College of Education Announcements

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EPOL Alum Publishes New Book

Nov 1, 2023 8:45 am38 views

Marlee Bunch, Ed.D. '22 EPOL, has written the book, which will be out in 2024, titled The Magnitude of Us: An Educator's Guide to Creating Collaborative & Culturally Responsive Classrooms.
EPOL Assistant Professor Nathan Castillo Recognized For Recent Publication

Aug 7, 2019 2:15 pm554 views

Assistant Professor in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, Nathan Castillo's recent publication was named SpringerLink Editor's Monthly Choice.

Castillo's paper—Early-grade reading support in rural South Africa: A language-centered technology approach—describes a short-term study conducted in low-performing rural primary schools in South Africa.

For the month of August you can download Castillo's paper on SpringerLink for free.
EPOL candidate named director at Purdue University

May 5, 2016 10:15 am196 views

Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership doctoral candidate Xavier Hernandez has been selected as the next director of the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center at Purdue University. Hernandez is currently a graduate assistant at the Asian American Cultural Center at the University of Illinois.
EPOL Department Head Yoon Pak Receives Campus Executive Officer Distinguished Leadership Award

May 1, 2023 10:45 am18 views

Congratulations to Professor Yoon Pak, who has been recognized by peers and awarded from the campus' Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost.
EPOL doctoral alumnus honored for dissertation

Jan 26, 2016 9:15 am230 views

Joel Malin, Ph.D. ’15 EPOL, was honored with the 2015 Outstanding Dissertation Award by the National Education Finance Conference for his dissertation, “Social Makeup and Public School Funding Effort and Distribution.”
EPOL Doctoral Candidate Passionate About STEM Education in Underserved Communities

Mar 22, 2021 4:30 pm186 views

Natalie Coleman, B.S. '02, is a current doctoral candidate in EPOl and founder of After the Peanut, a company based on the core idea of providing STEM educational opportunities for students in underserved communities.
EPOL doctoral candidate receives grant from NCDA

Mar 8, 2017 11:00 am15 views

The research proposal of Gaeun Seo, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, has been chosen to receive the Graduate Student Research Grant for 2017 by the National Career Development Association Research Committee.
EPOL Doctoral Candidate's Research to be Featured in Art Gallery Exhibit

May 24, 2022 2:30 pm18 views

Marlee Bunch, doctoral candidate in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, researchers the history of African American teachers in Mississippi post-Brown decision. Artwork is being created as a visual compenent to her work and will be on display at Haw Contemporary Gallergy in Kansas City, Missouri, beginning August 26, 2022.
EPOL Doctoral Student Cecilia Vaughn-Guy Named 2023 Women’s Congressional Policy Institute Fellow

Aug 1, 2022 2:00 pm180 views

Congratulations to Cecilia Vaughn-Guy, working toward her Ph.D. in Human Resource Development and Diversity & Equity in Education, on being selected to the prestigious WCPI Fellowship Program.
EPOL Doctoral Student Jack Baldermann Wins 2022 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership

May 18, 2022 1:15 pm46 views

On Thursday, May 12, Westmont (IL) High School Principal and Ed.D. candidate in Education Administration and Leadership Jack Baldermann was honored Thursday with a surprise all-school assembly to announce his Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Leadership.
EPOL Doctoral Student Lecture 'Autism & Neurodiversity: Reimagining the Strengths of the Human Spectrum'

Mar 30, 2022 10:00 pm2 views

EPOL Higher Education doctoral student Kelly Searsmith, MA, PhD, EdM, gave an invited talk, “Autism & Neurodiversity: Reimagining the Strengths of the Human Spectrum,” with research partner Laura DeThorne, CCC-SLP, PhD (Western Michigan University) at the Michigan Speech Language Hearing Association’s Annual Conference in East Lansing on March 25, 2022.
EPOL Doctoral Student Mostafa Adel Hanafy a Finalist for UK Social Action Award

Feb 24, 2022 3:30 pm98 views

Mostafa Hanafy, a PhD student in EPOL's Learning Design and Leadership program, is a finalist for a prestigious award from the United Kingdom.
EPOL Doctoral Student Shares Thoughts on History of HBCCs

May 24, 2024 9:15 am1 views

H.M. Kuneyl, a third-year doctoral student in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, recently shared her thoughts in an Open Campus article about the distinct but incomplete history of historically black community colleges (HBCCs), institutions she focuses on in her research. Kuneyl is a research assistant at the Office of Community College Research and Leadership.
EPOL Faculty Present on Migration, Education at Stockholm University

Sep 24, 2018 8:00 am6 views

Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership (EPOL) faculty members Liv Davila and Linda Herrera gave a Sept. 21 seminar at Stockholm University that focused on refugees, displaced populations, and migration in relation to schooling and livelihoods. The scholars' visit was hosted by Stockholm University professors Anna Lund and Nihad Bunar of the Department of Child and Youth Studies. It was funded through an Illinois-Sweden Program for Educational Research Exchange (INSPIRE) grant to support collaborative research among faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Stockholm University, and the Karolinska Tekniska Högskolan.
EPOL Graduate Student Named HRI Graduate Fellow for 2024-25

Feb 21, 2024 3:00 pm36 views

Nathan Tanner will conduct research and develop his dissertation or research project and participate in the Fellows Seminar and other related programming.
EPOL Graduate Student Publishes Article in Science Editing

Mar 19, 2024 11:30 am10 views

Thong Trinh, a Ph.D. Candidate in Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, published an article in the journal about training doctoral students to alleviate the crisis in academic publishing and the importance of nurturing the next generation of scholars.
EPOL Graduate Student's Book Published on Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Ed

Feb 17, 2022 10:00 pm26 views

Online EPOL graduate student Fawzia Reza is the editor of a new book, just released from Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
EPOL graduate student selected as NEH Summer Scholar

May 19, 2016 9:00 am87 views

Katherine Jo, a fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, has been selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar and will attend one of 23 seminars and institutes supported by NEH.
EPOL Online EdD Information Session

Oct 4, 2016 1:00 pm155 views

College of Education Faculty & Staff are invited to attend this session to get information on this new degree program and engage in Q & A.

Wednesday November 2, 2016

12:00 – 1:00

Room 22 Education

A light lunch will be served. Feel free to brown bag.
EPOL Ph.D. Alumna Receives Fulbright Specialist Award

Dec 5, 2023 9:45 am35 views
EPOL Ph.D. Candidate Alison Reddy Honored with LAS Award

Feb 10, 2021 8:30 am54 views

Doctoral student in the Higher Education program Alison Ahlgren Reddy is being recognized by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a 2020-2021 LAS Staff and Academic Professional Award.
EPOL Ph.D. candidate chosen as Spencer Dissertation Fellow

May 19, 2016 2:45 pm223 views

Alisha Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, was chosen as a 2016 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellow. Johnson was one of 35 fellows selected among nearly 400 student applications from more than 100 graduate institutions.
EPOL PhD Candidate Dinah Armstead Part of iVenture Accelerator Cohort 6

Jun 19, 2020 4:15 pm496 views

iVenture Accelerator, powered by Gies College of Business, has provided a new round of funding and support for 39 students and their startups. Dinah Armstead, PhD candidate in Global Education Studies and Education Policy is one of these students. Her startup is called AgriWater Tech Consulting.
EPOL Ph.D. Candidate Receives Emerging Scholar Award

Mar 12, 2024 10:15 am40 views

Mostafa Hanafy received awards at the seventeenth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies People, Education, and Technology for a Sustainable Future at the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain.
EPOL Ph.D. Student Aigul Rakisheva Wins Best Paper Award at Conference

Sep 3, 2023 9:00 pm83 views

Rakisheva was honored at the European Educational Research Association (EERA) conference for her paper, entitled “Bridging the urban-rural gaps in education in Kazakhstan.
EPOL Ph.D Student Receives Outstanding Reviewer Award from AERA

May 21, 2024 1:45 pm29 views

Rakisheva reviewed the submissions of the Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning SIG.
EPOL professor discusses financing postsecondary education with wallethub.com

May 26, 2016 9:15 am6 views

With tuition rates and other college costs rising every year, many parents struggle to finance their children’s college education. As a result, many students take on debt or forgo post-secondary education altogether. Professor Linda Herrera in the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership discussed with wallethub.com the most common mistakes people make when financing their postsecondary education.
EPOL professor gives keynote on youth policy and the Middle East

Feb 22, 2018 7:30 am22 views

Professor Linda Herrera of the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership gave the keynote address during the Opportunities and Choices in Dutch policies for the Middle East - Youth Conference, which was organized by Het Grote Midden Oosten Platform in the Netherlands.
EPOL Professor Ron Jacobs Inducted into AHRD Scholar Hall of Fame

Feb 25, 2020 3:15 pm156 views

Congratulations to Dr. Ronald Jacobs, who has been inducted into the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) Scholar Hall of Fame. Jacobs will be honored at AHRD's Annual Conference in Atlanta on February 28.
EPOL professor to be inducted into IACE Hall of Fame

Aug 23, 2017 1:00 pm9 views

Professor Peter Kuchinke of the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership will be inducted into the 2017 International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame, located in the Thurman J. White Forum building at the University of Oklahoma.
EPOL professor to discuss humanities at Sept. 8-9 festival

Aug 29, 2016 8:45 am8 views

Dr. Chris Higgins of the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership is one of four presenters of a roundtable webinar at the Sept. 8-9 Wiley Humanities Festival. The two-day online festival covers why the humanities matter and features research topics and thought leadership pieces from leading academics. Live listeners will be able to ask questions and enter to win prizes. Seating is limited, so register soon.
EPOL professor to give keynote at diversity conference

Mar 13, 2017 12:30 pm4 views

Dr. Adrienne Dixson will give a keynote presentation at the 2017 Diversity in Education Conference at the University of Iowa on March 24.
EPOL Research Brownbag - Ron Jacobs

Mar 2, 2017 11:30 am7 views

March 15, 12-1pm by Dr. Ronald Jacobs (Room 22)

Conceptualizing Knowledge Work for Human Resource Development

This Brown Bag session represents Dr. Jacobs’ scholarly focus and reports information from a manuscript now in preparation. Jobs are undergoing change, and most of the change is towards knowledge work. Knowledge work requires employees to use their thinking abilities to an extent more than ever before. The concept of knowledge work was first suggested by Peter Drucker in his text, "Landmarks of Tomorrow" (1957). Today knowledge work has become part of jobs at many different levels, including: frontline employees, technicians, engineers, and managers.

While knowledge work has received much attention in the management literature, there has been limited attention given to the topic in the human resource development literature. As a result, two fundamental questions about knowledge work have not been fully addressed, which the human resource development discipline might be uniquely suited to help address. The first question is what are the characteristics of knowledge work that differentiate it from other patterns of work behavior? The second question focuses on how organizations might reliably develop employees to perform knowledge work?

This Brown Bag session will have the following goals:

Review the various definitions of knowledge work B. Propose a definition of knowledge work relevant to human resource development, based on the notion of knowledge-based tasks C. Discuss an employee development framework that has been implemented in organizations to help employees learn to perform knowledge-based tasks D. Discuss research implications to advance understanding of knowledge work.
EPOL's Adrienne Dixson and Two Colleagues Awarded Spencer Foundation COVID-19 Grant

Sep 10, 2020 2:00 pm358 views

Professor of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership Adrienne Dixson is part of a research team awarded a grant from the Spencer Foundation for COVID-19 related research.
EPOL scholar conducting refugee-related research through 2019

Jan 17, 2018 12:15 pm12 views

Liv Dávila, an assistant professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, will be involved in two recently funded research projects that focus on immigrants and refugees.
EPOL Scholar Dr. George Kuh to be Honored at Conference

Sep 26, 2018 5:15 pm9 views

Dr. George D. Kuh will receive the 2018 Trudy W. Banta Lifetime Achievement Award and will offer his remarks during a special luncheon honoring his career on Monday, October 22, during the 2018 Assessment Institute in Indianapolis.
EPOL scholar to serve on editorial board of flagship AERA journal

Apr 27, 2017 11:45 am4 views

Higher education funding expert Jennifer Delaney will serve on the editorial board of the journal Educational Researcher during 2017, with the possibility of a renewed appointment in 2018.
EPOL Scholar William Trent Lends Expertise to Discussions with Policy Implications

Sep 19, 2018 3:30 pm7 views

This past week, Dr. William Trent of the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership (EPOL) served as an invited discussant for chapters comprising an upcoming volume of The ANNALS on “Educational Assessment as Useful and Useable Evidence” (working title) administered by the National Academy of Education (NAEd) and the American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS).
EPOL's Dixson Gives Context to 'Why Trans Rights Became the GOP's Latest Classroom Target'

May 12, 2022 5:30 pm0 views

In a story for ABC News' online magazine fivethirtyeight, Professor Adrienne Dixson is quoted and gives context to the numerous legislative bills regarding transgender students' rights.
EPOL's Jessica Li Named to Provost's Building Pathways for Emerging Leaders Cohort

Sep 21, 2020 4:45 pm94 views

Congratulations to Jessica Li, professor of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, who has been selected to the Provost's 2020-21 Building Pathways for Emerging Leaders at Illinois cohort.
EPOL's John Wesley Jones Awarded 2019 AERA-Division B Dissertation of the Year

Feb 26, 2019 3:45 pm543 views

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) recently announced its list of 2019 Division B Award recipients, to be recognized at the annual meeting in April. The Outstanding Dissertation Award has been given to EPOL student John Wesley Jones for his disseration, The Antidote to Willfulness: Manufacturing Dissent, Kony 2012, and Propaganda as a Technology of Governance (2018).
EPOL's Linda Herrera Publishes Book on Education in Egypt

Mar 3, 2022 5:30 pm28 views

Education Policy, Organization and Leadership professor Linda Herrera's book by the title, "Educating Egypt: Civic Values and Ideological Struggles" by the American University in Cairo Press was released on March 1, 2022.
EPOL's Paul Bruno Awarded NSF Grant to Lead Study on Impacts of Policy on CS Participation and Teacher Prep

Aug 16, 2023 2:30 pm83 views

The National Science Foundation has awarded EPOL assistant professor Paul Bruno, PI, nearly $500K for a three-year project examining Collaborative Research: Impacts of State Policy on Computer Science Participation and Teacher Preparation. Associate professor Colleen Lewis of the Grainger College of Engineering's Department of Computer Science joins Bruno as Co-PI on the project, along with Tuan Nguyen of Kansas State University.
EPOL's Rachel Roegman Selected as Illinois Leadership Center Faculty Fellow

Sep 27, 2019 11:00 am156 views

Assistant professor Rachel Roegman has been selected to be part of the Illinois Leadership Center (ILC) Faculty Fellows for the 2019-2020 academic year.
EPOL's Wen-Hao David Huang Work Recognized by School of Social Work

Aug 21, 2020 10:45 am169 views

David Huang, professor in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, collaborated on the project, "Identifying Depression through Early Awareness (IDEA) Women's Health Coalition," with School of Social Work faculty and was awarded the Dean's Prize for Innovation and Collaboration by Dean Steven Anderson.
EPOL Winter Lecture

Jan 7, 2015 10:30 am44 views

Department of Education Policy,Organization & Leadership

Winter Lecture

Dr. Ghazala Ovaice

The Practical Application of Organization Development in a Global Organization

January 23, 2015
11:30 a.m. - 12:50 p.m.
42A Education

This lecture will focus on Dr. Ovaice’s journey and evolution from University of Illinois Human
Resource Development doctoral student to global organization development practitioner and leader.
She will provide insight regarding the association of organization development theory and practice
from a practitioner’s standpoint. During the discussion Dr. Ovaice will integrate examples from her
vast and expansive experience as a leader in a complex global organization.

Ghazala Ovaice, Ph.D., Director, Organization Development, works in Abbott Learning & Development,
where she leads the Consulting function for strategic business performance needs with specific
concentration large scale change, M&A culture integration, organization assessment & design,
organization culture and employee engagement. Her research interests include trust in the
workplace, cross-cultural issues in work related values, and the relationship of organization
culture and performance. Her background is in Organization Development, Organization Research,
Leadership Development, and Evaluation. Ghazala received a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign with a concentration in organizational development and evaluation.
EPS 199: Qualitative Research & Leadership in Global Engagement Course SP '17

Dec 14, 2016 2:15 pm18 views

There are a limited number of seats left in EPS 199: Qualitative Research & Leadership in Global Engagement! EPS 199 can be taken for 2 or 3 credits by UIUC students in Spring 2017. UIUC students will be paired with students from the Honours College of the University of Macau, who will be studying abroad at UIUC for the semester. Teams of students will work together to design and implement a qualitative research project, which they will present at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at the end of the semester. The course will also explore issues related to global leadership. This course meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-4:50. Feel free to email Jenn at raskaus2@illinois.edu with any questions.
EPS 412 Critical Thinking in Education

Jul 7, 2014 4:30 pm61 views

Fall 2014

EPS 412 Critical Thinking in Education (4hrs)

crn: 63178

Tuesdays, 4-6:50pm

Instructor: Nicholas C. Burbules

This course starts with the question, “What is critical thinking?” We will review some of the major views on critical thinking and its role as an educational aim.

Next, we will move on to how to teach critical thinking, its relationship to developmental issues, and its relationship to various subject matters. Is, for example, there are generic model of “critical thinking” that we can promote, or does critical thinking only exist in relation to particular subject matters (critical thinking about history, or about science, etc).

Finally, we will consider wider social and psychological influences that might constitute barriers to the teaching of critical thinking. For example, what special challenges does the Internet pose for developing critical thinking skills and dispositions?

Everything in this class is discussed in relation to teaching. It does not assume a previous background in philosophy.

This class also satisfies the master degree EPS foundations requirement.
EPS 420-G/SOC 420-G Sociology of Education 1-2:50pm Added Foundations Course Sp 2014

Jan 17, 2014 4:02 pm14 views

EPS 420-G/SOC 420-G “Sociology of Education” is a social foundations course that provides a sociological examination of education and schooling in society. It introduces, synthesizes, and evaluates diverse and competing major sociological theories, scholarly research, and important issues in the sociology of education. Click headline to read more...
EPS 508-Fall 2016

Jun 20, 2016 11:00 am6 views

EPS 508 • Fall 2016

Uses and Abuses of Educational Research

W 4-6:50 • 389 Education

Professor Chris Higgins (crh4@illinois.edu)

All graduate students in education (if not all citizens) need to be able to engage intelligently with the full spectrum of educational research and with the policies said to be backed by research. This course aims at comprehensive and critical research literacy through discussion of the philosophy of inquiry, the sociology of knowledge, the history of educational research, and the politics of data. It seeks to correct the mystification that there is a recipe for research (question + lit review + method + limitations + theoretical framework + data = new knowledge), reopening some of the thorny questions around writing and interpretation, history and language, power and politics, knowledge and ignorance. It features a comparative case study of public education as refracted by four approaches: historical, philosophical, quantitative, and qualitative.

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