Three professors retire from CLU

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - May 4, 2010) Three professors are retiring after a combined total of 53 years of teaching at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Carol Bartell, dean of the School of Education, A. Joseph Everson, professor of religion and former interim provost, and Silva Karayan, professor of education and director of the Special Education Program, will become emeriti faculty members.

Bartell returned to CLU two years ago to serve a second term as dean. In October, the California Council on Teacher Education presented the Moorpark resident with the Distinguished Teacher Educator Award for outstanding and dedicated service. She led CLU's School of Education through reaccreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC).

A former faculty member at five other universities, Bartell served as dean at California State University, Los Angeles, and California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. She worked for the CCTC and has played a leadership role in state and national standard-setting activities for teachers and administrators.

Bartell received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Concordia University, a master's in early childhood development from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Virginia Tech.

Everson of Thousand Oaks joined the religion faculty in 1990 and served as interim provost and dean of the faculty from 2004 to 2006. His primary academic work has been in the prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and, in particular, in research on the book of Isaiah. He is the author of a number of scholarly essays including the major entry on the book of Isaiah in the "Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible." Since 2003, he has served on the national steering committee for the Formation of Isaiah Group of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). He is co-editor of and contributor to a collection of essays published by the SBL in 2009 titled "The Desert will Bloom: Poetic Visions in Isaiah."

While serving as a pastor in St. Paul, Minn., from 1976 to 1990, Everson was a visiting lecturer at several seminaries. His prior teaching experience includes assignments at Virginia Union University and Union Theological Seminary and Luther College.

Everson earned bachelor's degrees from St. Olaf College and Luther Seminary, and completed his master's and doctorate at Union Theological Seminary. His post-doctoral study was done at Harvard Divinity School, William Foxwell Albright Institute in Jerusalem, Princeton Theological Seminary and Carleton College.

Karayan has played an active role in the recruitment, preparation and support of special education teacher candidates at CLU and has spearheaded a number of successful initiatives. She is founding director of the university's Center for Academic Service-Learning for Research and Development and was the first chair of the Center for Teaching and Learning for Faculty Development. She was also director of the Service-Learning Partnerships in Inclusive Education Project, a collaborative initiative between CLU and several school districts.

A resident of Northridge, Karayan's scholarly activities have included frequent presentations at national and international conferences, and her work and research have been published in peer-reviewed professional journals. She is author of "Faculty Guide to Academic Service-Learning Pedagogy" and was a founding member of the California Department of Education's Service-Learning Advisory Committee. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal for National Association for Alternative Certification.

Karayan completed her bachelor's and master's degrees at American University of Beirut and her doctorate at University of California, Santa Barbara.