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Overview

To read is to empower
To empower is to write
To write is to influence
To influence is to change
To change is to live
-Jane Evershed, More Than a Tea Party

Dr. Barbara Swaby is a national advocate for reading and literacy. She has been changing lives one child at a time. For more than 30 years, she has worked with thousands of children through her free reading evaluations and her free reading clinics. Her contributions and accomplishments span the local, state, national, and international levels. Dr. Swaby is the author of several articles, two college textbooks, two teacher workbooks, and a set of whole language readers and children's books. She has helped to develop Functional and Critical Reading and Reading Comprehension Subtests for National Assessment Testing. She serves on numerous committees, including Education Grievance, Seach Committees, and Evaluation and Admissions.

Seeing this, community leaders, friends of the college, faculty, and alumni are spearheading efforts to recognize Dr. Swaby's contributions to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the College of Education, the state of Colorado and the Colorado Springs community. They seek to honor her by establishing an endowed professorship in her name. This tribute would not only be an honor for Professor Swaby but also to those who will hold the position and continue the reading clinics in the future. It will allow UCCS to attract the most talented and visionary faculty all while continuing to offer free reading clinics to the children of Colorado Springs.

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Endowed Professorships

An endowed professorship is a position permanently paid for with the revenue from an endowment fund specifically set up for that purpose. A financial endowment fund is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution, with the stipulation that it be invested so the principal remains intact. This allows for the donation to have a much greater impact over a long period of time than if it were spent all at once.

Endowed professorships aid the university by attracting highly qualified candidates and providing extra value to the community and university.

In addition, holding such a professorship is considered to be an honor in the academic world, and the university can use professorships to reward its best faculty or to recruit top professors from other institutions.

Biography

Dr. Swaby's personal educational history is indicative of her commitment to the educational process. Both of her parents were educators in her native Jamaica, West Indies, and her early childhood training proceeded along an accelerated path. She was already in college by age 15. She earned a B.A. degree in Music Education from Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee, and M.A. and PhD degrees in Reading Education from the University of Minnesota. She has been on the faculty at UCCS since 1977.

Currently, Dr. Barbara Swaby is a Professor of Education and President's Teaching Scholar at UCCS. She is the director of the Graduate Reading Program and the Graduate Reading Clinic and has been a member of the Thesis Committee for over 80 students.

Although the role of community service has historically been the least mandated according to university requirements, Dr. Swaby views her service in this area to be a major priority. "My job at the university is to teach teachers how to become leaders in the field of literacy and, as such, how to create a literate society," she says. Her responsibilities do not end at the conclusion of her classes. She is compelled to go into the community and be an ambassador of literacy, even to those who may never enter the university community. She spends a great deal of her time conducting literacy workshops for teachers, administrators, parents, and other community groups. Her work with teachers and administrators has been very effective and has resulted in the improvement of reading instruction in many schools in this region. In addition, as a direct result of her community service, new students join classes and programs at UCCS. This strong link between the reading program and the community forges vital community relationships and extends the reach of the university as well.

Stories and Testimonies

From Amanda Li Mingquan Eubanks
Age: 11

"Doctor Swaby has been very kind, as well as, changing my reading career. You don't and will never know how much I enjoy Doctor Swaby.

First things first, I enjoy just being around Doctor Swaby. She will make you laugh. Doctor Swaby makes you smart from head-to-toe. She lets you stand out like a light bulb.

Before I knew Doctor Swaby I was weak in comprehension, fluency, and just plain old reading; however, Doctor Swaby changed that completely.

Last but not least, I was in Doctor Swaby's clinic three times. She doesn't just say that you have one clinic. She guides and helps you succeed over time. Doctor Swaby will keep you until you are ready to go out on your own, like a young bird leaving the nest forever.

Clearly, Doctor Swaby can help you in hard situations. Doctor Swaby is kind, caring, and will change your life forever."

From Louann Eubanks
Parent

"What does a parent do when your child struggles with reading? Consult the school, hire tutors, do therapies, despair. A bright, hard working child was being doomed to a future with much less potential.

One spring day we walked into Dr. Barbara Swaby's office. No case history questions were asked. My daughter, Amanda, simply read a few passages, both out loud and silently and answered some comprehension questions and within 10 minutes we had a diagnosis of her reading situation and a solution to the problems.

We were promised a spot in her next reading clinic. After three clinics my daughter is reading at grade level. She reads directions and figures things out, she reads for pleasure, she is proud of herself.

It is with incredible knowledge and understanding that Dr. Swaby has put together a program such as this. But that is not all because she has done all this with compassion and true understanding of children. She cares about each child and their family.

Dr. Swaby and her students changed my family's lives forever. She will be a part of the wonderful things Amanda will accomplish in life. How do you thank someone who has done these things? From the bottom of my heart I thank Dr. Swaby and UCCS for this program."

If you have a story to share about how Dr. Swaby has touched your life, please Contact Us.