December 10, 2003

Riverside, CA – Dr. Linda Caviness, Ph.D., La Sierra University Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education, recently received a letter of Commendation from the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Dr. Caviness has worked with the State of California on the SB 2042 program document submission review process since April 2002. "Linda works closely with the state to evaluate major universities teacher education programs," says Anita Oliver, LSU Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction for the School of Education.

"Dr. Caviness is also consistently supportive of the other individuals with whom she works. She offers encouragement, a positive outlook, and positive feedback. She is someone who can be counted on to fulfill whatever task she takes on," writes Phyllis Jacobson, Ed.D., a Consultant with the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

"This has been a highly enriching opportunity," says Dr. Caviness. "I will be doing my seventh program alone; most of the previous six evaluations were performed in teams of two but due to funding cuts it is down to one person. I would do this again. The camaraderie at the state level has a positive long-term benefit."

The State of California recently required all teacher education universities and colleges to go through the SB 2042 process, says Dr. Caviness. "The state chose that their own universities do the review process," says Dr. Caviness. "They wanted this sharing of ideas to take place. We had to rewrite the teacher education programs. At La Sierra I had to rewrite 15 four-inch binders detailing our new programs while maintaining my teaching load."