Education Program Marks 20 Years of Service
Educators Who Gained Credentials, Master’s Degrees Over the Years Have Helped to Teach Tens of Thousands of Solano, Napa, Area Students
A program to train teachers that started with a federal grant and a small but dedicated staff is celebrating 20 years of service to the greater Bay Area educational establishment.
The Graduate School of Education’s first doctoral degrees were awarded Dec. 15 during a campus celebration to Shayla Bowman, Cinthia Taylor, and Zarena Brown. Both Bowman and Taylor were present to take part in the ceremony. All three began the program in 2021 through a collaboration with Touro University California’s sister campus in Nevada.
A Commitment to Touro’s Program
Bowman had previously earned her teaching and administrative credentials with TUC, followed by her master’s degree in 2013. She promised herself and her colleagues that if TUC ever offered a Doctor of Education degree, she would return to campus.
“I felt a kind or responsibility and loyalty to Touro because I literally started as a baby teacher back in 2005 when I started my teaching credential, so when they called me and told me they were starting a doctorate program, it was more like, ‘OK, so now I’ve got to do it,’ ” said Bowman, who also serves as an adjunct faculty member at TUC. “So here I am. I started in 2021; now it’s 2024 and I’ve just finished my doctorate program.”
“Touro will always have a special place in my heart,” she said. “I’m so happy I was able to obtain my doctorate from Touro.”
Bowman is the principal at Fairmont Charter Elementary School in Vacaville.
Dozens of master’s degree candidates displayed posters during the celebration, outlining their research, while the latest cohort of teacher credential candidates received their pins in preparation for placement at schools across the region.
Jacob Smith is earning his master’s degree in education. He said the program fit well with his role as a vice principal at Benicia High School.
“I came to Touro in pursuit of my administrative credential, and I’ve received an immediate return on that investment. I am currently doing what I came to Touro to do,” Smith said. “I’m being appropriately challenged in my new role, and the skills I acquired at Touro were part of that process in teaching me how to rise to the occasion and to serve students of all backgrounds to the best of my ability.”
“Touro was the right place at the right time for me,” Smith said. “I had this inclination that I wanted to pursue an administrative credential, and all road signs pointed here. Today I’m really celebrating that because I’m at the beginning of a new chapter, and Touro was pivotal in that process.”
Program Leader Recalls Founding, Quick Expansion
Dr. Jim O’Connor, founding Dean of the College of Education and Health Sciences, served as the keynote speaker and relayed the history of the program from its founding in what was then the College of Education through to today.
“I am grateful for all of the students who attended and graduated from our programs,” O’Connor said. “I am grateful that you trusted us with your education, and that you had the will to enter into the world of teaching where you have changed so many lives.”
“Being an educator is one of the last noble professions in this country,” O’Connor said. “Being someone who teaches teachers is an honor and a privilege. In each case, it’s like tossing a pebble into a pond. You have no idea how many ripples you’re going to create. You have no idea how many lives you’re going to impact, especially if you focus on things like love, empathy, and caring.”