Thomas Wilson, an Associate Professor of Education at Chapman University, left his mark on many before his passing in late December 2018. Colleagues, friends, students, and mentees remain moved by his strong fellowship. At Chapman, Wilson also served as the Director of the Masters of Arts in Education Program (1992–1998) and was the Cofounder and
In 2014 Professor Peter McLaren joined Chapman’s faculty at the College of Educational Studies where he serves as Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies and as Co-Director and International Ambassador of Global Ethics and Social Justice of the Paulo Freire Democratic Project.
The College of Educational Studies formalized the Paulo Freire Democratic Project in 1996 under the directorship of Dr. Suzanne Soohoo and Dr. Tom Wilson. Establishing abiding professional and grass roots relationships with school administrators, teachers, students and community and parent organizations in the cities of Orange, Santa Ana and Anaheim, the Paulo Freire Democratic Project undertook a series of progressive initiatives influenced by the philosophy of praxis developed by legendary Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. These included organizing workshops, conferences, collaborative action research projects, and establishing democratic cultures in both formal and informal educational contexts.
Every once in a while, dreams come true. And sometimes they pass without full acknowledgement–we are off to the next big thing. Recently, one of our dreams was realized and thus it is worth pausing, just for a minute, to celebrate this special moment in time. Many years ago, led by Tom Wilson, a small
by Pamela Ezell and Chandra Jenkins, Ph.D. students Can this world be saved? That’s the question Dean Don Cardinal pondered aloud when he welcomed a full house to the symposium, “Teaching Critically and Democratically in Times of Crisis,” in the Bush Conference Center on Saturday morning. His answer, as he surveyed the nearly 300 students,