ShireenPavri

ShireenPavri

Photo courtesy of Cal State Long Beach.

Shireen Pavri will serve as dean of the College of Education at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) beginning July 3, officials announced. Pavri has been serving as the interim dean since last August.

Pavri will replace Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, who had been the college’s dean since 2008 and recently left to take a position at the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office in August, according to the announcement.

“Dr. Pavri brings a quiet professionalism and breadth of knowledge and experience to the College of Education,” CSULB Provost Brian Jersky said in a statement. “She is a nationally respected scholar who will enrich and expand the crucial role our campus plays in preparing future teachers. I am confident her oversight of our student body and cutting-edge campus-based research will lead to improved excellence in teacher education at home and throughout the nation. I look forward to her leadership and collaborative energy.”

As the state faces a looming teacher shortage, central to CSU’s mission is the preparation of teachers and educational leaders for California’s schools and communities.

On a local level, teacher preparation is integral to the success of the nationally known Long Beach College Promise. About 70 percent of new teacher hires at Long Beach Unified School District train at CSULB. The university’s College of Education will graduate 457 students during this May’s commencement ceremonies, according to the release.

“I am honored to have been selected as dean of the College of Education,” Pavri said in a statement. “Serving in this capacity is both a privilege and a significant responsibility. Long Beach serves as a national model for teacher education and it’s now my job to ensure we not only retain our national stature, but that we continue to excel in this space. To achieve this high bar, I am excited to strengthen the college’s relationships with area school districts and to grow new local, regional, national and international partnerships. Equally important, my vision as dean is to promote inclusive teaching strategies to create a positive learning environment for all students here on campus.”

Before stepping in as interim dean, Pavri was a professor of Special Education and coordinated the Education Specialist Preliminary Credential program and the Master of Science program in Special Education at CSULB. She has been actively engaged in program development and is interested in promoting clinical models for educator preparation, according to the release.

Her research expertise involves preparing teachers to facilitate the social and emotional functioning of all students, including those with disabilities, and the assessment of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Pavri has published and presented extensively on such topics, with more than 50 scholarly presentations and 30 scholarly publications.

Pavri has also served as principal investigator on 10 federal, state and foundation grants. The new dean holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an Ed.S. in School Psychology from Miami University in Ohio, an M.Ed. in Special Education from the SNDT Women’s University in Mumbai, India and a B.A. in Psychology from St. Xavier’s University, Mumbai, India.

Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].