Creighton University College of Arts and Sciences Education Department

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Department of Education  >  Faculty And Staff

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Associate Professor of Education
Coordinator of English Language Learning (or ESL) certificate

Dr. Ishii-Jordan earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  She holds a current Nebraska administrative certificate with endorsements in superintendent, principal, mild/moderate mental handicaps, learning disabilities, emotional/behavioral disorders, ESL, and elementary education.

Prior to coming to Creighton, she taught special eduation coursework at UN-L, taught middle and high school special education classes in Omaha Public Schools and Richard Young Memorial Hospital, served as educational therapy administrator at Richard Young Hospital, and taught ESL in Japan.

Currently, Dr. Ishii-Jordan serves as Chair of the Department, and coordinator of the ESL and M.S. Special Populations in Education programs.  She teaches a range of undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation courses in mild/moderate disabilities, inclusion, and English language learners.  Her research interests include behavior and language disorders, cultural issues in special education, and distance learning in teacher preparation.  Dr. Ishii-Jordan is available for speeches, presentation, workshops, or school consulting related to the following topics:

• differentiation in inclusion,
• working with English language learners,
• strategies for improving classroom behavior, and
• concomitant behavior/language disabilities.

Dr. Ishii-Jordan can be reached at sij@creighton.edu

 

• Boston College
  Associate Professor of Education
• Dr. Cook earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration at Boston College.  He served as the chief administrator of a Catholic junior-senior high school in Rhode Island before coming to Creighton.  Dr. Cook teaches a broad range of undergraduate and graduate courses in secondary school teaching methods, foundations of Catholic education, school law, and school leadership.  His research interests include Catholic school charism, religion teacher preparation, and mission-centered faith school leadership.  He is the author of Architects of Catholic Culture: Designing & Building Catholic Culture in Catholic Schools.  Since his book's publication, Dr. Cook has become recognized as an expert on Catholic school identity and culture issues stateside and abroad.  Dr. Cook is available for speeches, presentation, workshops, or school consulting related to the following topics:
• exploring Catholic identity in 21st. century schools, measuring religious mission effectiveness, strengthening Catholic school character and culture;
• contemplating the charism of Catholic education for a modern age;
• leading and teaching for mission.

Dr. Cook can be reached at tcook@creighton.edu

 

Creighton University
Assistant Professor of Education

Mr. Bachman holds holds two Creighton University degrees - including a Master's Degree in Counseling - and holds the position of Assistant Professor of Education where he teaches career planning courses to freshman and sophomore students from all three of Creighton's undergraduate colleges.
A former vice-presidential level university administrator for a period of 26 years, Mr. Bachman has taught at both the graduate level and undergraduate level and now concentrates on working full time with undergraduates in career planning.

University of Nebraska- Lincoln
Professor of Education

Barbara L. Brock earned her Ed.D. in Administration, Curriculum, and Instruction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Before coming to Creighton, Dr. Brock was an elementary principal for the Omaha Archdiocese and an art teacher in Omaha Public Schools and the Omaha Archdiocese.  She teaches a broad range of graduate and undergraduate courses including supervision of learning, introduction to research, classroom management, and art methods.  Her research interests include staff development of educators in public and Catholic schools.  She is coauthor of six books and numerous journal articles, including From First Year to First Rate (3rd Ed.).  Launching Your First Principalship, Developing a Teacher Induction Plan; Avoiding Burnout, Rekindling the Flame; and Principals in Transition.  Her latest book, in press, is on dealing with negative and disruptive teachers.

Dr. brock presents nationally and internationally, and is available for presentations, workshops, or school consulting related to the following topics:

• Assisting beginning teachers in public and Catholic schools,
• Beginning the principalship
• Dealing with difficult teachers
• Teaching art in elementary schools.

Dr. Brock can be reached at bbrock@creighton.edu

 

Indiana University - Bloomington
Professor of Education (Primary Appointment)
Professor of Psychiatry (Secondary Appointment)

C. Timothy (Tim Dickel) is currently Professor of Education (primary appointment) and Professor of Psychiatry (secondary appointment), as well as the Co-Director of the Creighton Study of Violence Across the Lifespan.  He received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Whitman College, Wall Walla, Washington, a master's degree in counseling and doctorate in counselor education from Indiana University.  He holds a graduate certificate in gerontology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  Dr. Dickel teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in child and adolescent development in Creighton's teacher education program, as well as lifespan development, methods in group counseling, and counseling theories in the master's program in counseling, and a senior perspective course on "Violence in America" in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Dickel has published on such subjects as prevention models for mental health, counseling in gerontology, adult development, technology skills in teacher and counselor education, and Jesuit values in distance education.  He is part of an NIH-funded team in Creighton's Department of Psychiatry studying the impact of violence across the lifespan.

Dr. Dickel serves as a member of several community organizations including the Governing Board of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the Family Justice Center Steering Committee, and he is a grant evaluator for the City of Omaha's Rural Domestic Violence Grant.

Dr. Dickel has held leadership positions at Creighton as chair of the Education Department, assistant to the dean and associate dean of the Creighton College of Arts and Sciences, and dean of University College and Summer Sessions.

Dr. Dickel is available for presentations, workshops, and consultations related to values presentation in

• distance education
• primary mental health prevention activities
• understanding and dealing with violence in communities

University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Associate Professor of Education
Coordinator of Special Education

Dr. Doyle serves as Coordinator of Special Education and indicates that "working with exceptional students is my vocation and avocation."  Holding a doctorate from the University of Lincoln-Nebraska, she is certified as a special educator and school psychologist, and is a licensed psychologist in Nebraska. 

Prior to coming to Creighton University she taught at the Omaha Women's Job Corps and at Glenwood State Hospital School.  She was a therapist at Monroe-Meyer Childrens Rehabilitation Institute and worked as a school psychologist for the Omaha Public Schools. Dr. Doyle has written numerous articles and two books that deal with students who have behavioral and learning problems. Currently she is working on a book designed to help educators work with students experiencing mental health problems.  Another interest and area of expertise is assessment.  She has presented at conferences nationally and internationally on this topic.

Dr. Doyle is available for speeches, presentations, workshops and consultation relating to issues of handicapping conditions, mental health problems and assessment concerns.  She can be reached at bdoyle@creighton.edu

 

Iowa State University
Assistant Professor of Education
Coordinator for the Graduate School Administration Program. 

Following 33 years of service to Catholic and public schools as teacher administrator, Dr. Durow joined the Creighton University Education Department faculty in 2001 and was tenured in 2007.  He teaches two secondary teaching methods courses regularly and has taught the introductory Education course 103. As Coordinator of the graduate Educational Leadership programs, Dr. Durow serves as program advisor for each candidate.  He teaches School and Community Relations, Leadership in the Administation of Educational Technology, and aligns his research most closely with the School Finance and School Law courses.  His published articles include those concerning online teaching, financing and including students with special needs in Catholic schools, and principal development and career enhancement.  Dr. Durow will be on sabbatical in the spring of 2009. He can be reached most efficiently at wpdurow@creighton.edu

 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Professor of Education
Director of the Elementary Education Program

 Lynne Houtz did undergraduate study at the College of Saint Teresa, University of Nebraska, and earned her B.S. degree in Elementary Education from Kent State University in 1971.  Her 23-year public school teaching career includes grades 4,5,6,7,8, in Ohio, Illinois and Nebraska.  She was simultaneously a perpetual student, doing graduate study at Kent State, the Ohio State University, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Iowa, and Purdue University.  Lynne accumulated additional teaching endorsement in Music, Middle Level, Social Sciences, and Science.  In 1985 she earned a Masters in Elementary Science Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and in 1992, her PhD in Administration, Curriculum and Instruction in Science and Math Education from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.  She served as the Science Supervisor for Omaha Public Schools prior to entering academia.  Lynne taught science and math education courses at Nebraska Wesleyan University and is now Porfessor of Science and Mathematics Education at Creighton University.

Dr. Houtz's research and application works related to improving science education for all have been shared at national and international venues, includijng Brazil, Prague, Athens and Italy.  Publications include the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Journal of Elementary Science Education, Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities, Science and Children, Science Scope, Science Education Review, and the International Journal of Learning.  Lynne has been involved with numerours grant projects, including outreach programs by biomedical science funded by AAMC, HHMI, and NAIDA.  She is available for consulting to school districts, medical schools and health science divisions.

Dr. Lynne Houtz can be reached at lhoutz@creighton.edu

 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Assistant Professor of Education
Director of Elementary Education Programs

Dr. Lynn Olson earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and included a K-12 administration certificate.  Her M.S. was from the University of Nebraska in Omaha and included a K-12 endorsement as a Literacy Specialist.

Dr. Olson has taught in elementary schools in the Omaha area as well as in eastern North Carolina.  She was an instructional facilitator/literacy specialist in Millard Public Schools prior to coming to Creighton University.  She was also an adjunct instructor at several eastern Nebraska colleges and universities.

Dr. Olson is the Director of the Elementary Education program, including both the undergraduate and the new M.S. endorsement programs.  She teaches all of the literacy courses offered through the Education Department, including the three required courses and related practicum at the elementary levels and the content area literacy program in the secondary education program.

Dr. Olson's current research areas include content area reading, vocabulary mastery, and beginning readers.  She can be reached at lolson@creighton.edu

 

University of Nebraska -  Lincoln
Associate Professor  of Education
Director of Counselor Education 

Dr. Deba L.Ponec earned her doctorate in Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln with a focus in foundations of education and school counseling.  She possesses masters degrees in Elementary School Counseling (Creighton University) and Special Education - Learning Disabilities (University of Nebraska - Omaha.) Prior to coming to Creighton, Dr. Ponec taught special education classes for Omaha Public Schools and was an elementary school counselor within the Archdiocese of Omaha.

Dr. Ponec currently teaches graduate-level courses in Counselor Education and the foundations course within the initial professional sequence in teacher education.  Her research interests include guidance and counseling curriculum for public/private schools and program evaluation, building professional relatinships within school commmunities, and integrating immigrant students and their families within school communities.  Dr. Ponec is co-author of Growing in Love: a Guidance and Counseling Curriculum for Catholic Elementary Schools which was published by the National Catholic Education Association.  She recently completed an immersion project providing insight to schools for the integration of immigrant students and their families.  Dr. Ponec is available for speeches, presentations, workshops, or school consulting related to guidance and counseling curriculum and programs and for designing curriculum and/or experiences for integrating all students within the school community.

Dr. Ponec can be reached at dlponec@creighton.edu

 

University of San Francisco
Assistant Professor of Education
Director of the Secondary Education Program

Father Tom Simionds, S.J. has been a coach and counselor at the middle school level, and a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and principal in Catholic secondary schools.  His doctoral degree in education from the Jesuit University of San Francisco is in Catholic School Leadership.  His current research interests are school violence prevention and methods of teaching religion, which might seem disparate, but are actually related.  In addition to teaching in the Education Department at Creighton University, he is involved in spiritual formation as well, providing spiritual direction, retreat direction, and class based exploration of spirituality to students at Creighton University.

Father Tom has had two articles on spiritual formation published in Today's Catholic Teacher Magazine, and he co-produced a meditative DVD for use in Catholic schools.  His research on school violence prevention has been accepted for publication in the Journal of School Violence.  This year he will give presentations on his school violence research at three national conferences in Indianapolis, IN; Louisville, KY; and Oklahoma City, OK.

Fr. Tom will consider speaking engagements on the topics of Catholic identity, faith formation, catechetics, and school violence prevention.  He can be contacted at ThomasSimonds@creighton.edu

 

Kent State University - BS., M.Ed., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Education

Dr. Smith earned his Ph.D. in Counseling and Human Development Services and completed all other degree work at Kent State University, Kent, OH.  He also holds a masters Degree in Health and Safety Education, and a Bachelors degree in Social Studies.  Since his arrival at Creighton, Dr. Smith has taught exclusively in the graduate program teaching courses, Educational Research, Appraisal in Counseling, Diagnosis in Counseling, as well as Counseling Diverse Populations, and Community Mental Health.

Dr. Smith's research focus centers on:

• Men's use and avoidance of mental health counseling,
• Interdisciplinary professional collaboration to enhance the client/patient treatment regime,
• Graduate student research, presentation, and publication preparation,
• Horticultural counseling

Dr. Smith is available for workshops and presentations, and has consulted on topics related to research grant - program evaluation, community research development, workplace conflict resolution, family counseling and Bibical counseling related issues.

Dr. Smith can be contacted at JEFFREYSMITH@creighton.edu

 

University of Nebraska - Lincoln - (Elementary and Secondary Education and Administration).
Professor Emeritus of Education.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Assistant Professor of Education

Director of Certification and Field Experience

Dr. Bartee joined the Education Department as a fulltime faculty member in the fall of 2000 after serving as an adjunct lecturer since 1991.  Her career in elementary education spans 32 years; her first assignment was as a special education teacher at Franklin Elementary School.  She became principal at Highland School in 1974 and continued her role as a principal at Dodge Elementary School and Lothrop Magnet Center until her retirement in June 2000.  She completed her doctoral studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Harvard Divinity School
Director of Magis

Molly Davies received her Bachelor's of Theology from Creighton in 1997, Master's of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1999, and returned to Creighton for Secondary Education Certification, completed in 2002.  She taught Theology at Marian High School and Mercy High School in Omaha, and then accepted a placement with Jesuit Volunteers International in Kathmandu, Nepal.  After two years of teaching with JVI in a Jesuit school, she taught at St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu and worked on several teacher formation projects.

Creighton University
Assistant,  Magis

Courtney Lokken joined the education department as the assistant to the Magis Director in June 2007.  She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science & Philosophy from Creighton in 2005.  After working as a mutual funds representative for two years in her hometown of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Courtney is now pursuing her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at Creighton.

In 1974, Judy was hired as the curriculum lab coordinator.  Since that time her job has changed in many respects and she currently holds the title of PC Coordinator/Media Specialist.  In this position, Judy produces media material for the Department, coordinates Livetext and Blueline for  the department, coordinates distance learning by producing video for streaming and ipod delivery,  is the department web master and provides pc support to individuals utilizing technology equipment in the Department Computer Lab.

Carol Sudduth joined the Education Department in March of 2007 as an administrative assistant.  She is responsible for providing administrative support to the Chair and department faculty; as well as, maintaining the budget and student records.   She began her Teacher Education career at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska where she was the administrative assistant in the Education Department for over 13 years.  During that time she also coordinated and directed statewide math/science conferences for teachers and students.

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