GSE’s Cheryl Livneh receives regional award

GSE Associate Dean Cheryl Livneh has earned the 2014 Honor of Excellence award from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Western Region. The award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of professional and continuing education. She is the director of Continuing Education (CEED) at PSU, holds a faculty position in the Educational Leadership and Policy Department, and is the Associate Dean for Outreach for the GSE.

Dr. Livneh has served as the director of Continuing Education (CEED) at PSU since 1987, and with the CE team had grown the unit into a robust, successful, self-support department with 28 programs, over 1500 courses per year, 26 professional and support staff, and an annual revenue of over $2 million dollars. She is most noteworthy for the breadth of her work in continuing education program development and service to the university and the profession.

“I simply cannot imagine a professional more deserving of recognition for Outstanding Professional Service to Continuing Education than Dr. Cheryl Livneh,” says Sherwin Davidson, chair of the PSU Department of Psychology. “Her dedication is apparent through the professional positions she has held, through the extensive committee leadership and service she has provided both locally and nationally, and through other awards that provide evidence of her accomplishments.”

Dr. Livneh’s work reaches well beyond the university walls and the state of Oregon. She has conceived and delivered distance education programs across the US, and formed collaborative partnerships with state-wide and national organizations such as the Business Education Compact (BEC), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Intel, the State of Pennsylvania, and Knowledge Learning Corporation.

“When BEC staff need to have guidance in implementing and/or sustaining our informal teacher professional development programs, we always seek out Cheryl for wise advice,” says Tamra Busch-Johnsen, director of the Business Education Compact. “Cheryl has deep expertise and vast knowledge of the education world and how it has changed.”

Dr. Livneh will receive the regional award at the annual conference of UPCEA Region West in Las Vegas, October 2, and is automatically nominated for the UPCEA national Walton S. Bittner Service Citation for Outstanding Service, to be announced in February, 2015.

“She is an outstanding example of leadership to the Continuing Education Profession,” says, GSE Dean Randy Hitz. “The depth and breadth of her work encompasses a lifetime of dedication to students in the education and counseling fields.”