PULLMAN, Wash. — Johnny D. Jones has been named director of student recruitment and retention at the Washington State University College of Education. He inherits the state’s most successful program to recruit minority educators, Future Teachers of Color, and plans to expand the program to serve more students and include graduate students.
A three-day FTOC recruitment event will be held in February on the Pullman campus for high school seniors or community college students of color considering teaching as a career. Those interested in attending the conference can contact Jones at 509/335-4864, jdjones@wsu.edu or P.O. Box 642114, Pullman, WA 99164-2114.
Since the recruitment program was established in 1994, more than 100 students of color have enrolled in the College of Education. Seventeen FTOC students have graduated and become teachers, helping bridge the huge gap between the percentage of minority teachers in Washington (6%) and the percentage of minority K-12 students in the state (24%).
Jones replaces Milton Lang, who has become special assistant to WSU President V. Lane Rawlins.
Jones, born in Hattiesburg, Miss., graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1996 from Mississippi Valley State University and a master’s degree in education in 1998 from Springfield College in Massachusetts.
While at Springfield College, Jones served as an adviser and recruiter for its Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
“I learned the value of being a role model and mentor to these students,” Jones said. “I learned that I was able to help students make the transition to college life. I did everything in my power to help my students walk across that stage and get their degree.”
