Anaida Colon-Muñiz, Ed.D.
Associate Professor

E-mail: acolon@chapman.edu
Phone: 714-744-7955
Fax: 714-744-7035

I am currently an associate professor at Chapman University, Orange.  For the last six years I have served in various capacities for the College of Educational Studies.  For three years I was coordinator for, taught, and continue to teach in the Multiple Subject and the Master of Arts in Teaching programs.  I currently teach and coordinate Project Connect, a Title III federal grant whose objective is to prepare pre-service, beginning and in-service California teachers to teach English learners more effectively.

I was born in Puerto Rico, and lived and was schooled in New York City.  I received a Bachelor of Science degree from Binghamton University and a Master of Science from Bank Street College of Education.  I worked for the New York State Department of Education and later became a bilingual teacher and teacher trainer for the New York City School District before pursuing a doctorate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  While working on my degree I worked as a resource teacher for a dual language program in Holyoke and as an administrator for the Massachusetts State Department of Education.  After relocating to California in 1982, I became a faculty member at Cal State Fullerton and later at San Diego State University.  For fourteen years I then returned to the field as program administrator for bilingual education, English language development and curriculum for three urban school districts, Rowland, Orange and Santa Ana.

My life’s work has been dedicated to the improvement of educational opportunities for language minority and poor children, with a special emphasis in on the role of teachers and teacher educators.

My research and personal interests include bilingual education, transfer and maintenance of heritage languages and English language development; language policy in education here and abroad, language and culture of Puerto Rico, and issues of civil rights in education, literacy and biliteracy affecting Latino youth.  I participated in a major study in Santa Ana Unified, where I developed a data collection system to monitor the progress of English learners participating in various language development programs.  I have developed a travel course for future teachers in Spain, where their experiences with language and culture are part of the formation of language development pedagogy.

Curriculum Vita