Kathy Escamilla, professor of social, bilingual and multicultural foundations, has been appointed the next Bob and Judy Charles Endowed Chair of Education.
鈥淒ecades before it was popular to conduct high-impact research in the context of practice, was a model, demonstrating to all of us how it was possible to conceptualize and carry out this kind of work,鈥� said Lorrie Shepard, dean of the School of Education, at the induction ceremony. 鈥淗er work has significantly advanced the field of bilingual and biliteracy education research.鈥�
Escamilla's research centers on educational issues related to Spanish-speaking language minority students in U.S. schools. She is specifically interested in issues related to the development of bilingualism and biliteracy in early elementary grades. Her recent research has also examined assessment practices and the impact of high stakes testing on these children.
In addition, Escamilla is an accomplished teacher and mentor, bringing a rich background of expertise to her classes, including theoretical knowledge of cognitive development and language acquisition, research training in sociolinguistics, practical teaching experiences in a variety of school settings, and extensive knowledge about assessment and second language policies and their impact on classrooms, Shepard said.
鈥淪ince coming to the University of baby直播app Boulder in the Fall of 1998, Professor Escamilla has received nearly all A and A+ course and instructor ratings in her student evaluations,鈥� she said.
The Bob and Judy Charles Chair in Education was created to permanently fund聽a baby直播app position in the School of Education while providing additional research funds for the honorary recipient.聽In 2004, Bob and Judy Charles gave a $1.5 million gift to create the School of Education鈥檚 first endowed chair.
Margaret Eisenhart, professor of educational foundations in policy and practice and research and evaluation methodology, was the inaugural chair聽from 2004-2016. The Charleses have been long-time supporters of CU Boulder and devoted advocates of the School of Education. Judy is a School of Education alumna聽and Bob is the chair of the school's development board. Bob remembers when they decided to establish the聽chair and shared their plans with Dean Shepard.
鈥淛udy and I took her to lunch. We said 'when you鈥檝e got time.' We didn鈥檛 want to make a big deal of it,鈥� he said.聽鈥淲e told her listen, we would like to create an endowed chair in the school. I thought Lorrie was going to fall of her chair鈥� We were awestruck that she was that touched. We were just happy to be helpful.鈥�
The couple's聽classic humbleness was apparent at a recent event recognizing the 鈥減assing of the torch鈥� inducting Escamilla as chair. Sitting in the corner of the room the Charleses smiled quietly as Professors Eisenhart and Escamilla shared their appreciation and Dean Shepard credited them and their gift as the 鈥渞eason we have a development program in the School of Education.鈥�
鈥淵ou are two of the most remarkably generous, non-limelight people we could possibly know, Bob and Judy,鈥� Shepard said. 鈥淲e are enormously in your debt.鈥�
Related Faculty: Kathy Escamilla, Margaret Eisenhart