UNews - professor /director of student teaching

Faculty of Education loses a founding member

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:26:52 +0000

One of the founders of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Faculty of Education has passed away. Dr. Samuel Aubrey Earl passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 7, just two days prior to his 101st birthday.

Earl was a respected educator whose career encompassed roles of teacher, principal, superintendent of schools, a director within Edmonton's Department of Education and professor/director of student teaching at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

His journey to Lethbridge began innocently enough with a suggestion from his wife Thera.

"There is a new university opening in Lethbridge," she had said. "Maybe they'd consider you as a prospect."

Earl joined the "new university" in 1967 as a professor, and was a key architect in shaping the highly recognized teacher preparation program. He helped establish the 27-week field experience component of the program (which has grown to become one of the most extensive in Canada), a foundation of theory and practice that he could foresee outshining some of the larger institutions.

"I think we came to be recognized as a prestigious, decent and noteworthy institution," Earl once said in an interview. "Our students were sought after not only in western Canada, but in the United States."

Earl was a visionary who served in many roles as a lifelong educator, including appointment as associate dean of Education at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

"I envision seeing a school with doctors of education – reading specialists, math specialists, psychologists, wonderful teachers, great leaders, innovators…"

An obituary is available at the Lethbridge Herald website.

Earl helped establish vision

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:23:32 +0000