ECEI’s Beginnings: 2006-2009
The ECEI was founded in 2006 when Dr. Diane Horm was recruited for the newly created position of the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) Endowed Professor at the University of Oklahoma–Tulsa. As the name suggests, this position was endowed by GKFF to strengthen educational and research opportunities in early childhood education in northeast Oklahoma to support GKFF’s growing investments in Tulsa-based programs for young children and their families. The goal for the position in 2006 was twofold: to partner with Tulsa Educare and CAP Tulsa’s Head Start and Early Head Start programs to conduct applied research aimed at maximizing services for young children, birth through age 5, and their families; and to work with Tulsa Community College and other OU faculty to launch a bachelor’s completion program in early childhood education at OU-Tulsa. Dr. Libby Ethridge was also hired as an early childhood education faculty member in 2006 and together they built the bachelor’s completion program, partnering with Tulsa Community College, recruiting students, and developing community partnerships for practica experiences. The first cohort of bachelor’s students graduated in 2008. Relative to the ECEI, Dr. Horm started with a few small research contracts with Tulsa Educare and CAP Tulsa and hired a few staff members to assist with data collection for the Tulsa Educare Implementation Study. The ECEI hosted our first Early Childhood Leadership Institute in 2008 to introduce the ECEI and our interest in sharing research-based information to inform the work of early childhood program leaders, administrators, and policymakers in the state.