Some alumni are now high-ranking education officials who have benefited from Kean’s certificate programs; several earned teaching degrees at the undergraduate level; others obtained master’s degrees in the educational administration program; and many received more than one degree from the University. Though these leaders entered Kean at different stages of their educational and professional development, they all agree that their success is based on the College of Education’s curriculum, which is an ideal combination of theoretical concepts and practical, hands-on instruction.

"All of my professors had recent field experience; you don’t find that at many other universities," said one successful alumnus, Jack DeTalvo ’73, ’76, (see story on page 70) who received a principal/administrator certificate and a Master of Arts in student personnel services from Kean and will be retiring from his position as Middletown, N.J., superintendent this year. "If you want to be an effective administrator, you had better talk to someone who has been in the field. The theoretical knowledge just isn’t enough." In addition to being able to provide real-world examples in the classroom, professors with recent practical experience are also up-to-date on the educational issues of the day. Kean has been especially successful in providing students with knowledge about time-sensitive legal topics. Students who graduated from the master’s program in educational administration repeatedly commended the educational-law courses for detailing the ways new federal legislation and state laws affect everything from funding to curriculum development.

Students surveyed also gave Kean’s technology courses high marks. Stephen Decker ’91, ’98, now principal at Chittick Elementary School in East Brunswick, N.J., (see story on page 74), said the skills he gained at Kean helped him to create step-by-step instruction manuals to assist less techno-savvy teachers in preparing electronic progress reports and submitting grades. Dr. Ana Maria Schuhmann, dean of the College of Education, added, "Technology is such an important component in educational administration now, and we put great effort into ensuring that our students are aware of its most current applications."

The College of Education also addresses the elusive but significant issues of educating students in urban school districts. "We want to prepare informed, dynamic professionals who have the prerequisite knowledge, skills and dispositions to be effective educators in diverse urban settings," Schuhmann said. Again, the word from graduates is that Kean succeeds at this task. Francisco Cuesta ’76, ’89 (see story on page 71), principal of Nicholas M. Butler School No. 23 in Elizabeth, N.J., said, "At Kean, I became prepared to work with all kinds of people. It has really paid off, because now I have students in my school from all over the world."

Many Kean graduates who are now educational leaders also reflect the diverse nature of the communities they serve. Looking at some of the success stories on these pages, we find that they’ve done wonderful things for their school districts and for education in the state. Some of them have made history, and the others are in the process of doing so.