News and Events

Student Teacher Exhibition

On Tuesday, May 1, student teachers and interns exhibited artifacts that demonstrated instructional impact for Pre-Kindergarten – 12th Grade Students in the New Orleans metropolitan area. More information >>

First "State of the College" Event a Success

January 2012
The UNO College of Education and Human Development held its first “State of the College” event on January 31, 2012 at the Homer Hitt Alumni and Visitor Center. The event, which was co-sponsored with the Office of Alumni Affairs, was well-attended, with representation from faculty, students, and alumni. The event began with a mixer, and concluded with presentations. General consensus was that the occasion was a success.

The concept for the event was spearheaded Dr. April Bedford, Interim Dean of the college. One of her goals was to showcase the accomplishments of the faculty, students, and alumni of the college while providing the alumni with an opportunity to maintain a relationship with the college.

Dr. Bedford emceed the affair. Newly appointed President Peter Fos welcomed everyone, then Dr. Bedford gave her presentation, which provided information about the college’s accomplishments, challenges, and demographics. She then introduced a number of speakers, including “First Lady” Lori Fos, who spoke of her experience as an education major here at UNO. Current students at the graduate and undergraduate level talked about their college experiences. COEHD alumna, Michelle Douglas, talked about her UNO experience as well as her continued work with our students and faculty in her role as the principal of Edward Hynes Charter School.
(contributed by Donna Welch and Kyle Scafide, PhD)

Dr. Marietta Del Favero: UNO loses a friend and scholar 

(The obituary can be found on-line, via the Times Picayune. Link below)

Dr. Marietta Del Favero died at her home in the Quarter on Tuesday, December 13. Her death was unexpected. She is survived by her husband, Dan, and her daughter Shaela Dejean Parrott. Further details are provided in the obituary.

Dr. Del Favero graduated from Sophie Newcombe College in 1969 and later received an MBA from San Diego State University. She spent much of her professional career working in research and planning at UC-San Diego and UC-Irvine. She earned her Ph.D. in Education from Vanderbilt in 2001 and was hired as an associate professor at LSU. In 2005, she took a position as an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership here at the University of New Orleans.

Marietta will be remembered as an enthusiastic colleague, a passionate teacher, and a dedicated scholar. Most of all, to many here in the College of Education and Human Development, Marietta will be remembered as a dear friend.

The family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, mourners may send memorial donations to the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana, 8200 Hampson Street #425, New Orleans, LA 70118-1050.

Visit the Obit >>

Dr. Mason featured on WWL Radio

Dr. Kim Mason, professor of counselor education, appeared live on WWL 870 AM with Tommy Tucker to discuss Internet privacy issues. Hear the broadcast >>

Fall 2011 Message from the Dean

To the Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and Friends of the College of Education and Human Development: 

Welcome to the Fall, 2011 semester! We are beginning a promising academic year for the college and UNO. I wanted to take time on the first day of classes to update you on recent and upcoming news about the COEHD and the university.

First, I wanted to introduce myself. I was appointed as Interim Dean in the fall of 2010 after serving for four years as Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. I began my career at UNO as an assistant professor in that department in 1999 and remain a professor in Curriculum and Instruction while holding my current administrative position as Interim Dean.

During the past 10 months in this position, our college and university have dealt with many challenges. Two days after I was appointed as Interim Dean, Chancellor Tim Ryan left the university. Shortly thereafter, legislators began discussing a possible merger with SUNO as well as a move from the LSU System to the UL System for UNO. I’m sure most of you have followed these events through the local media, but as you can imagine, all of the university administrators had a very busy, and admittedly stressful, 2010-2011 year due to a climate of much uncertainty.

While there is much work to be done, I believe we are definitely on the road to a more stable and prosperous future. Provost and Acting Chancellor Joe King has ably led the university through a time of turmoil, and a search for University President is now underway. The legislation to merge UNO and SUNO was defeated. However, the legislation to move UNO from the LSU System to the University of Louisiana System passed, and that transition has begun.

I will summarize the outcomes of this legislation very briefly. First, the bill (SB 266) changed the management board of the University of New Orleans from the Louisiana State University System to the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. The bill did not merge UNO with any other institutional entity; nor did it change the name of UNO. (To read the full text of the bill, go to http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=758781.) UNO Administrators are currently working with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, our accrediting agency, as well as both Systems, to guarantee that we remain fully accredited during and after this transition.

Two outcomes of this change in Systems are potentially the most beneficial for our university, in my opinion. First, UNO will now be part of a System that is home to two other Research II universities, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Louisiana Tech, the only other Research II universities in the state. UNO was alone in that category in the LSU System and was never able to compete with the flagship agenda established for LSU. I hope and believe that as part of the UL System, we will be governed by a board that understands our attributes and goals.

Second, the UL System is comprised completely of four-year universities. The LSU System includes institutions such as the Agriculture Center, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and the Health Sciences Center, and funding for these institutions often resulted in cuts to UNO’s budget. It is our hope that a solely university-focused system will better serve the needs of UNO. I look forward to finding innovative ways to collaborate with other universities in the UL System to jointly enhance our programs.

Unfortunately, UNO has suffered due to negative local press coverage in the past year.
Reports describing us as a “failing institution” have created understandable concern among current and potential students, alumni, and faculty. This characterization is inaccurate and damaging. I will not deny that we have faced difficulties over the past six years, and that we still have challenges to overcome, but there is much going on at our university and within our college that is positive.

One of our greatest strengths is our faculty. In the COEHD, we have a talented and dedicated group of individuals with expertise in all facets of teacher education, special education, educational leadership, higher education, health education, and counselor education. They have distinguished themselves at state, national, and international levels through their scholarship in the forms of publications, conference presentations, grant attainment and implementation, and service to professional organizations. Due to the ongoing work of faculty, we have a larger number of nationally recognized programs in education than any other university in Louisiana. Our faculty is made up of outstanding teachers of undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral courses who are committed to providing our students with top-notch educational experiences. Additionally, our faculty are involved in service to our New Orleans community through their participation in a variety of boards, agencies, local health care facilities, and schools.

Our college exists to serve our students. We presently have over 500 undergraduate and nearly 800 graduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Development. Our students represent a range of academic backgrounds and experiences, ages, and cultures, and I believe this diversity greatly enhances both our programs and the learning experiences of the students in their classes. All of our students meet rigorous admissions requirements and are expected to engage in demanding coursework as they progress through their programs of study. During my 12 years of teaching at UNO, I have found our students to be hardworking, conscientious, and extremely committed to becoming professional educators and counselors. Working with them has been the joyous highlight of my career at UNO.

Over the last several months, our college and university have received tremendous support from our alumni. While I am aware that leaders in a number of fields throughout the New Orleans metropolitan region received degrees from the College of Education and Human Development at UNO, I would like to meet more of our alums and get to know more about them. In order to do that, I plan to invite all alumni, as well as current students, to attend a “State of the College” night in September. At this event, various members of the college faculty, staff, and student body will present information about the exciting work going on in our college. An email invitation with further details will be forthcoming in the next few days.

In my role as Interim Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, I strive to listen to the needs of our students, faculty, staff, and educational partners throughout the region and to work collaboratively to find ways to meet those needs. As a teacher, I have always believed that optimal learning occurs within a community of learners, and my hope is for everyone involved in our college to feel part of such a community, with all members supporting the best efforts of one another. Vital to the creation of community is open and continuous communication. To that end, members of the college staff, faculty, and student body will be assisting me in creating an online newsletter that all college constituents will receive monthly. If you have any items you would like to include in that newsletter, or suggestions for how better to serve our college community, please do not hesitate to email me at april.bedford@uno.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.

Warmly,
April Bedford

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Bedford named Interim Dean

April Bedford, Ph.D. has been named interim dean of the UNO College of Education and Human Development. She has succeeded the former dean, James Meza, Jr., who retired at the end of October 2010.

Dr. Bedford served as the chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction since 2006. She first began working at UNO in 1999 as an assistant professor of elementary education.

“Tiger Mom” Reactions: A Panel Discussion on Schools, Culture & Parenting in New Orleans

Yale Law professor Amy Chua stirred significant controversy with her recent book The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, in which she throws back the curtain on the stereotype of high-achieving Asian-American children. She describes how her own children became tremendously successful in school while they were never allowed to watch TV, play computer games, select their own extra-curricular activities, or attend sleepover parties with friends. The book and an accompanying Wall Street Journal essay raise important questions about the relationships between parenting, schools, and our increasingly diverse American society. This panel brings together a distinguished collection of New Orleans parents and educators to respond to the arguments made by Ms. Chua and to discuss how these complex issues influence schooling in our own city. For a flier describing the event, please click here.

UNO School Leadership Night

The Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations sponsored a "School Leadership Night" on Thursday, March 31, 2011 from 4:30-6:00 p.m. at Grace King High School's library. To see a PDF flier regarding the event, please click here.

UNO sponsors Post Katrina Conference

The Five Years of Post-Katrina Educational Reform Research Conference was held Sept. 23-25, 2010 at the Lindy Boggs Conference Center on the campus of the University of New Orleans. The event was spearheaded and coordinated by Dr. Brian Beabout.