The University of Northern Iowa College of Education - Summer 2008 - (Page 10)

Emeritus Faculty Len Froyen Program Highlights Multicultural Initiatives in Teaching Program A I fter retiring from the UNI’s Educational Psychology and Foundations in 1994, Len Froyen, ’57, spends most days doing something worthwhile and with a purpose. One of his first post-retirement projects was to petition the Board of Regents, State of Iowa to retain Lang Hall and not tear it down. “But, remodeling Lang Hall was going to cost $500,000 more,” Froyen recalls. “I felt responsible to help raise as much of that as possible.” He and Pat Maxwell, ’58, created the Lang Society and raised $400,000 to remodel the building. In 1994, he also agreed to be co-director for the College Hill Arts Festival and continued in this role through 2003. Beginning in 1996, Froyen served as director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. He worked at the St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center near UNI to prepare multiple classes of men in becoming deacons in the archdiocese. Froyen himself was ordained a deacon in 1989 to support the work of the church in presiding at baptisms, witnessing marriages and officiating at wake services and funerals. He retired from the diaconate formation program last fall. n addition, Froyen serves on the UNI Alumni Association board of directors and continues his professional writing. He and Radhi Al-Mabuk, interim head of the Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations, co-authored a self-help book on forgiveness. Froyen is now writing a book on gratitude, using his life stories to help others shape their lives on a foundation of gratitude. One of the most enjoyable UNI events he helped organize was the Stadium Hall Reunion in 2005 for all men who lived under Latham Football Stadium, the current site of the parking lot west of the Schindler Education Center. “The 24 dorm rooms were built for veterans after World War II,” Froyen reminisces. “We had five men to one room with two Army bunk beds, one single bed, two dressers in the middle of the room, and a clothes rack along one wall. We used the showers in the football locker room one floor below our rooms.” Froyen lived in Stadium Hall for two years when he attended then Iowa State Teachers College to earn a degree in social science teaching with a minor in chemistry. Len Froyen lives in Cedar Falls with his wife, Gail, a professional storyteller. Their three children are all UNI graduates. O ver the past 20 years, the MIT program under director Janet McClain has worked with several Iowa school districts with large, ethnically diverse student populations to encourage students to attend UNI and enroll in teacher education. The MIT program targets middle and high school students from diverse ethnic backgrounds who are interested in pursuing a teaching career. Students learn more about the teaching profession and are assisted in becoming teachers through pre-collegiate activities and MIT scholarships. Once enrolled at UNI, these students have access to academic advising and mentoring opportunities through the university’s student support services, Center for Multicultural Education and the College of Education Advising Center. Eligible students can also apply for the many teacher education scholarships available. As part of the MIT program, students can enroll in a seminar titled Studies in Multicultural Issues in Teaching and Learning and also become involved in the Multicultural Teaching Alliance student organization. During these activities they learn more about diversity, multicultural education and teaching. Students have opportunities to attend professional workshops and conferences and work with pre-K-12 educators and students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. “Teaching is a good career choice for the future,” McClain tells students. “Iowa needs highly qualified multicultural teachers who can relate to all students. If students haven’t thought about teaching as a profession, the MIT program can help them do that and support students in their teacher education program at UNI.” 0 Homecoming 2007 brought together COE faculty Kimberly Knesting, MIT director Janet McClain, COE dean William Callahan and MIT program alum and scholarship recipient Jamie Walker Sallis, who is now teaching in the Davenport schools. University of Northern Iowa College of Education http://www.uni.edu/ http://www.uni.edu/coe/

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The University of Northern Iowa College of Education - Summer 2008 Contents PLS Recommended For Statewide Mission Iowa Legislature Funds Regents' Math/Science Initiative School Counselors Reinstated For All Iowa School Districts Human Performance Center Dedicated DVDs Illustrate Early Childhood Education Standards UNI Leads in Solving Shortage of Special Education Teachers Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies Service to Special Olympics Olympic Champ Brings Coaching Techniques to UNI Meet Tomorrow's Promising Educators Len Froyen Multicultural Initiatives in Teaching Program Technology Facilitator Certificate Program Offered in Fall UNI Only Regents University Offering Technology Teacher Preparation Curriculum and Instruction All-University Professional Development Day Premieres Barb Hill - Known to All Teacher Education Majors Teacher Work Sample - A Window Into Students' Teaching Faculty and Student Award Winners Graduates - Where Are They? Career Notes UNI College of Education Receives 1.1 Million Dollar Gift Scholarship Needed

The University of Northern Iowa College of Education - Summer 2008

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