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Pepperdine Welcomes New Faculty
Graduate School of Education and Psychology
Ken R. Canfield, executive director, Center for the Family, is founder of the National Center for Fathering where he served as president for sixteen years, and a highly valued consultant to media, national, state, and community leaders on improving family well-being. He has been recognized for his leadership in strengthening families and fathers with a “Father of the Year” award (1993). Canfield is author of numerous articles, both popular and scientific, and several books, including the award-winning 7 Secrets of Effective Fathers (1992). He has been widely interviewed on radio and TV, and for many years provided a daily weekday radio commentary on fatherhood to over 400 stations across the U.S. He received a Ph.D. from Kansas State University.
Spring Cooke, visiting professor, has been working with K-12 students in the Lawndale Elementary School District since 2002. Her chief research interests are elementary and secondary school students in economically diverse school contexts, and how teachers and districts successfully meet the needs of the multicultural, multiethnic, and multilingual population in their schools. Cooke, who studied biology as an undergraduate and is credentialed in science for multiple subject teaching, won numerous scholarships and awards as a student herself, including a Mayr Scholarship, a Raitt Scholarship, and a Mabel Wilson Scholarship. She holds B.S. and M.A. degrees from Pepperdine University and is now completing a Ph.D. degree at the University of Southern California.
Susan Imholz, visiting professor, has broad experience as a program developer and researcher in the application of new technology to learning environments. She comes to Pepperdine University from an independent educational management and organizational consulting practice. Though she has held leadership positions in both corporate and academic settings, her considerable reputation has been built in assessing the activities and services of public libraries through a series of reports for the Americans for Libraries Council and in building programs that meet the increasing public need for information. She earned a B.A. in art and psychology from Antioch College, an M.A. in expressive therapy from Lesley College, and a Ph.D. in media arts and sciences from M.I.T.
Wes Patterson, associate director, spent five years as a successful fundraiser, coach, mentor, and team leader with the Boy Scouts of America, Western Los Angeles County Council, prior to joining Pepperdine. He will cultivate and steward philanthropic support for GSEP, building relationships with our alumni and donors. Patterson earned a B.A. in political science and master’s of public administration (with distinction), both from California State University, Northridge.
Yuying V. Tsong, practitioner faculty, was the MA and doctoral counseling psychology program chair for the Orange County campus at Argosy University before joining Pepperdine. She has spent more than seven years in teaching, administration, consulting, research planning, data analysis, data interpretation, and reporting in higher education settings. She earned a B.S. in agricultural economics from National Taiwan University, a M.Ed. from Rutgers University, and both an M.S.Ed. and Ph.D. degree in counseling psychology from the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
