University Daily Kansan, July 10. 1985
Page 9
Education dean preparing for new duties at Maryland
By Jill Ovens
Staff Reporter
The boxes are stacked four-high in his office in Bailey Hall. And Dale Scannell said it was the same way at home.
Scannell, dean of education for the past 16 years, is packing up his belongings and memories this week as he prepares to become the dean of the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. He will leave the University of Kansas on Friday.
A search committee was formed last month to select his replacement Carol Prentice, administrative assistant to the vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the selection would be made this fall.
Paul Haack, who will be acting dean from July 18 until a permanent appointment is made, said Monday. "Not only has he kept us going through all the educational turmoil of the last decade, but he has kept us on the cutting edge of the educational scene."
Scannell said, "We have strengthened our graduate program and faculty scholarships. We have enhanced relationships to the schools in this part of the state. We have made a major commitment to improving the quality of teaching through the new teacher education program and we've assembled a fine faculty."
During his years as dean, his colleagues said, Scannell completely revamped the School of Education's approach to teacher education, spearheaded the new five-year degree program
Tom Erb, associate professor of curriculum and instruction, said Scannell was the driving force behind the teacher education program.
"It's been a difficult time, there's no question about it," Erb said. "He reworked the whole program. Things got hot and heated at times with all the different points of view that needed to be worked through, but it was clearly his leadership that brought us through all that."
The first students to participate in the five-year program graduated in May and will complete requirements through the Graduate School next
One of those students, Deanne Urnuth, Rozel graduate student and president of the School of Education Student Organization, said she was going to wished he were going to be around to see the class graduate next spring.
"I can understand if a good opportunity comes, you have to take it," Urunh said. "I think he be a very good person who has worked hard for what he believes in and for the school."
Unruh said Scannell had gone out
of his way to support the student organization.
"He always tries to involve students in all the committees for the school assembly," she said, "and he always listens to the students' point of view even though there's been differences at times."
Erb said he went through a difficult time three or four years ago and he also found Scannell to be supportive. Erb came under criticism from a group of parents who were attacking middle school certification before the Kansas State Board of Education. The certification indicates that teachers have had special training to deal with adolescents.
"The critics looked on me as the chief spokesman for middle schools and made a lot of personal comments about me." Erb said. "He stood by me during that experience and I appreciated it."
Not only is Scannell supportive, but he also has a talent for relieving tense situations, his colleagues said.
Haack said Scannell had a seemingly endless supply of stories to relax tension or to make a point.
"He has a marvelous fund of well-told stories, jokes and so on, that I think is a real personal asset to him." Haak said.
Scannell first came to KU in 1959 as the director of the Bureau of Educational Research and Service. He had been an assistant professor of educ
Dale Scannell, dean of education, will leave Friday to become the dean of the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. Scannell, who was the dean for 16 years, developed the five-year education degree program in 1981.
tional psychology at the University of California at Berkeley for a year before that, after having taught high
Scannell has served on accredita-
New center will examine youth, aging
school chemistry for five years in Iowa City, Iowa.
tion teams evaluating high school and university programs in several states.
By Sherry Gering Staff Reporter
The University of Kansas soon will have an institute that will study human development from birth to death, the associate vice chancellor for research, graduate studies and public service said yesterday.
Marilyn Yarbrough, the associate vice chancellor, said the institute, which is the result of a merger of two research entities, would be called the Institute for Human Development and Aging.
"Our goal is to address the life span of human development," she said.
The Board of Regents approved KU's request for a merger of the Gerontology Center and the Bureau of Research at its June 28 meeting.
Walter Crockett, acting director of the Gerontology Center, said of the merger: "I think it is terrific. It will reduce the study of the whole life span."
Varbrough said the centers' faculty members had proposed research related to their interests, such as the education of the handicapped
Richard Schiefebush, director of the Bureau of Child Research, said. The single biggest advantage is that it building a bridge toward the future.
It's natural to create a program that studies all aspects of life because all aspects are related, Schiefelebush said.
She said the institute would have a director and two associate directors for the gerontology and child research programs. A director probably will not be named until spring 1986, she said.
A search committee probably will be appointed in the next two months to find a director of the institute. Yarbrough said.
She said that when Crockett became acting director in January, he agreed to serve for a year, and the woman until he retired in three years.
Yarbrough said, "Researchers found that research is not complete until they look backward and forward."
For example, researchers from the Bureau of Child Research have been studying handicapped children. They discovered that they could learn more about the cause and nature of handicaps from studying the life stages after childhood, she said.
"As long as we are in Strong Hall, it makes it harder to use those resources," he said. "It will be more convenient and there will be more support for people in gerontology." He also said the new institute would help to generate more new gerontology projects.
Crockett said the institute would make the study of gerontology more efficient because the Gerontology Center would be able to share media access and computer resources with the Bureau of Child Research.
"Nobody will lose jobs." Yar
brought sait
KU officials said in February that they hoped the building that will house the institute would be completed within three years. Plans call for a 100,000 square-foot building east of Haworth Floor.
The building will also include the department of special education, the department of speech, language and communication, the human development and family life.
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