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Faculty & Staff
Nancy Gaylen’s career began as a public school teacher in Miami, Florida. She earned a Ph.D. in Administration and Policy Studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She then spent 12 years teaching science and math methodology and instructional design and assessment as well as directing the field studies program and professional development school at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. Nancy relocated back to Illinois in 2002, bringing her to Millikin University to teach in the School of Education. While teaching, she enjoyed new challenges in program assessment, urban school reform, professional development school work, and international teaching exchange programs to China and Taiwan. Since 2005, Nancy has been the Director of the School of Education. Recreationally, she enjoys mountain biking, climbing and backpacking.
Ray Boehmer Ray Boehmer grew up near Chicago and graduated from North Central College, then served in the Peace Corps in Colombia. He returned to teach biology and algebra in suburban Chicago. Ray entered graduate school at Eastern Illinois University and transferred to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to complete his master’s and doctorate degrees. Ray lived in that community since the early 70's, teaching science and leading the science department at Urbana’s University High School. He also taught middle school science in Puerto Rico and inner city Los Angeles. Other teaching experience includes Kindergarten science, Spanish at the University of Illinois and in the International Elderhostel program. At Millikin, Ray teaches ED321 – General Secondary Methods, ED425 – Curriculum Analysis and Assessment, ED426 – Specific Secondary Methods – Science, ED306 Elementary Science Methods, and ED488 – Education Senior Seminar.
Christie Ferguson Assistant Professor
Christie Ferguson is returning to her alma mater after graduating from Millikin with a B.S. in Elementary Education. Following her time at Millikin, she worked as an elementary teacher and an Instructional Specialist in the St. Louis area. During this time, she also earned a M. S. in Educational Administration from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Christie continued her education at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale where she earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration while serving as Clinical Instructor and Center Coordinator for the university's Teacher Education Program. Her research focus was, and continues to be, on the efficacy of teacher training and properly preparing students for their first years of teaching. Christie has two sons, Tate-age 5, and Hunter-age 3, and claims she has learned a lot from having two boys! Together, they love reading, swimming, waterparks, camping, adventures, baseball, hiking trails, and bug collecting!
Darlene Hoffman
http://faculty.millikin.edu/~dhoffman/ Darlene Hoffman teaches Education 310 – Creating Communities of Learners. She is in her 30th year of teaching at Millikin. She has also taught child development, solving discipline problems and the exceptional child. In all of her teaching, Darlene’s purpose is to instill the commitment in future teachers to create positive learning environments that sensitively address the developmental needs of their students. When not teaching, she enjoys reading mysteries, taking long walks in the woods and talking with her grown children, Lang and Inga.
Becky Massey Certification Officer Becky Massey was born and raised in the Decatur area. She graduated from Millikin University in 1985 - only to be employed here in 2001. She, her husband and their four children continue to call Decatur home.
Jean Mendoza Prior to completing her Ph.D. in 2005, Jean Mendoza worked in a variety of early childhood settings, including home childcare, preschool programs and a mixed-age K-1 classroom. A believer in the power of qualitative methods, she has studied children's uses of photo technology in early elementary classrooms and communication between an early childhood program and the families it served. Jean serves on the editorial boards of Early Childhood Research and Practice (an online peer-reviewed journal) and the Illinois Science Teachers Association journal, Spectrum. She also reviews books for Oyate, an organization focusing on accurate portrayals of Native Americans in youth literature. Jean resides in Urbana with Durango, her husband of 24 years. They have four grown children and three grandchildren.
Connie Newtson Connie Newtson came to her position at Millikin after 34 years of teaching at the elementary level. Her first two years of teaching were in a two-room school in West Virginia. Connie taught the other 32 years here in Decatur, cultivating many friendships and watching students grow to adulthood. She earned a B.S. from Illinois State University, an A.M. from West Virginia University and a Specialist degree from Eastern Illinois University. Coming to Millikin fulfills Connie’s lifelong dream of working at the college level to place students in local clinical internships. She loves working with young adults and continuing her relationship with the area schools. She enjoys reading, gardening and playing with her cat, Libby. Ngozi Onuora Ngozi has a B.S. in education from Illinois State University where she majored in junior high/middle school education with an emphasis on mathematics and social studies. Ngozi also earned an M.S. in Educational Administration from Eastern Illinois University and is currently working on her dissertation to complete an Ed.D in Educational Organization and Leadership from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As such, Ngozi not only maintains her teaching certification and endorsements for elementary and middle school; she has also maintained certification as an administrator as well as being certified to be a superintendent of schools. Prior to coming to Millikin, she worked for Decatur Public Schools as an elementary schoolteacher, gifted strategist, technology coordinator, and an administrator for comprehensive school reform and shared decision making, respectively. She teaches Introduction to American Education, Children's Literature, and Math Methods for Elementary Teachers. In addition, Ngozi teaches Children's Literature and General Elementary Math Methods for the PACE program. She is member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Ngozi enjoys screenwriting and independent filmmaking. Georgette Page Instructor Georgette has had many different experiences in the field of early childhood. Her journey began when she taught art in the College of Creative Arts' preparatory program for preschoolers as she was completing her undergraduate degree at West Virginia University. She also obtained her master’s in education from WVU and since then has worked with children and families in many different settings, including preschools, public schools, and various treatment facilities and communities for children with special needs. As she completed her Ph.D. in 1987 from the University of Utah, she studied young children’s understanding of visual media. This led her to New York City, where she was the Coordinator of Formative Research for Sesame Street. Georgette has had over 10 years college-teaching experience in teacher education and childcare departments. Throughout, she has shared her research findings at numerous conferences and contributed to several texts. In 1998, she moved to Illinois to work with children and families in east central Illinois for nine years before finding her way to Millikin. She is teaching early childhood and other courses in the School of Education such as Language Acquisition and Development, Human Development, and Children, Families, and Community Programs. She enjoys films, college sports, music, dance, photography, and animals. Georgette lives in Urbana with her son Joe (when he’s home!) and their dog Sally.
Starla Street Secretary
Starla Street has worked at Millikin since 2003. She loves spending time with her sons and grandchildren. She also enjoys church activities and sporting events. Starla is currently a PACE student majoring in Criminal Justice.
Paula R. Stickles http://faculty.millikin.edu/~pstickles/ Paula R. Stickles hails from Quincy, Illinois, near the banks of the Mississippi River. She earned a B.S. in mathematics with a psychology minor from Millikin University, where she was active in music and also worked as a stage manager at Kirkland Fine Arts Center. She earned her M.S. in mathematics at Northern Illinois University and her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, specifically mathematics education, at Indiana University. Paula worked as a mathematics instructor at Springfield College while coaching high school girls’ basketball. She then taught at Marshall University in West Virginia before moving to Indiana, where she was the mathematics department chair, high school mathematics teacher, and girls’ basketball coach at a private, independent pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade school. Paula also served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Evansville during this time. She spent a year teaching mathematics at the University of Southern Indiana. In addition to regularly speaking at conferences, Paula is a reviewer for Mathematics and Computer Education and NCTM’s Mathematics Teacher. At Millikin, Paula teaches courses such as Introduction to American Education, Mathematics Content for Elementary Teachers, Secondary Mathematics Methods, and Technology for Teachers, as well as supervises student teachers. Her interests include teachers’ mathematical problem posing, teachers’ beliefs, metacognition, and problem solving. Away from school, Paula enjoys spending time with her husband, who also teaches at Millikin, and watching sports.
David Vilmin Instructor
David Vilmin has worked in a variety of public and private educational settings including: kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms, Chapter I reading, and Reading Recovery. He has a B.S. from Michigan State University, and M.S. in Reading from Northern Illinois University. He is currently working on his dissertation to complete an Ed.D in Curriculum and Instruction from the Illinois State University in Normal Illinois. He is teaching literacy courses in the School of Education such as Teaching Language Arts, Teaching Methods in Reading, and Reading Methods in Early Childhood. David lives in Bloomington with his wife and three children. Felicity Williams Instructor Felicity has worked in the field of education and related fields for more than thirty years. She has held a variety of positions in teaching and administration with several school districts and various organizations. She has worked as a social worker, counsellor and volunteer in Kenya in schools for special needs children. She holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Education from Illinois State University with an emphasis in special education and administration. As an undergraduate she also did extensive studies in early childhood and social work. Currently she enjoys working with Millikin students, teaching courses in Early Childhood Special Education. Felicity resides with her husband in Decatur.
Marilyn Yokel Lecturer http://faculty.millikin.edu/~myokel/ Marilyn Yokel grew up in Mt. Carmel in southeast Illinois. She received her B.A. in elementary education at Eastern Illinois University and taught fourth grade in Edwards County for 17 years. During that time, she raised two sons and graduated with her M.S. in elementary education. She earned an M.S. in educational Administration in 1987 and her specialist in education administration in 1990. Marilyn was principal in the Roseville elementary school for one year and then superintendent of schools for three years. Following that, she served as principal of French Academy Magnet Academy in Decatur for eight years. Marilyn and her husband live in Charleston. They have two grown sons and one granddaughter. ADJUNCT FACULTY
Joann Bauer Kathy Leavitt Sally VanNatta jbauer@millikin.edu kleavitt@millikin.edu svannatta@millikin.edu Malcolm Moore Kathryn Warnick Charles Ciorba mwmoore@millikin.edu kwarnick@millikin.edu cciorba@millikin.edu Lori Kruse Claudia Quigg Gigi Yu lkruse@millikin.edu cquigg@millikin.edu gyu@millikin.edu Lori Guebert Charles Ciorba Linda Zinn lguebert@millikin.edu cciorba@millikin.edu lzinn@millikin.edu Kathy Harris Patricia Smith Patricia Ash kharris@millikin.edu plsmith@millikin.edu pash@millikin.edu Dorrell Hawley Jean Mendoza MaDonna Wempen dhawley@millikin.edu jmendoza@millikin.edu mwempen@millikin.edu
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Dr. Nancy I. Gaylen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor 
Associate Professor 
Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education
