New scholarship celebrates College of Education's 75th anniversary

Seattle University's College of Education is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year with far more than a few balloons and streamers.

The college has already sponsored five events and is set to sponsor 20 events total this year in recognition of its long history at Seattle U and its impact on the campus community. The college has sponsored summits, speakers, basketball games and a traditional Japanese dance performance, but many more events are planned for the future.

The school is also being recognized for its contributions to the field of education by the Martinez Foundation, which is offering $25,000 in scholarships to students of color in Seattle U's College of Education.

Two $10,000 scholarships will be given to students in the master's in teaching program and one $5,000 scholarship will be given to a student in the special education or literacy for special needs program.

The foundation, created by Edgar Martinez—of Seattle Mariners fame—and his wife Holli, gives scholarships to students attending Seattle U, the University of Washington and Washington State University enrolled in education programs.

The foundation's mission statement on its Web site says, "We believe education is the key to alleviating poverty in underserved communities, and we have built our programs in response to the needs of Washington's diverse student population."

The Foundation chose Seattle U after already selecting the two larger public schools to be its partner because of the College of Education's reputation.

On April 30, the Martinez Foundation will be hosting a Mariners game at Safeco Field and inviting students of its partner schools to attend.

"We're hoping we'll be on the jumbo-screen a lot," said Sue Schmitt, the dean of the College of Education. "I want us to be loud."

Schmitt is carrying that attitude over to the rest of the events the college will be hosting this year.

"For the 75th, we're definitely celebrating," Schmitt said. "We've gone a little over the top."

And the college says it has reason to––the school has certified 91 superintendents, 485 principals and K-12 administrators, 6,873 teachers, 1,405 school and community counselors and 734 school psychologists in its 75-year tenure at the university.

"If you figure that each teacher is teaching a class of at least 20 to 25 students, and take into account the fact that they usually have multiple class sets," Schmitt said, "multiply that number by the amount of teachers and administrators we've certified […] and you've got well over 5 million students in K-12 whose lives have been directly impacted by the college."

The College of Education has a number of upcoming events in recognition of the 75th Anniversary, including a talk from Regie Routman, the recipient of the first Sandra Kim Literacy Legacy Award March 11, as well as James Banks, a professor of multicultural education at the University of Washington on March 15. The celebrations will culminate June 18 when all alumni of the College of Education will be invited to a large celebration featuring an as yet unannounced guest speaker.

"I can't say who it is because it's not a sure thing, but they are a very well known personality," Schmitt said, "I'm crossing my fingers."

Kelton may be reached at ksears@su-spectator.com.