Center for Economic Education earns five-year accreditation
November 20, 2006
KOKOMO, Ind.—The National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) has reaccredited the Indiana University Kokomo Center for Economic Education for the maximum period of five years. Only 18 such university-based centers across the country passed reviews in 2006 to achieve full accreditation.
Co-directed by Professor of Education Margo Parkison, Ed.D., and Professor of Economics Kathy Parkison, Ph.D., the IU Kokomo Center for Economic Education offers workshops and resources to help elementary and secondary teachers throughout north central Indiana incorporate economic principles into classroom curricula.
Parkison represented the center at the NCEE annual conference in New York City in October, when the 18 fully accredited centers were honored. Indiana University East’s Center for Economic Education in Richmond also received full accreditation this year.
Parkison and Sorgman acknowledged their colleagues in the School of Business and the Division of Education who helped make the center’s accreditation possible. “The center was judged on our productivity from 2002–2005,” Parkison said. “During that time we sometimes did struggle to fulfill our mission.” At the beginning of the report period (2002), she noted, the center had no secretarial support or allotted physical space on campus. “Due to the efforts of many, the center now does have some release time starting in spring 2006, some secretarial support, and office space [in the lower level of the Main Building].”
Dean of the School of Business Niranjan Pati, Ph.D., congratulated the center on its accreditation, and echoed Parkison regarding the intercampus collaboration leading up to it. “We especially appreciate the contributions of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Stuart Green and Assistant Vice Chancellor Timothy Sehr to approve extra resources requested by the School of Business for the Center,” Pati said. “It shows IU Kokomo’s commitment to this highly regarded program.”
For more information on upcoming workshops offered by the IU Kokomo Center for Economic Education, contact Kathy Parkison at kparkiso@iuk.edu or Margo Sorgman at msorgman@iuk.edu.
