The 2008-2009 year proved to be memorable for the College of Education and Human Services (CEHS), with notable triumphs and challenges faced head-on by our faculty and staff.

The College of Education and Human Services (CEHS) hosted the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in November 2008 and learned in April 2009 that we have officially met all standards at the initial and advanced levels for the preparation of educational personnel. CEHS faculty and staff collaborated with professional colleagues in the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Science and Mathematics and area P-12 partnership school districts to prepare for and meet the very challenging standards of NCATE and the numerous learned societies and their required Specialty Program Assessments (SPA's). Leading us through this complex maze of requirements, reports, data, assessments, and demonstrated implementation was Dr. Donna Hanby. While everyone involved was relieved to have the NCATE process culminate in a successful report and reaccreditation with no conditions for another seven years, no one was more proud of the college's accomplishments than myself. Accreditation is essential to being an approved provider of licensure programs in Ohio, but it also constitutes national recognition that we are a group of professionals that have partnered to prepare highly qualified educators, leaders, and counselors for our state, region, and nation's schools. We will see many changes in the challenges that educators face in the coming seven years, and I am confident that CEHS and our partners will continue to improve what we do and measure our effectiveness by whether children and youth learn and grow under the direction of the teachers, counselors, and leaders that our programs prepare.

The 2008-2009 academic year played out in the midst of an economic recession described as the worst since the great depression of the 1930's. All around us the Dayton region was battered by the announcement of the closing of corporations, factories, and small businesses. Local, county and state governments cut budgets, reduced services, and our university and college experienced budgetary reductions as well. CEHS was asked to reduce our base operating budget by $590,013. Budget reductions were accomplished by reducing a number of positions that were vacant or became vacant during the year. Despite the dire economic conditions in our country, CEHS moved forward to maintain strong programs. CEHS certainly could use the resources that we have lost, but our students continue to achieve at high levels because of the excellent efforts by faculty and staff. CEHS certainly will make the case in the future for why resources should be restored and increased based on our productivity and demonstrated excellence.

In the midst of both academic and economic challenges, our college engaged in a variety of activities. Following are a selected few examples: