SCSU taps Magno for coordinator role

James Granfield, interim dean of the School of Education at Southern Connecticut State University, has appointed Cathryn Magno as coordinator of the university's Ed.D. program. Magno, who began her duties during the fall semester, oversees the day-to-day operations of the program, the university's

"We are fortunate to have someone with her experience and expertise as the coordinator of our doctoral program," Granfield says.

The appointment was prompted by the program's ongoing development and by the fact that it will soon undergo evaluation by the state board of Governors for Higher Education and by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Ellen R. Beatty, interim vice president for academic affairs, agrees with Granfield's assessment of Magno, noting that the new coordinator's international experience will only help Southern with the reviews.

"Our doctoral program keeps growing, and it became clear that a new position was needed," Beatty says. Brian Perkins, chairman of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, had performed double duty as chairman and program coordinator.

Magno, who began teaching in the program in the fall of 2002, is excited about her new role and believes the Ed.D. has a bright future. "We've already made curriculum changes to move a good program to the next level," she says. "In the future, we want to include courses from other disciplines to give the students a more textured experience."

Magno says that Southern offers students a stronger fieldbased experience in its Ed.D. program than most colleges and universities, an opinion she bases on her own varied background. Before coming to Southern, she served as an assistant adjunct professor of education at Columbia University's Teachers College. She also was a consultant on evaluating courses and curricula for Various organizations, including the International Rescue Committee, a New Yorkbased organization that provides technical assistance to refugee education projects around the country. In addition, she has conducted workshops on educational leadership for educators from New Haven to Mongolia.

After earning B.A. in political science from Tufts University, she served as a special assistant to the chairman of the Commission on Human Rights for the United Nations. She was also an international observer of the 1995 Haitian presidential elections for the Organization of American States and a legal investigator for the California Appellate Project, where she assisted attorneys representing death row inmates. She earned her Ed.M. degree in administration from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in comparative and international education from Columbia.

For Magno, the decision to come to Southern was an easy one. "I wanted to bring a global perspective to educational leadership at the local and state levels. And besides," she says, "I'm originally from Connecticut, so it was a natural fit."