New Leadership for ECEC

The new year has arrived with some changes at the Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC). Professor Mary Trepanier-Street has retired after a fabulous 33-year career at UM-Dearborn, including 16 years as director of the ECEC. Mary’s inspirational leadership of the ECEC has helped the center attain prominence within the region and state as the premier facility of its kind – a multi-level educational laboratory. Mary will surely be missed, but we are delighted that two outstanding members of the School of Education community have stepped forward to assume major leadership roles at the ECEC.

Seong Hong, associate professor of education and coordinator of the early childhood program, is the new ECEC Director. She oversees the academic program provided to the children, as well as the practicum and internship experiences provided to prospective teachers. Professor Hong has been at UM-Dearborn for 12 years, and she is a highly regarded scholar in the area of early childhood education. She has also helped launch, and is currently heavily involved with, collaborative research projects between the SOE and the Oakwood Health Systems Center for Exceptional Families.

Deborah Jones, currently education coordinator, will assume the title of ECEC Site Director, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the center. Debbie has worked at the ECEC for nearly 10 years, and has most recently been responsible for supervising the staff of the ECEC and providing support to teachers to foster a high-quality learning environment, implementing a welcoming and thriving learning environment at the ECEC, and nurturing and maintaining the collaboration between the ECEC and Oakwood Health Systems Center for Exceptional Families.

Please join me in thanking Seong Hong and Deborah Jones for their willingness to lend their considerable talents to the leadership of the ECEC at this important transitional moment in its history. I am confident that they will be worthy stewards of the ECEC that it continues not only to provide first-class educational experiences for the children who attend but also to serve as a splendid training site for prospective teachers.