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Education Academic Departments & Center

With expert faculty in the classrooms and practical experiences in the community, the academic departments in the College of Education are dedicated to preparing students for a variety of careers in education fields.

Dean’s Welcome

At our Winona State University College of Education, we are collectively shaping a culture that values human dignity, invigorated by transformative practices that expand the frontiers of learning, teaching, and being.

Your Winona State University College of Education is a place where you will always belong.  Our aspirations are tied to your continued learning and growth, your immediate needs, your long-term best interests . . . your path to being professional, prepared, and innovative. We want nothing more than your success. Your success is our success.  We know that a thriving, well prepared educator, counselor, and/or leader devoted to inclusive excellence and deep learning will lead learners who thrive. We believe in whole learner education that includes everyone. For us, all means all.  All people have deep and rich capacities. It is our shared task to see them, engage them, and bring them to flourish. Your journey to becoming and being a professional is a mighty one.

WSU has a storied history and longstanding reputation for educational excellence.  What started as the first Normal School for teacher training west of the Mississippi River, at the birth of the state of Minnesota, has grown into a regionally prominent and nationally recognized university.  Within our university, your College of Education has prepared, and will continue to prepare, highly effective teachers, counselors, and educational leaders committed to excellence in public service as influential and effective professional, committed, and humanizing education.

Your experience at Winona State University, in your College of Education, is unique and will prepare you for the challenges and opportunities ahead. You are a personification of our reputation for excellence in education.  You have the opportunity to continue to enrich our thriving, supportive, and compassionate village through your service to others.

Dr. Scott Sorvaag
College of Education Dean
Email Scott Sorvaag
Child, Adolescent, & Advocacy Studies
The Child Advocacy Studies program can provide a career in many fields including social services, healthcare, education and criminal justice.
Child, Adolescent, & Advocacy Department
Counselor Education
The Counselor Education Department prepares competent school and clinical mental health counselors to build professional relationships that empower and support individuals, groups, and families to achieve mental health, educational, wellness, and career goals.
Counselor Education Department
Two students talk to each other in a classroom.
Early Childhood & Elementary Education
The Early Childhood & Elementary Education Department prepares students to be teachers who adapt to the individual child’s needs, are responsive to the social context of learning within the classroom, and advocate for children beyond the individual classroom.
ECEE Department
A female student draws in chalk with toddlers on a wooden bridge.
Education Studies
The Education Studies Department houses the Business Education program and the Foundations of Education sequence that all underpins the teacher education licensure programs.
Education Studies Department
A professor lectures to a class of adult students.
Leadership Education
The Leadership Education Department strives to prepare students for school and organization management in ways that help each individual learner.
Leadership Education Department
A professor discusses a point with a group of adult students.
Physical Education & Sport Science
The Physical Education and Sport Science programs can provide a career in physical education, coaching, sports administration and more.
PESS Department
A group of student play football on the WSU campus.
Rochester Education
The Rochester Education Department prepares students to become elementary education teachers through both online coursework and in-person clinical experiences at local elementary schools.
Rochester Education Department
A student teacher works with kids on their laptops
Special Education
The Special Education Department prepares teachers to work with students who have various developmental and behavioral disabilities.
Special Education Department
A student works with elementary children in a classroom.
Center for Student Success

The Center for Student Success (CSS) assists teacher candidates from pre-admission to their first semester at WSU and through the student teaching process prior to graduation.

We offer advising, answers to program questions, clinical experience placements, and student teaching placements. 

CSS provides collaborative leadership and expert knowledge to the College of Education by:  

  • instituting policies, practices, procedures, and requirements related to recruitment, advising, admission, and placement of teacher candidates and other current school professionals 
  • review any written agreements between the community and the University, or the school and the University related to placement of teacher candidates
  • communicating with faculty and staff to maintain partnerships established for clinical experiences and student teaching 
Stephanie Bohlman
Stephanie Bohlman
Director of the Center for Student Success (EdD)

she/her/hers

507.457.5178

  • Coordinates student teaching placements
  • Fosters K-12 partnerships
  • Conducts pre-graduation advising
  • Serves as liaison to faculty and staff in the College of Education
Email Dr. Bohlman
Kim Hill
Kim Hill
Admissions, Clinical Experience, & Advising Coordinator

she/her/hers

507.457.5382

  • Pre-advising for prospective students
  • Processes applications for admissions to WSU College of Education, in-person and online programs
  • Coordinates clinical experiences for teacher candidates
  • Conducts supplemental advising for teacher candidates to assist in the areas such as major mapping, financial aid, and changes of major
Email Kim Hill
Joan Kauphusman
Joan Kauphusman
Office Manager

she/her/hers

507.457.2815

  • Assists with field experience placement information from faculty and students
  • Organizes liability insurance and background check data for teacher-candidates
  • Serves as Tevera liaison for students, staff, faculty, and external partners
Email Joan Kauphusman
Licensure, Assessment, & Accreditation Leads

These roles lead and support on-going data collection, analysis, and reporting, as well as unit and program assessment required for agency accreditations:

  • Facilitate the licensing process, complete application documentation, and verification for all teacher candidates
  • Foster a data-driven decision-making culture in our educator preparation program by building assessment literacy and using data and assessment analytics 
  • Promote and facilitate the implementation of the Professional Education Unit’s Assessment Plan 
  • Serve as an assessment clearinghouse for data collection, organization, analysis and reporting for the College of Education 
  • Provide leadership and support for administration, faculty and staff on the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board and accreditation review processes for program approval 
  • Create and submit interim progress reports and annual summary reports to appropriate accreditation and approval institutions, agencies, and organizations 
  • Streamline and document policies, procedures, and protocols for program development, modification, review, and evaluation 

These lead roles communicate information across the unit.

Dr. Scott Sorvaag
Licensure Lead

Dean & Unit Leader

Dr. Erika Pinter
Assessment Lead

Associate Professor

Dr. Joan Sax-Bendix
Accreditation Lead

Professor