I am truly excited to be joining a wonderful team of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community partners as we in the College of Education fuel success. As we move forward with UCCS Success 2030, we are well positioned to embrace strategies that focus on:

• learning, engagement, and belonging;
• retention and graduation;
• research and creative excellence;
• financial strength;
• deliberate investment;
• distinctive programs; and
• partnerships and outreach.

Education is transformative! In the College of Education, we offer several programs that prepare future leaders among teachers, administrators, counselors, researchers, and policy influencers and makers through teaching and learning, research, and service and outreach that centers around equity, inquiry, and innovation. I encourage you to explore the different department websites and visit with us as you contemplate your career, seek guidance and expertise, or want collaborators or partners to assist with critical real-world questions.

Departments include Counseling and Human Services; Leadership, Research, and Foundations; and Teaching and Learning, which includes the Office of Inclusive Services and UCCS Teach. We offer four bachelor’s degrees (BA Human Services, BA Inclusive Elementary Education, BA Inclusive Early Childhood Education, and BI Inclusive Early Childhood Leadership), seven master’s degrees (MA Counseling, MA Curriculum and Instruction, MA Leadership: Advanced License Programs, MA Leadership: Student Affairs in Higher Education, MA Special Education, MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and MSc Science Teaching), a doctoral degree (PhD Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy), two undergraduate minors (Human Services and Student Affairs), and a number of undergraduate and graduate certificates and endorsements, including Secondary (7-12) licensure. In addition, the College of Education offers a number of support services to students through our Student Resource Office and Office of Inclusive Services (OIS). Through all of these program offerings, we seek to transform minds, destinies, and the world. 

This is an exciting time for all of us as we continue to learn, grow, and adjust as we seek to meet the changing needs of our communities. As we move forward with our plans this academic year, we want to connect with our varying constituencies, colleagues, collaborators, and/or partners to understand better:

• Who we are?
• Who we aspire to be?  
• How do we leverage our strengths and opportunities to best address your needs?
• And specifically, what steps/strategies we will take to achieve those goals?

In moving through these steps, we will be able to better meet your needs as you prepare for your next phase of leadership as teachers, administrators, counselors, researchers, and policy influencers and makers.

I am glad to be here with all of you as we transform minds, destinies, and the world.

Let’s go Mountain Lions!

Dean, Henrietta Williams Pichon, Ph.D.

Professor, Leadership, Research, and Foundations