Texas might, if you believe Texans, have the biggest and best of everything, but, as of July 1, 2002, Champaign, Illinois has at least one thing they don't: Arthur Culver. Culver was chosen as the new Champaign schools superintendent after a national search. Culver leaves Longview, Texas, a city about 120 miles south of Dallas.

As superintendent in Longview, a city with a number of similarities to Champaign, Culver developed a reputation for improving academic performance of his student population. During his three years, the number of elementary schools recognized by Texas for academic excellence improved from four to nine. He also brings a record of working in partnership with university education departments to solve problems and to develop innovative methods to improve participation, performance and achievement.

Culver has mentioned the resources of the College of Education and of the University several times in interviews since his selection. The College and the Council on Teacher Education already have a long-standing relationship with the Champaign schools, placing more than 500 student teachers in Champaign each year and numerous faculty and graduate students have on-going research projects involving many of the schools. However, expanding this partnership is something Susan Fowler, Dean of the College would like to see.

 Fowler says, "So much of our work, whether preparing teachers at the undergraduate level, or teaching graduate students, is based on the idea of helping Illinois students learn. And to be able to work closely with a school system with the size, resources and talent we find in Champaign, right in our backyard, that's really just a tremendous opportunity. We've had a great relationship with the Champaign schools for years and now we're looking very forward to meeting with Dr. Culver and his staff to see where we can go from here."

Culver began his career as a teacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He completed his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies from the University of Houston this past spring.