MAGNOLIA— Southern Arkansas University has appointed Dr. Zaidy MohdZain as the dean of the college of education. Dr. Ruby Burgess formerly held the position of dean of education at SAU and retired at the end of June.
Prior to joining SAU, MohdZain was a professor and chair of the department of educational leadership and counseling at Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
MohdZain said he was attracted to working for SAU because he could see how faculty and staff are given the license to be creative and innovative to ensure educational needs are met. He said he could see himself being a part of that dynamic as well.
“We already have highly qualified people on our campus responding and delivering what the community needs, so there is already a lot being done, and there is no reason why we cannot move another notch for the University and community,” MohdZain said.
One of the key areas MohdZain hopes to encourage students to focus on is learning how to think outside of skills that will help them prosper regionally and think about what could take them to anywhere in the world.
“In today’s world, education has to be global,” MohdZain said. “We need to teach students not to think about Magnolia only, but to prepare them to compete, work and contribute anywhere in the world.”
MohdZain has given numerous professional presentations in international, national, regional, state and local levels. A member of the World Council for Curriculum and Instruction, MohdZain will be presenting at the WCCI 13th conference in Antalya, Turkey in September 2008. He has also accepted an invitation to present on structural family therapy at Universiti Sains Malaysia’ International Counseling and Social Work Symposium in January 2009.
In addition to being willing to travel the world to deliver presentations, MohdZain has also appeared in several publications in peer-reviewed journal articles and is a reviewer of textbooks in substance abuse counseling and professional issues in counseling.
The new education dean at SAU has a bachelor of business administration from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan; a master of public administration and a master of arts from the University of Illinois in Springfield and a doctorate in philosophy from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
His professional activities include being a member of American Counseling Association (ACA); Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES); and International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC).
MohdZain lives in Magnolia with his wife, Tracey, and their daughter, Jasmine, 12.
