CEHD Council Minutes

December 5, 2007

Attending: Jeff Gorrell, David Anderson, Susan Burns, ShariCastle, Penelope Earley, Becky Fox, Julie Kidd, Bob Ruhling.

These minutes are reported in agenda order with agenda items highlighted in bold.

1.CEHD Core Values Examples

Jeff distributed some examples of how certain programs responded to the call for summaries of how the work of programs and individual faculty reflect CEHDcore values. He reported that Amy Biderman will edit submissions for consistency. Jeff noted that the CEHD Council may have a role reviewing and selecting descriptions of how core values influence work in the college. He asked when Council members want to see the examples, specifically before or after they are edited by Amy.

During discussion of this item it was noted that:

  • Everyone in CEHD will benefit from seeing how each program approached the assignment.
  • When completed, the summaries may include links to longer documents, such as articles or publications.
  • This material is important evidence to include for NCATE review.
  • If possible and appropriate the descriptions should include visuals (such as pictures).
  • It would be helpful to have a stylistic template for the descriptions.
  • This information might lead to one or more print pieces as well as boilerplate for funding proposals.

It was decided that after Amy completed preliminary editing, the descriptions will be shared with CEHD Council

  1. CEHD Website Revamping:

Jeff introduced the topic explaining that Paul Bohman and Brenda Mueller are redesigning the CEHD web site and some decisions need to be made. He distributed a draft of a possible home page explaining that there are three ways to think about the page. (1) Have a page that presents CEHD’s core values with only one link—“enter”—which would take users to a page with links to CEHD programs/units. (2) Include some links at the top and bottom of the page, but not too many. (3) Have a split page with one side offering links to different CEHD units while the other would present the College’s core values. The CEHD Council offered the following comments and suggestions:

  • The overall color scheme is very welcoming
  • The use of pictures of children is a plus, but perhaps we could have multiple pictures to represent each value that could be changed from time to time.
  • “College of Education and Human Development” should replace “Core Values” on the sample page. People finding the site need to know it is CEHD; the values seem evident by their names.
  • The navigation system needs to be obvious
  • There may be value in doing mock-ups of alternative versions of the page and then asking a small group of undergraduates or others to navigate through the site and provide feed back.
  • It would be helpful to include a link to a section that describes the history and process of establishing the College’s core values.
  1. Tentative Agenda for CEHD Faculty Meeting in January

Jeff distributed a tentative agenda for the January retreat and indicated that at this point, there was no general session speaker. After some discussion, it was suggested that the speaker should represent one of the core academic values (as was done in 2005 and 2006). Bob suggestedGMU’s Senior Vice President, Maurice Scherrens, as representative of ethical leadership. There was agreement that Jeff should invite Scherrens and, if necessary, the meeting agenda could be adjusted to accommodate his schedule (following the meeting Jeff extended the invitation and it was accepted).

Jeff reported that the Professional Development Committee is organizing a lunch activity for the retreat. He further indicated that there may be an opportunity for faculty to display posters presenting their scholarship. It was recommended that faculty should be notified before the end of the semester about the poster opportunity. In addition, there will be a “Getting to Know Each Other Better” activity; however the details of this are still being developed.

Finally, Jeff asked for ideas for a session on “Getting to Know CEHD Better” After some discussion, the Council recommended that faculty be divided into cross disciplinary groups of 20 or so to discuss how the core values can and do inform our work.

  1. Office of Academic and Student Affairs: After Reorganization

Jeff asked the Council for some general input on implementation of the new Academic and Student Affairs structure. After some general discussion CEHD Council members concluded that while there were a few implementation pains, the structure is a good one. It is important to encourage communication between and among units and individuals.

  1. New CEHD Degrees Being Planned:

Jeff reported that there are several new degree proposals under discussion or development. These include Ph.D. proposals from Educational Psychology, Instructional Technology. Counseling and Development, and Education Leadership; some early discussion about an Art Education master’s through ASTL. andconversations in RHT about some new options within their existing degree programs. Jeff explained new degree programs need approval by the university and then are forwarded to SCHEV. Because SCHEV is being quite watchful about program proliferation, the university is careful about how many proposals go forward at a time. Thus, it may be a while before these new degree programs are launched.

  1. Possible new CEHD Ventures (Status report)

Jeff reported on some possible new avenues for collaboration between CEHD and others. They include

  1. Conversations with the National Council for Geographic Education and GMU’s Geography Department regarding a site for a geography education center.
  2. Scholarship opportunities for future teachers in collaboration with Today’s Students Tomorrow’s Teachers
  3. Conversations at the university-level with the Help Yourself Foundation—a group committed to build college readiness for underachieving children and youth.
  4. Discussions with ArlingtonCounty’s Wisdom Works project about programs for senior citizens (at or near retirement) to prepare them for retirement and their future engagement in community activities.
  1. Other Items as Needed

Building updates: After first of the year there will be more informationon the plans for renovation of West and Thomas Halls. Martin is meeting with space allocation personnel regarding what agreements we can get from the university in regard to moving people directly into West next fall.

The next CEHD Council meeting will be in February 2007. Meeting time (1:00 or 1:30) will be determined by space availability.

Submitted by Penelope Earley