Dr. Suzanne SooHoo
Professor of Education
Jack H. and Paula H. Hassinger Endowed Chair
of
Culture, Community and Collaboration
College of Educational Studies, Chapman University

Please celebrate with us in recognizing Dr. Suzanne SooHoo as the new Hassinger Endowed Chair of Culture, Community and Collaboration within the College of Educational Studies at Chapman University.  The Hassinger Endowed Chair was established in 1996 to underwrite salary, research and travel for a distinguished professor who would advance and foster education through teaching and administration, at any educational level.   Paula Hassinger had a distinguished career as an educator from then Chapman College to the University of Southern California and from the Los Angeles Unified School District to American elementary schools in Japan and South America, while her husband Jack was also a career educator and administrator who supported numerous teaching efforts in the latter stages of his career in China.  

Dr. SooHoo has been in the CES since 1991 as a researcher and graduate professor and embodies the commitment of being an informed citizen, conducting socially responsible research and contributing to the positive role of education in a democracy. She earned a Master’s in Education Administration from California State University, Fullerton, and a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate School.   A distinguished author and presenter, her numerous contributions to the field of education include developing collaborative action research projects bringing together students and faculty from across disciplines, working with public and community intellectuals, as well as national and international scholars, in authentic and sustainable relationships within education.   As a practitioner and follower of Paulo Freire, Dr. SooHoo brings clear democratic and critical synthesis to ethical and democratic practices into both formal and informal educational environments.  Dr. SooHoo’s association with Paulo Freire is particularly  meaningful in her role as Hassinger Chair since Paula Hassinger was herself an advocate of Freire’s, and contributed to Chapman University’s recognition of Freire by donating a bust of Freire to the campus.  Dr. SooHoo truly embraces the notion of “critical pedagogy” as she brings her passion and principles in helping students develop their own consciousness of freedom, while taking constructive action effecting change in education.  Currently, she is the Co-editor for Issues in Teacher Education, a journal of the California Council on Teacher Education.  She is active in the American Educational Research Association; presenting papers annually over the past decade and assuming leadership positions in divisions and other committees.  Several distinguished researchers including Linda Darling Hammond, Sonia Nieto, Gary Anderson, Anne Lieberman and Jeannie Oaks have cited her work. 

As Hassinger Chair, Dr. SooHoo is committed to an informed citizenry, socially responsible research and the role of education in a democracy which richly honors her role as Hassinger Endowed Chair, College of Educational Studies, Chapman University.  She invites all educational scholars to contact her if interested in becoming part of the “Distinguished Hassinger Lecture Series,”  highlighting such distinguished individuals as Dr. David C. Berliner, Dr. Deborah Meier, Robert P. Moses, Dr. Elliott Eisner to mention a few.

One of her current international projects is working with professors at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, investigating the intersections of learning, thinking and culture.  Her vitae can be found on Dr. SooHoo's Faculty page.