The Fordham Graduate School of Education is pleased to announce the addition of Seongshin Kim, Ph.D., as Director of Assessment and Accreditation. Reporting to the dean, Kim’s primary responsibility will be overseeing the collection, use, and reporting of data for the assessment and accreditation requirements within the Graduate School of Education and university teacher licensure and school professional programs.
Prior to joining the GSE, Kim was dean of the school of education and an associate professor of TESOL at Concordia College; a consultant and advisor to the dean and chair/associate professor of TESOL and Bilingual Education at Touro College; and held academic roles at Kansas State University College of Education.
Kim expressed the following sentiment on joining the Fordham GSE team: “I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity of joining such an outstanding Institution of higher education as Fordham University. I’m truly looking forward to assuming my role as Director of Assessment and Accreditation for Fordham’s Graduate School of Education. While many people think of assessment data as being dry and relatively monochromatic, I see it as full of color and layered with potential treasures.
These treasures can provide gifts of insight and better understanding for an institution so that it can rightly continue pursuit of the productive paths it already has in place, rethink/reshape other paths that may have been less successful, and try all together new approaches, and new ideas not yet pursued. Institutional accreditation affords an ideal opportunity for that re-thinking, re-examining, and re-dreaming to happen.”
Kim brings many strengths to the role, having been involved in teacher education for many years, and in various university settings. Moreover, she brings experience as a faculty member, program chair, and dean that provides her with a good understanding of the perspectives and challenges faced by both faculty and administrators.
“One of my strengths is team building. I enjoy creating an environment where both faculty and administrators can confidently share their thoughts and expertise throughout the accreditation process, and by so doing, effectively collaborate to make the institution and its respective programs even better,” explained Kim.
Kim comes from a family of academicians. Her father was a college professor, administrator, and ultimately a college president before he retired; she spent a good deal of her life associated with college campuses. According to Kim, she grew up watching her father interact with his students and the joy it brought to him. Her father’s eyes exuded love and admiration every time he ran into his students on the street. He always told her that the best place one could wish to work for is a college or university. It was there, he said, that one is fortunate enough to be able to play an active role in helping shape the potential and dreams of young people who will then leave the institution to become the guides and the future leaders of the world. “It has been my wish to follow in his footsteps and to contribute to the betterment of our culture and society,” said Kim.
Seongshin Kim, Ph.D., received her doctor of philosophy in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in English as a Second Language from Kansas State University College of Education; a master of education in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in TESOL from Wichita State University; and a bachelor of arts in English and literature from Dan-Kook University in Seoul, Korea.
