Graduate Education Newsletter

Spring 2023

Welcome to the newsletter of the Graduate Education program at the University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies (SPCS). We publish twice annually, once each in the Fall and Spring semesters.

Pictured are student teaching interns participating in a mindfulness session facilitated by Roger Mancastroppa, associate director of the UR Academic Skills Center.

Greetings from the Chair

Tom Shields headshot Happy Spring! Hope you’re enjoying this beautiful spring weather.

It is certainly an exciting time to be a Spider. It is almost the end of the spring semester which means that we are busy with final assignments, exams, capstones, and internships. We also realize that Commencement, which is on May 6th, is on the horizon and quickly approaching. Beyond the normal end of the year events, there is much going on in Graduate Education Programs, the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (SPCS), and the University. Below are some highlights and for more detailed information please read this edition of the spring e-newsletter.

Beginning in Summer 2023, the Partners in the Arts (PIA) Consortium will offer its programming as the Institute for Integrated Learning (IIL), integrating community and culture into all PK-16 learning spaces through the arts and technology. For more information, check out the website for PIA, which will soon be known as IIL!

To serve the programmatic needs of our local school divisions, we are pleased to announce tuition discounts! We have launched a significant discount for our Spider alumni known as the Spider Spirit Alumni Discount. We also offer tuition discounts for educators in K-12 Consortium School Districts. If you are unsure about whether your school or school district is part of the Consortium, please reach out to Kris Waikart, Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator for Graduate Education Programs, at kwaikart@richmond.edu.

We continue to work with local school divisions in addressing their professional development and provisional licensure needs. We are fortunate to continue to implement the grant from the R.E.B. Foundation to support the Provisional License Support Program (PLuS). Also, check out the courses and advising that we offer for provisionally licensed teachers.

Over the past year, SPCS has been celebrating its 60th Anniversary! It has been a year full of celebrations, with more events to come in the spring and summer. Please check out the updates and details on our 60th Anniversary page.

Our new president, Kevin Hallock, is focusing on areas of opportunity for the University of Richmond. President Hallock launched a planning process, called Guiding Lights, to determine strategic areas of opportunity. Learn more about President Hallock’s Guiding Lights in the draft strategic plan.

As you can see from this list above and from the contents of the e-newsletter, there is a lot going on. Like I said at the beginning, it is a great time to be a Spider!

Please enjoy this edition of the Graduate Education spring e-newsletter and hope you have an amazing spring!

Tom
Tom Shields signature
Tom J. Shields, Ph.D.
Graduate Education Chair

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Updates from Our Centers

April 12, 2023

Partners in the Arts update

Brief update on what the Partners in the Arts consortium is doing and offering for the Richmond region’s educators, artists, teachers, schools and school divisions.

April 12, 2023

Center for Leadership in Education update

Updates on programs offered through the Center for Leadership in Education (CLE) including the Next Generation Leadership Academy and the Teacher LEAD program.

Announcements & Reminders

Summer 2023 Registration

Spring registration opened on March 14 and the class schedule is available online. Review the summer academic calendar for details.

Advisors are initiating advising appointments. Licensure students should be prepared to discuss progress being made towards passing the required licensure exams and (as needed) course gap completion.

Spring 2023 Comprehensive Requirements

The MEd in Curriculum & Instruction and MEd and Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies are holding capstones. Eligible students will be contacted with further details by their respective program.

Commencement-Related Events

Graduating students are invited to register to drop in for Graduation Celebration & Regalia Pickup on Tuesday, April 25, 3-7 p.m., in the Jepson Alumni Center.
All Graduate Education students are invited to attend the Graduate Education End-of-Year Party on Tuesday, May 2, 5:30-7 p.m. in the North Court Gillette Courtyard, just outside of the Ed Leadership office and Perkinson Recital Hall.
Graduating students are invited to attend SPCS Night, the school’s annual awards ceremony celebrating the graduating class of 2023, on May 3 at 6 p.m. in Alice Jepson Theatre, Modlin Center for the Arts. RSVP by April 19 using the link in the invitation email sent to all graduating students.
Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 9. Graduating students with regalia should arrive no later than 7:30 a.m. to the Weinstein Center for Recreation; regalia can be collected starting at 7 a.m. in the same location.

Scholarship Deadline

The deadline to apply for Fall 2023 SPCS scholarships is June 1.

Education Briefs

Adjunct Faculty Updates

Congratulations to Dr. Joe Douglas, Instructional Specialist in Colonial Heights Public Schools, for promotion to Adjunct Associate Professor.

Welcome to Dr. Cort Schneider, Director of Disability Services for the University of Richmond, as one of our newest Adjunct Assistant Professors.

These and other faculty recognitions were announced during the Spring 2023 SPCS faculty meeting held January 5.

New & Ongoing Initiatives

Spider Spirit Alumni Discount

University of Richmond alumni who have earned an academic certificate, associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, post-bachelor’s certificate, graduate certificate, master’s degree or juris doctorate are eligible for the Spider Spirit alumni discount. The Spider Spirit alumni discount offers UR alumni a 25% savings on tuition over the lifetime of a degree program when a member of the alumni enrolls in a degree or certificate program through the School of Professional & Continuing Studies. This 25% tuition discount is also applicable to individual courses taken for credit as a non-degree seeking student in SPCS.

Partnership with VAIS

We hosted the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS) annual Safe & Healthy Schools Conference on February 15, 2023. Approximately 150 school counselors, nurses, athletics directors, school safety & security professionals, teachers, and school leaders from across Virginia gathered to explore topics and strategies to support safe and healthy schools. We shared UR-related expertise in three sessions:

Adjunct professor Lisa Micou, GC’16, ELPS graduate, led a session on the value of Social Emotional Learning in schools.
Marieka Turner, a UR health educator, led a session on wellness in the classroom.
UR Environmental Health & Safety, Risk Management, and University Police leaders collaborated with K-12 colleagues to share higher education practices and learn about K-12 practices.

SPCS is proud to partner with VAIS.

ELPS Consortium Initiative

The Educational Leadership & Policy Studies program celebrates the pilot ELPS Consortium initiative. Qualified educators employed in Chesterfield, Goochland and Henrico County Public Schools are eligible for a 20% tuition discount if they are interested in pursuing their educational leadership degree at the University of Richmond. If interested, please reach out Kris Waikart, Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator, at kwaikart@richmond.edu.

Alumni Accolades

January 9, 2023

SPCS Alumni Update

May 2022 Educational Leadership graduates publish capstone projects in VASCD Journal

Katelyn Wilkerson, GC’22, and Charlotte Martin, GC’22, both graduates of the SPCS Educational Leadership & Policy Studies program, published their capstone projects in the 2022 VASCD Journal.

Congratulations to Desiree Dabney, GC’22, on being named head of the musical theater program at Virginia Commonwealth...
Posted by University of Richmond School of Professional & Continuing Studies on Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Faculty Updates

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Education in the Media

April 30, 2023

Commentary: By mapping Richmond's past and present, our future comes into focus

Tom Shields, associate dean in SPCS and director of graduate education, Alexandra Byrum, director of communications and community relations in equity & community, Kyle Redican, Spatial Analysis Lab director, and UR student Sarah Murtaugh coauthored this piece about the late John Moeser, longtime CCE senior fellow.

January 22, 2023

Top Bard

This article notes Richmond Poet Laureate Roscoe Burnems’ recent performance at the University’s MLK celebration and his involvement with Partners in the Arts.

December 3, 2022

Column: Schools have a moral (and legal) obligation to resist ‘divisive concepts’ ban

Associate Dean Tom Shields, an education and leadership studies professor, authored this column

October 19, 2022

A Force for Change

Amy Howard, senior administrative officer for equity and community, Tom Shields, associate dean for SPCS and education and leadership studies professor, and Thad Williamson, leadership studies professor, coauthored this piece highlighting the life and legacy of former CCE senior fellow John Moeser.

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