AACTE Welcomes New NCATE President James G. Cibulka

MEDIA RELEASE

CONTACT:
Alyssa Mangino,
amangino@aacte.org
or 202.478.4596

Washington, D.C. — The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) welcomes James G. Cibulka, dean of the College of Education at the University of Kentucky, as the new president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Cibulka’s appointment takes effect July 1, 2008.

Cibulka’s experience in higher education will bring a comprehensive and insightful perspective to the position.  Before joining the University of Kentucky in 2002, he served in faculty and administrative roles at the University of Maryland and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a member of AACTE’s Board of Directors as well as of its Committee on Research and Dissemination, which he formerly chaired.

“This new position provides me with the opportunity to have a positive impact on the future growth and unification of the profession,” said Cibulka. “I look forward to collaborating with AACTE and its member institutions.”

Kay Schallenkamp, chair of the AACTE Board of Directors, noted that “AACTE has a strong interest in and commitment to accreditation, as evidenced in our work to establish accreditation principles and the recent leadership in accreditation unification efforts for the field of educator preparation. We look forward to working with Dr. Cibulka on these issues, especially as they strengthen our overall impact on quality of education for America’s students.”

AACTE President and CEO Sharon P. Robinson welcomed NCATE’s announcement. “Dr. Cibulka’s leadership of NCATE represents a sense of continued progress regarding standards for the profession,” she said. “He arrives at NCATE at a particularly important time, when NCATE is engaged in serious work toward creating a unified accreditation system,” Robinson noted. “This effort will be a major part of the responsibilities he takes on with NCATE leadership.”

Current NCATE President Arthur E. Wise has served 18 years in that role. During his term, the organization has strengthened its accreditation partnerships with states, grown the number of institutions accredited, and significantly increased the capacity of its accreditation system.

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For more information, please contact Alyssa Mangino, AACTE communications manager, at amangino@aacte.org or 202.478.4596.