Saturday, June 26, 2010

In Memoriam

Eugene “Gene” Valles

Dear College of Education Faculty, Staff, and Retired Faculty,

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Dr. Gene Valles early Wednesday morning, June 23, 2010.

Dr. Valles received his BA in Special Education with a K-12 teaching credential from the University of New Mexico (UNM) in 1976, an MA Degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Learning Disabilities and Bilingual Special Education in 1981 from UNM, an Education Administration license from UNM in 1991, and a doctorate from UNM in Special Education/Learning Disabilities in 1992. He was an Army Veteran who prior to coming to SDSU in 1993, worked as a public school teacher in special education for 17 years, working at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Dr. Valles had over 30 years of teaching experience in special education working as a classroom teacher and teacher trainer. He joined the faculty of the Department of Special Education in 1993, and accepted a permanent appointment in 1996. Dr. Valles worked as a Program Coordinator of the Bilingual Special Education teacher preparation program at SDSU from 1993-1998. He also served as Practicum Coordinator and Program Coordinator for the Mild/Moderate Intern Credential Program. He later served as Department Chair of the Special Education Department.

Dr. Valles was the consummate professional who was committed to his passion for teaching. He was an expert teacher who had a direct impact on the professional preparation of countless educators and dedicated his professional life to improving instructional practices that led to better outcomes for individuals with disabilities. He presented at many regional, state, national, and international professional conferences. His passion was preparing teachers to best serve students with disabilities, particularly students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In 2007, Dr. Valles collaborated with colleagues from the Department of Policy Studies in Language and Cross Cultural Education in writing and securing U.S. Department of Education grant funding for the ALAS program that resulted in the training of fully credentialed teachers in both bilingual and special education.

Dr. Valles loved life and his gentle and loving spirit touched all who had the pleasure of knowing him. He enjoyed sailing and gardening with his wife Gail, spending time with friends, and felt most at home at their New Mexico farm, No Cattle Company.

Dr. Valles is survived by his father, Manuel Pacheco Valles, age 97, sisters Emilia Morales, Maria Tovar, Teresa Delgado, and Victoria Mora-Valles and many, many nieces and nephews and his wife, Gail Moriarty, and her family.

A private service for Dr. Valles will be held at his farm in New Mexico. In addition, a celebration of his life will take place on SDSU's campus on:

Date: Wednesday, July 14th. 2010
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center
San Diego State University
55th Street and Hardy Avenue
San Diego, CA 92182
Parking available at no charge: Parking Structure 5
(adjacent to the Alumni Center; enter from 55th Street)

In lieu of flowers, the immediate family requests that contributions in Gene's memory be sent to:

Checks payable to: Campanile Foundation
Reference: Gene Valles Memorial Scholarship
The Campanile Foundation
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-8030

Or:

Donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
at http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org
or by calling (888) 773-9958

You may send notes of sympathy to Gene’s family to:

Contact Jose Luis Alvarado at alvarado@mail.sdsu.edu for more information.

The College extends its condolences to Dr. Valles' family during this difficult time.

Respectfully,


Ric A. Hovda
Professor and Dean
College of Education
San Diego State University

No comments:

Post a Comment