Dean's Message
Greetings, and welcome to the fall 2026 semester.
The James R. Watson and Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education continues to transform the landscape for teaching and learning in the Inland Empire region and beyond. Our college continues to model best practices in leveraging community partnerships to build a solid educational workforce, streamlining pathways to credential and degree attainment, and significantly increasing and diversifying the teaching workforce in the entire region. For the 2025/2026 academic year, we awarded 26 Doctorate in Educational Leadership degrees, 279 master’s and advanced degrees in Education, STEM Education, Educational Administration, Special Education, Rehabilitation Counseling, School Psychology, TESOL, Instructional Design and Technology, Counseling, and recommended more than 700 credentials in various educational fields: Administrative Services, Education Specialist, Designated Subjects (Career Technical Education), School Counseling PPS, Clinical Counseling PPS, School Pyschology PPS, Single Subject, and Multiple Subject, Bilingual Added Authorization, and Adapted PE Added Authorization. The high point of the academic year 2025/2026 was the reaccreditation of our credentialing programs by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to our College following a rigorous offsite and onsite visit that concluded in April 2026.
Our college enters this new academic year optimistic about the future of the college and the prospects of increasing regional and national impact through our exceptional graduates and alumni. Guided by the outcomes from our recent re-accreditation journey, our theme for this year is High Impact Excellence: Evidence. Discussions. Action.
Watson College of Education will continue to embark on bold and ambitious projects to increase the education workforce by producing more high impact teachers, counselors, school psychologists, and educational administrators to address the persistent educator shortage in the region. Our premier workforce diversification program, Project Impact, is in its 7th year. It has touched more than 250 minority males who have entered the teaching workforce or are preparing to enter. The Project Impact program has been featured on PBS and Telemundo as an exemplary program in education workforce development.
The college’s enrollment numbers for this new academic year are at all-time high. Faculty research and productivity continue to grow exponentially, attracting significant grant money even during these challenging times for research and higher education. Our grant sponsored California State Re-entry Initiative (CSRI) continues to transform the community as previously incarnated people who go through our program continue to transform their lives and families through meaningful re-integration into the workforce and community life. Our University Center for Developmental Disabilities (UCDD) currently serves more than 60 Pk-12 students with a diverse range of disabilities and support needs. The Watson & Associates Literacy Center (WALC) has not only increased their enrolment but have extended their impact by extending their services to various area elementary school sites.
We are gearing up for the 15th Annual Latino Education and Advocacy Days (LEAD Summit) coming up Friday October 16, 2026. This year’s theme is, "15ñera for Justice: Divina Juventud: From Innocence to Resistance.". The Watson Colleges’ Educational Leadership Summit (ELS) for this year is scheduled for November 17, 2026. This summit brings together state and regional educational leaders, PK-12 teachers and administrators, as well as higher education leaders and professors to discuss pressing issues facing education in the region. Our theme for this year is Education Workforce Development: Building Partnership for California’s Future.
Our commitment as a college of education remains to be the premier producer of educators for this region. Our target is to continue to produce the leading educators and educational leaders for the region’s K-12 educational settings, as well as the community colleges.
I am excited about this new academic year and the opportunities we have to continue to help shape the educational and professional landscape of the Inland Empire and the Southern California region.
Chinaka S. DomNwachukwu, Ph.D.
Professor & Dean
