Southeastern NEWS

                                                    Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date:   1/21/00
      Contact:                             Christina Chapple   1

CLAUSEN TO HEAD NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON CONTINUING TEACHER
DEVELOPMENT
  HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University President Sally Clausen has been chosen
to chair a national task force to support and improve teacher preparation.
  The Washington, D.C.-based  American Association of State Colleges and Universities'
(AASCU) has asked Clausen to chair its National Task Force on Professional Development
Programs for Teachers.
  AASCU President Constantine W. (Deno) Curris said Clausen's task force will be the
centerpiece of AASCU's plan to strengthen its commitment to teacher education reform. The task
force will be charged with studying existing professional development programs for current
teachers and recommending  "model programs" that can be adopted by AASCU's 425 campuses. 
  "We  need a starting point to promote reform of professional development programs," Curris
said. "This task is an awesome one, but I feel confident that a highly regarded professional  like
Dr. Clausen, who has demonstrated national and regional leadership, can get the job done."
He estimated the group's work will take approximately two years.
  Curris said chairing the task force will also give Clausen the opportunity to pilot strategies in
Louisiana that may serve as national models of excellence.
  "I'm proud to be asked by AASCU to head the task force," Clausen said. "In order to link
school accountability with student achievement, we must align professional development with
content teaching. Higher education needs to strengthen our partnerships with schools." 
  Clausen's AASCU appointment is among a number of recent opportunities that
Southeastern's president has had to participate in education initiatives at national and
international levels.
  At the invitation of the Brookings Institute, a "think tank" in Washington, D.C., she served on
a live CSPAN panel to discuss possible programs and future approaches to potential growth in
enrollment in higher education, particularly in the south. 
  Later, she served on a panel with U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and the Minister
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CLAUSEN TO CHAIR TASK FORCE   Add One 
of Education from Brazil Paulo Renato Souza to discuss benefits and expand ways United States
colleges can exchange students and faculty with other countries. 
  Clausen also has been involved in the national movement to place quality teachers in every
classroom in the United States. In January, she was invited by Secretary Riley to bring a team to
Washington, D.C.,  to work on an action plan that would serve as a state model to improve
colleges of education. 
  Southeastern Provost Randy Moffett; Deans John Miller and Steven Ragan of the colleges of
Arts and Science and Education, and Harold Suire, president and chief executive officer of
Council for a Better Louisiana, were Clausen's initial team members. She said the team will be
expanded to include local superintendents, principals and teacher leaders. 
  Clausen's leadership of the national task force reflects initiatives she and Southeastern are
promoting locally. Two of the university's six "Centers of Excellence," establish as part of a
University of Louisiana System initiative, focus on teacher preparation and global development.
Southeastern has approximately two dozen programs that actively partner teacher education with
local schools. She also is committed to making Southeastern "a more global university" to
position future teachers -- and all students -- to function successfully in an increasingly
international workplace.
  Last year, Southeastern hosted campus visits by four international leaders -- Costa Rican Vice
President Astrid Fischel, Haitian President Rene Preval, Mexican author and activist Carlos
Fuentes and German educator Ashok Ullal of the Reutlingen School of International Business. In
February, she and a Southeastern team will pay a return visit to Costa Rica to continue a dialog
on academic and cultural exchanges between Southeastern and Costa Rican institutions of higher
education.    
  "If we are going to compete in this global economy, colleges and universities must strengthen
partnerships with school leaders to improve student achievement and prepare a better, stronger
work force," Clausen said. "I am proud that Louisiana is positioned to be a leader in this effort. I
see teacher preparation as a university responsibility, not just one for colleges of education. Until
institutions of higher education become as responsible as our individual schools for what is going
on their classrooms, we cannot point fingers at the quality or the preparation of the students. It's a
dual responsibility."
                               -SLU-
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www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsp00.htm