Susan Gabel, Ph.D.

Susan Gabel, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Ph.D. in Education Program

Now in its 7th year the Ph.D. in Education faculty continues to prepare future educational and community leaders to help shape a better world.  The program admits students into one of four major areas of study: Cultural and Curricular Studies, Disability Studies, Leadership Studies, and School Psychology. A minor emphasis of study is also possible.  The program is built on several key principles, including, a supportive cohort model environment, personalized faculty mentoring, rigorous foundational and research methods coursework.

Each fall a new cohort of 20 to 22 students starts the program. This fall, the Ph.D. program took on an international flavor as it admitted students from the China, Bangladesh, and Saudia Arabia. The 2013 cohort also includes students who immigrated to the United States from Korea, Egypt, Mexico, Iran and Belgium.

Chapman Graduates

Mr. Ahmed Younis, an Egyptian-American has joined the Leadership Studies Emphasis for 2013 and is an Adjunct Faculty member where he teaches a class on Non-government organizations: Policy and Practice within the undergraduate Integrated Educational Studies program. Building upon the college’s commitment to global education and the realization that the Ph.D. program attracts global interest from prospective students, Mr. Younis will assist Dr. Susan L. Gabel, Professor and Director of the Ph.D. program, in developing a model for increasing the visibility of the College’s Ph.D. program in the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to his personal history, Mr. Younis brings his national reputation as an expert in American-Muslim relations and his international professional experience to the task.

Ms. Yingying Yang joins the Cultural and Curricular Studies emphasis area. She recently completed her Master of Arts degree in philosophy at Beijing Normal University. Ms. Yang is interested in rural educational equity and the education of migrant workers’ children in China. “I see the harsh reality that basic education is not accessible to many peasant families in China, which ignites my passion to devote my life to education to end this.”

Mr. Golam Mostafa joins the Disability Studies emphasis area. His interests include the development and implementation of an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for Bangladesh people with disabilities.  His ultimate goal is to influence policy makers, decision makers, government officials, and non-government officials to “formulate national policy and a plan of action to enact legislation for inclusive education in Bangladesh.” Mr. Mostafa has the honor of being a signatory representative of Bangladesh on the Salamanca Statement, UNESCO’s 1994 report that called for international attention to principles, policy, and practice in special needs education.

Mr. Daniel Bonilla, an Athletic Trainer and Visiting Assistant Professor and Internship Coordinator at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, comes to the PhD program from graduate studies at the University of Hawaii. He is the Medical Director and Coordinator of Medical Procedures in the western conference of the Legends Football League, an all-women’s tackle football organization. Mr. Bonilla’s long term goal is “to be a leader in the field of health care education.”

Ms. Eman Almutairi recently completed her Master of Arts in Education at the University of San Diego with an emphasis on Literacy, Culture, and Teaching English as a Second Language. Her ultimate goal is to become a leader in the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia. Her vision includes the retention of women in major leadership roles in the Ministry “to encourage gender equity in higher education and to demonstrate that women can fulfill leadership roles and make a social contribution beyond the domestic sphere.”