Changes in the College of Education for 2012-13
Dr. Hilda Rosselli, dean of the College of Education for the past 10 years, has assumed responsibilities as deputy director of college and career readiness for Dr. Rudy Crew, Oregon’s chief education officer. In her absence during the 2012-13 academic year, Dr. Mark Girod, professor of teacher education, has been named interim dean.
Rosselli’s areas of focus will include teacher recruitment, preparation, and advancement as well as areas related to college and career readiness program initiatives. She will be engaged with other state education leaders at the agency head and deputy level to provide leadership related to governance and policy, best practices. Rosselli hopes to maximize the synergy that can be drawn from a PK-20 system through innovation, equity and partnerships to achieve Oregon’s goal of an educated citizenry (40/40/20).
“During the past 10 years, I’ve invested considerable time and energy towards strengthening our educator workforce and enhancing the profession of teaching,” said Rosselli. “Although I will miss working directly with my wonderful colleagues at WOU this year, I am excited to collaborate with Oregon’s chief academic officer on the work that lays ahead. Dr. Rudy Crew has already affirmed the importance he places on the teaching profession as key to the change that our state is undertaking around student success and I embrace my new responsibilities knowing that I can count on the collaboration of colleagues throughout the state to help us achieve Oregon’s 40/40/20 goal.”
“Dean Rosselli has worked diligently across the last decade to build a College of Education with outstanding programs, faculty leaders, and engaged students,” said Girod. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue this tradition and to prepare for the future. Western is an amazing place because it rests on backs of amazing people. My job is to support those folks.”
Rosselli has served as the dean of the College of Education at WOU for the past 10 years. Since arriving at WOU she has enhanced the strong reputation that the college’s teacher preparation programs have earned over the years. Rosselli has overseen the addition and enhancement of new academic programs including the American Sign Language interpreting studies degree, the revised majors in exercise science and community health education, and the new Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies.
At WOU, she has collaborated with faculty to develop a faculty mentoring program, a Bilingual Teaching Fellows Program, a college-wide assessment system, a student chapter of ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), university/school partnerships in Salem-Keizer and Central school districts, as well as numerous diversity initiatives and professional development opportunities for faculty and students. Of the 34 current tenured and tenure-track faculty in the College of Education, she helped hire 24 new faculty; several of which were new tenure lines due to program growth and development.
Rosselli has been an active leader on many state and national committees related to teacher preparation and performance assessment. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and on the NCATE State Partnership Board. Her classroom experience includes early childhood, special education, middle school, and university level teaching. She has published over 25 referred articles and chapters and has presented at more than 100 conferences. She has been the principal investigator on over $1.5 million in grants, and helped raise another $1.5 million in private gifts.
Girod, born and raised in Monmouth, started at WOU as an assistant professor in 2001 after earning his doctorate in educational psychology at Michigan State University. He worked as a K-12 science teacher for six years. In addition to teaching at WOU, Girod has held the positions of chair for the Teacher Education Division and coordinator for the Master of Arts in Teaching program. In 2010, he received the Mario and Alma Pastega Award for Excellence in Scholarship at WOU. Girod enjoys service learning and has traveled to Vietnam with the Forgotten People Foundation to work with disadvantaged children and adults.
Photo: Mark Girod in the classroom
“Dean Rosselli has worked diligently across the last decade to build a College of Education with outstanding programs, faculty leaders, and engaged students. I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue this tradition and to prepare for the future."
Dr. Mark Girod, interim dean, College of Education
“Dr. Girod is not only a graduate of this fine university, but he is strongly committed to the continued success of WOU’s College of Education. As a faculty member who has held multiple leadership positions including serving as division chair, he values the work being accomplished throughout the college,” said Rosselli. “I am confident that he brings a strong set of skills to this position and will continue facilitating the outstanding progress being made in all areas of the college.”
