BackgroundAs an Associate Professor here at UNK, I direct the Early Childhood Inclusive (ECI) program and also teach the Early Childhood specialization in the Curriculum and Instruction Master's program. I grew up in Oregon, but came to the Midwest to attend the University of Kansas where I graduated with the Ph.D. in Special Education Policy Integration with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education in 2002. Since coming to UNK in 2003, I have worked with five different Federal U.S. Department of Education grants to help early childhood teachers and young children. The first grant helped low-income preschools develop quality literacy programs, and the second helped early childhood teachers across Nebraska finish early childhood college degrees. Two other grants helped create and support the ECI Online program, which allows individuals to complete BA degrees or Initial Certification, or to add the ECU Endorsement to their current teaching degree. The fifth grant was a partnership with Nebraska Indian Community College to help their students complete ECU BA degrees.
I also try to make a difference in policies affecting young children and their families. I have served as president of the Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children and am currently back on the board. I served two terms as the Higher Education representative for the Early Childhood Inter-agency Coordinating Council, which makes recommendations about early childhood policy to the Governor. I have contributed to the state's Preschool Early Learning Guidelines and early childhood policy handbooks, and was part of the Strategic Planning Committee for the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, a university-wide, interdisciplinary effort to improve the lives of young children and their families. I love UNK and stay involved in a number of activities here. One is the Faculty Senate, where I have served in a number of capacities. Last year I served as president of the senate and also served on the presidential search committee which hired President Carter. This year I am parliamentarian. I chair the Plambeck Early Childhood Center Advisory Board, and I chair the Campus-wide UNK Early Childhood Committee which aims to take an interdisciplinary approach to supporting the early childhood workforce. We also put on the UNK Early Childhood Conference offered in the Fall on the UNK Campus.
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