In a time of declining respect for education among the general population, I see the Associate Dean position at KSOEHD as an opportunity to make a difference in the program improvement. for our students and, in turn, reversing some of the negative feelings experienced by our profession. The application guidelines include the following expectations for the position: • A history of successful development and implementation of programs or special projects involving multiple stakeholders • A creative thinker and consultative communicator with excellent problem-solving skills issues• Demonstrated ability to establish effective connections with P-16 colleagues• Ability to promote continuing professional development opportunities for faculty and students• Demonstrated ability to adapt to changing opportunities and challenges• Demonstrated ability to work with diverse community groups and organizations • Demonstrated ability to produce high quality reports and documents • Demonstrated success in obtaining external grants I believe the following letter highlighting my teaching, scholarship and service, as well as my CV, will address my knowledge, skills and experiences related to these expectations.• TEACHING AND LEADERSHIP •Teaching is at the heart of all my professional activities and I am very proud of my teaching achievements. I have successfully taught required courses in CI, MAT and JDPEL/DPELFS as well as elective courses at the MAE. In these courses, I maintained a consistent record of high achievement. My students' evaluations have always been well above the department's average and standards. My average student grade for accreditation and graduate courses is 4.8/5.0 over the past five years. Three years ago, the camp...... middle of paper......on the leaders of the country and the world. I have contributed to the local science education community as a board member of the Central California Science Teachers Association (1990-2007) and as a board member and past president of the Central California Science Education Leadership Association (1991-2006). These organizations have facilitated the majority of science education service projects in the Valley over the past 20 years. As a result of this service to the campus and professional community, I was honored to receive the California Outstanding Environmental Educator Award from the Department of California. forests and fire prevention in 2001; the California Science Education Advisory Committee's Science Administrator of the Year in 2000; and the President's Award for Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the university, in 2006.