Dr. Suzanne SooHoo, professor in the School of Education, was honored with the inaugural Transformative Educator Award from the La Fetra College of Education at the University of La Verne on October 14, 2016 during their Homecoming Alumni Reception. SooHoo is the Endowed Hassinger Chair in Education and the co-director of the Paulo Freire Democratic Project at here at Chapman University. The activist, scholar, teacher educator and former elementary school principal is one of only 10 Asian American endowed chairs in the country. She has been a faculty member at Chapman for 25 years.

While accepting her award, SooHoo touched on what the word “Transformation” means to her, by stating:

“Transformation is rooted in hope. Hope for a better world, for better lives, hope to be more fully human. As educators, coaches and parents, we routinely look for the undiscovered potential within our youth through a lens of hope.

Instead of seeing students as two-dimensional dehumanized test scores, we see them as multifaceted human beings with richness of depth and unpredictable insights who come to our schools and playgrounds with (what Paulo Freire) calls “untested feasibility.”

Congratulations Dr. SooHoo, we’re very proud of you!