Joseph Pika named president of state Board of Education

Joseph A. Pika, who has twice chaired the Department of Political Science and International Relations (1994-99, 2000-01), recently was appointed president of the Delaware State Board of Education. As a result, he also is an ex officio member of the University's Board of Trustees, where he will serve on the academic affairs committee.

In announcing his appointment, Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said, "I have known Dr. Pika for many years and have the utmost respect for him. He has truly served with distinction since being appointed to the state Board of Education in April 1997. He is well aware of all public education issues in Delaware, and I feel his leadership will help in our efforts to improve the quality of Delaware's educational system."

Pika brings to his new position experience and involvement in education and government at the local and state levels, as well as at the University.

On a local level, Pika refers to himself an "education activist parent," whose children spent a total of 36 years in Delaware's public schools and who was involved in referendums and school board elections.

At UD, while associate chairperson of his department, he had primary responsibility for undergraduate programs and student advisement and served or chaired committees dealing with general education, undergraduate studies, interdisciplinary programs and the recruitment of minority students and faculty. He attended the Lilly Endowment's Workshop on the Liberal Arts during the summer of 1993 as part of the University's team working on general education reform.

On the state level, Pika was on partial leave while serving as executive director of the Governor's Commission on Government Reorganization and Effectiveness, before being appointed to the state Board of Education, where he served three and one half years of a six-year term. As president, he serves at the pleasure of the governor.

Serving on the state's Accountability Advisory Committee and the Educators' Salary Committee were learning experiences in terms of the issues facing Delaware education, he said.

The board works closely with the Department of Education, school districts and schools, and it implements the laws that are passed by the legislature by establishing the regulations school districts must follow. "Cooperation and pulling together are the keys to improving education in the state," he said.

To this end, there was a November education summit meeting at UD of district board members, administrators, legislators, teachers and others involved in education. "The meeting focused on understanding how far we have come and where are going in terms of education in the state," Pika said.

"We've made progress in content standards and assessment devices to measure student progress and in funding support for schools," Pika said. "The conference helped identify the pieces of the big picture we must put together to work on problems that still face us."

Some of the top items on his agenda include improved teacher training, finding ways to recruit and retain teachers as many reach retirement age, expanding pre-school education for a larger number of children and strengthening the ties between the K-12 system and colleges and universities.

The board also will be involved in neighborhood school issues as they evolve.

As he looks ahead, Pika said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the future. "There is no quick fix in education reform. It is a slow process, and cooperation is the foundation on which we can build."

Pika will be on sabbatical this coming fall and will focus on his research on the U.S. presidency and on his duties as state board president. As he points out, President George W. Bush has made education one of his top priorities, and Pika said his position as state board president and his research interests dovetail.

With bachelor's and master's degrees from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, Pika is the author, with Norman C. Thomas, of The Politics of the Presidency, published in a revised fourth edition in 1997; and of The Presidential Contest, with coauthor Richard Watson, published in a revised fifth edition in 1996.

Among his honors, are UD's excellence in teaching and excellence in advising awards.

–Sue Moncure