I reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made for me, I am humbled, grateful, and reminded of the goodness of God. God is so good, all of the time. Even on that Friday centuries ago, He gave up His only son. The sacrifice still amazes me to this day. My youngest son, Dane, turns 11 years old today. His spring birthday sometimes falls on the Easter weekend, but this is the first time his birthday is on Good Friday. My love for Dane is so great and I can't imagine giving him up. Letting him die for the sake of others. That is what God did - He gave up his son for me! Hopefully, you will have some opportunities over the next few days to reflect on the love and sacrifice of God, the Father and Jesus, the Son!



Here is an update of events from this past week...

Doctoral Orientation

Shelton Smith, Heather Goodin, Tim Delicath, David Collum, Marty Riggs, Judith Scott and I welcomed our newest cohort of doctoral students Saturday at the program orientation. I was reminded how important it is that we provide these students with the support and resources they will need to be successful on their journey. If you are interested in serving on a dissertation committee please let me or Heather Goodin know. We are always looking for committee members who are willing to guide students through the dissertation process. If you have your doctorate degree, remember how important your committee was to your success?! Our students deserve our support.

Outstanding Students of Achievement

Besides Graduation, this is one of my favorite nights of the year. We recognized the following students for their extraordinary efforts. 

EDUCATION DIVISION

Presented by Dr. Melanie Bishop

Dean of Education; Associate Professor of Education

Early Childhood Education          Joanna Fischer   

Educational Leadership                Kim Coe

Elementary Education                  Haley Elders

Health Education                          Clayton Baker

Middle Childhood Education       Savannah Azurin

Physical Education                       Kalvin Lewis

Secondary Education                   Carina Gurnow

Secondary Education                   Kaylin Bade

Cross Categorical Disabilities       Emma Miers

Arnold RLC Education        Megan Lashley-Sanders

Franklin RLC Education              Betsy Miller

Jefferson RLC Education             Robin Williams

Farmington Area RLC Education Matthew Merseal

Troy/Wentzville RLC Education Walter Ferguson

Dr. E and Wally Ferguson from the Troy/Wentzville RLC

Robin Williams from the Jefferson RLC

Lighten Up Committee - Mary Ann Bouas - Employee of the Month

Congratulations to Mary Ann Bouas! She has been named the Employee of the Month. Anyone who knows Mary Ann knows she is deserving of this award. Her nomination from others in the division included the following comments:

 Mary Ann Bouas is a very hardworking educator. She does so much for the Education Division--scheduling professors, advising students, ordering books, and just helping out wherever needed. She is always pleasant and has a welcoming smile.

Certification Updates Meeting
We met with the undergraduate and graduate advisors from main campus and the regional learning centers in the SRC over lunch on Tuesday. We provided them with an Advising Manual and reviewed all of the certification changes and program changes so that they can communicate accurate up-to-date critical information to students throughout the advising process.

New Library Books
I will forward the list of new books in the library. The library does a great job of keeping up-to-date materials in the library. Please take a few minutes to read the list of new items to determine if you can utilize any of the new resources.

Directors' Meeting
The directors of education programs attended a meeting on Tuesday. We discussed the job duties of a director, and reviewed student evaluations from the courses in respective programs. We also reviewed the division's annual strategic plan and talked about the portions of the strategic plan that apply to individual programs.

CAEP Annual Report
Tonia Crane, Angela McGowan, Kathleen Wendt, Kristie Breeding, and I met to review the annual report. More data is being collected for this report. We are working on an employer survey that we will be emailing principals of our recent graduates. We look forward to reading their perspective on the preparedness of our graduates.

DESE Webinar
The highlight of this week's DESE webinar for me was the announcement that our transition reports are not due until the end of June. We have to submit cover sheets, matrices, and advising sheets for all of our certification programs with all of the new changes. We will continue working on these documents and submit by the due date.

Upcoming events:
Faculty Meeting     Monday, April 6     3:30pm     Recital Hall
DESE Webinar     Tuesday, April 14     9:00am
Division Faculty Meeting     Tuesday, April 14   10:15am - 11:45am     FLD Conference Room
Teacher Education Council     Thursday, April 16     12:00pm - 1:30pm     President's Board Room
Faculty Meeting     Monday, April 20     3:30pm     Recital Hall
Missouri Professors of Education Admin     Friday, April 24     Columbia, MO


Have a blessed Easter weekend!
Melanie