Kleinsasser Named School University Partnership Director

Feb. 8, 2005 -- Audrey Kleinsasser is the new director of the Wyoming School University Partnership (WSUP), an organization that works to improve teacher education.

Since 1999, Kleinsasser has directed the Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Wyoming. The center provides professional development opportunities for UW faculty members and supports the university's teaching, learning and assessment mission.

A professor of educational studies in the College of Education, Kleinsasser has been a faculty member at UW since 1988 and has written or co written successful grant proposals totaling nearly $1 million. She is a former secondary English and German teacher and holds bachelor degrees in both languages from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, a master's degree in educational administration from the University of South Dakota, and a Ph.D. in educational psychology and research from the University of Kansas.

The WSUP services a statewide network that includes 14 school districts, the Wyoming Education Association and the Wyoming Community College Commission. The partnership office is located at UW and both the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education are central partners.

The WSUP mission is to implement the collaborative efforts of UW, member school districts, the state department of education, and the community colleges to improve teacher education and renew the public schools, says Ray Schulte, chairman of the partnership's governing board and superintendent of the Hot Springs County District in Thermopolis.

"Audrey is very dedicated to promoting the agenda for education," Schulte says. "With her leadership skills, I am very optimistic about the future of the partnership."

Kleinsasser replaces Sherry Palmer, who resigned last June.

Posted on Tuesday, February 08, 2005