UMass Boston Welcomes New Dean of the Graduate College of Education
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UMass Boston Welcomes New Dean of the Graduate College of Education |
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by Anne-Marie Kent
With
the presidential election approaching and education reform at the forefront
of much political debate, issues such as student achievement, general
education reform, and innovation have become hot topics of discussion.
It is in this climate of change that UMass Boston announces Dr. Clara
Jennings as its new Dean of the Graduate College of Education.
Chancellor Penney stated, Dr. Jennings is a national figure. She is known for her work as Team Chair of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and for her extensive experience in fostering College-School Partnerships and community collaborations. We are very pleased that she has joined us. Dr. Jennings has published in the area of collaborative learning, early childhood education, and faculty development, and she has been awarded more than $650,000 in grants for early childhood education and other community oriented programs.
Formerly the Dean of Beeghly College of Education at Youngstown State University, Dr. Jennings is an alumna of Michigan State University. She earned her Ph.D in Early Childhood Education/Language Arts in 1973. Her M.Ed is in Elementary Education/Language Arts/Reading from Wayne State University and her B.S. is in Elementary Education from the Arkansas Agriculture, Mechanical and Normal College.
She spent many years as an elementary school teacher and college professor before serving as Chair of the Department of Education at Arkansas College. She also served as Chair of Education at the University of West Florida, where she later served as Associate Dean. A newcomer to Boston, she expresses great enthusiasm for UMass Boston and the many initiatives underway here. I chose UMass Boston because of its clearly articulated urban mission, Dean Jennings stated. Right now, I'm becoming more and more aware of the wonderful partnerships that the Graduate College of Education has fostered in support of this mission.
She continued, I had read about the Dorchester initiative and I am learning about the other collaborations that exist. There are so many different centers and institutes connected to GCOE already and so many young people coming to campus as part of university school partnerships. I am excited to be here.
She noted that it was rewarding to see so many elementary and middle school children on campus, adding that, We need to expose students from urban centers to all the opportunities the university can provide.
Dean Jennings continued, I believe that the Graduate College of Education can provide reform that will impact student achievement at all levels. She added, I am beginning by talking with people and just learning as much as I can about the initiatives that are underway. She plans to interview faculty members and engage them in discussion around a long range plan to clearly identify priorities and goals for the College.
One main priority is to assist the College in attaining National Council for the Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE) for all professional education programs at UMass Boston. She explained, This means all programs at UMass that are preparing PK-12 teachers and support personnel for initial certification will be nationally recognized by the profession as being high quality.