The university was established in 1863 as Kansas State Normal School. A university history gives 1907 as the first date teacher training was organized as a department. Since then, The Teachers College has been through a few name changes:
School Leadership / Middle & Secondary Teacher Education
Art Therapy program
The Art Therapy program was created in 1973 by Robert Ault, and is one of the oldest in the country. The degree program is two years long and, the completion of the program earns students a Master’s of Science in Art Therapy Counseling. The program provides students with the necessary training to work with diverse populations through the creative process. Emporia State University’s program is approved by the American Art Therapy Association. Students who are pursuing a degree in Art Therapy are eligible to enroll in the Dual Curriculum which allows students to get a Master’s of Science in Clinical Counseling as well. Receiving both degrees grants student’s eligibility to become licensed by the Behavioral Science Regulatory Board. Three instructors educate students in the Art Therapy Department: Jessica Stallings ATR-BC, LPC, AS, Libby Schmanke MS, ATR-BC, LCAC, and Gaelynn Wolf Bordonaro PhD. ATR-BC. Stallings was published as a co-author in the journal Arts and Psychotherapy for her research in best practices with children who have autism spectrum disorder. Schmanke is the author of Art Therapy and Substance Abuse: Enabling Recovery from Alcohol and Other Drug Addiction and Bordonaro is on the board of directors for the American Art Therapy Association. Each spring, the Art Therapy program hosts the Art Therapy Discovery Day Conference which began in 1974. The conference is open to the public and includes an annual keynote speaker as well as breakout sessions, presentations over pertinent Art Therapy topics, a silent auction, and a provided lunch. A variety of individuals attend the conference including: current students, professional art therapists, counselors, therapists, social workers, and psychologists.
The National Teachers Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization that honors exceptional school teachers. The NTHF was established in 1989 by a consortium of organizations including Emporia State, the Alumni Association of the school, the City of Emporia, Emporia Public Schools, as well as the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce. The NTHF has a museum on Emporia State's campus that honors the teachers inducted. Every June, the Hall of Fame inducts five of the most outstanding educators in the United States.
Memorial for Fallen Educators
On June 13, 2013, the NTHF executive director Carol Strickland, along with former ESU President Michael Shonrock, Bill Maness, representing U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, and former mayor Rob Gilligan, broke ground by the one-room school house located on the Emporia State campus to build a memorial for the teachers that have fallen in the "line of duty". The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was the main inspiration for the memorial. On June 6, 2014, the granite memorial markers were placed along with granite benches. The official dedication was on June 12, 2014. On September 21, 2015, United States Senator Jerry Moran introduced a bill to the United States Congress to designate the memorial as the "National Memorial to Fallen Educators". Since the bill was passed by both the United States House of Representatives and Senate, the memorial was signed by the President of the United States, and the memorial did not become a part of the National Park Service nor are federal funds used.
Accolades and rankings
The Teachers College at Emporia State University is one of only four post-secondary institutions in the nationalong with Alverno College, Stanford University, and University of Virginiato be identified as an Exemplary Model Teacher Education program by Arthur Levine in his 2006 national study of teacher education programs Educating School Teachers.
