Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 6, 1991 TAG: 9103060319
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG/ HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
"We want this program to be on the cutting edge," University President Donald Dedmon said minutes after the board of visitors approved the appointment of Robert C. Small Jr. as dean of the college.
He will begin work on June 1.
"I'm not pleased with a College of Education that's supposed to be a leader and then invites a return visit for accreditation and fails. That's preposterous."
Last year, the college's application for reaccreditation was rejected.
However, the college's accreditation of teacher education programs will continue at least through December 1992. An on-site visit by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education is scheduled for October of that year.
By then, Dedmon said, the program should meet all requirements.
"Dr. Small was by far and away superior to anyone we were looking at," Dedmon said.
"He is the person we need to lead us out of this."
Small, who heads the secondary education program at Virginia Tech, was chosen out of 80 applicants nationwide.
He will succeed John Arn, who died in July.
Since 1984, Small has served as program area leader for secondary education in Tech's curriculum and instruction division.
Prior to that, Small taught English at Tech for 14 years and from 1977 to 1984 he served as associate dean of graduate studies and research for the College of Education.
"Radford is a good environment to teach others how to teach," Small said in a statement released Tuesday.
He said Radford's focus on the importance of teaching attracted him to the position.
"This is a challenging time in teacher education," he said.
"We've discovered more about how to prepare effective teachers. At the same time, many prominent people say teachers don't need special preparation.
"We must take what we know works in training teachers and design a program to show the effectiveness of what we do."
by CNB