ACADEMICS | Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education, which got its start in the basement of Sacred Heart Chapel with fewer than a dozen full-time professors, celebrated its silver anniversary this year on the Westchester campus.
“In these past 25 years, we have expanded exponentially, built meaningful relationships in the community, and made significant strides in our global impact,” said Dean Shane P. Martin, Ph.D., who has been with LMU SOE for 22 years – starting in 1995 as an assistant professor – and took over from former Dean Albert Koppes, O.Carm., in 2005.
Today, the school that opened with 300 students boasts an enrollment of more than 1,400 and a network of more than 10,000 alumni. The number of full-time faculty members has more than quadrupled to 45. And with more than 40 degree and certificate programs and 20 centers, initiatives and partnerships, LMU SOE is ranked among U.S. News and World Report’s top 65 graduate education programs in the U.S. – and is the third-highest ranking Jesuit institution on the list.
“We continue to make a difference, and we know there is more work to be done,” Martin said. “We will always strive to meet the needs of our ever-changing and diverse communities.”
LMU has had education programs in place for almost 70 years, but the school’s establishment in 1992 created a professional learning community and a path for growth.
On Nov. 6, Martin shared reflections about SOE’s accomplishments and the many programs it offers to prepare graduate students for successful careers as public and private school teachers, administrators, counselors, school psychologists, and other education specialists at his annual convocation. The address took place in LMU’s Hilton 100 Auditorium in the Hilton Center for Business.
“The generous guidance that the School of Education faculty provides our students is the lifeblood of the school’s success,” said LMU President Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., in a recorded video welcome. “Because of the School of Education’s team-based effort and expertise, LMU, and the communities – and youngsters – whom we serve, flourish.
Among LMU SOE’s celebrated programs and initiatives are the Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice, which has formed a community of leaders working across the full spectrum of educational settings since its establishment in 2004; the Center for Equity for English Learners, which seeks to expand the pipeline of highly qualified bilingual teachers; Partners in Los Angeles Catholic Education (PLACE) Corps, which prepares students for careers as educators in Catholic schools; and Upward Bound, which helps low-income high school students graduate and pursue a college education.
LMU SOE’s Family of Schools – a collaborative promoting student success and educational equity for Los Angeles Unified and Catholic school students in Westchester, Playa del Rey and Playa Vista – earned recognition of its work recently from the L.A. Unified Board of Education.
For more information on SOE, visit http://soe.lmu.edu/.
