Mar Vista Resident Wins Outstanding Professor Award

Local Mar Vista resident Sharon Ulanoff was honored along with five others earlier this month as an outstanding professor at California State University Los Angeles for her work in bilingual/multicultural and literacy education.

According to a release by CSULA, the annual Outstanding Professor Awards recognize “excellence in teaching and cite significant achievements in scholarly inquiry or creativity, professional activities and service to the campus and community.”

Ulanoff is associate director of the Cal State Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership and also teaches in the M.A. in Education, Option in Reading Program, at Cal State L.A. She has a slew of credits to her name, including publishing numerous peer-review articles in a variety of publications. Her recent publications address professional development, second-language teaching (she speaks fluent Spanish), and effective second-language literacy practices. She also a co-authored book entitled Differentiated Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners, which was published in 2009.

In addition, Ulanoff is chair of the Special Interest Group Executive Committee of the American Educational Research Association, and was recently appointed to the editorial board of the Bilingual Research Journal. At CSULA she served on the Institution Review Board, the Senate Executive Committee, Faculty Policy Committee and the Semester Conversion Committee.
Ulanoff spoke with Patch about receiving the award, which also includes at $1500 prize. 

Mar Vista Patch: How did you feel when you heard you had won an Outstanding Professor Award?

Sharon Ulanoff: Actually, I knew I had been nominated back in June. I was nominated by three of my colleagues and one of my students, but I was completely overwhelmed when I learned I had won. I just sat here on my couch and stared at the letter. It’s an overwhelming and humbling experience.

Patch: What was the official ceremony like?

Ulanoff: It was the last event of our fall faculty day on Oct. 4. We were all asked to put together our personal information and then they spent five minutes on stage reading about all our accomplishments. We had our official portraits taken and then we came up on stage and received a plaque and $1500.  It was so thrilling. My sister came from Connecticut for the ceremony.

Patch: What does this award mean to you?

Ulanoff: Professionally, it’s incredible. It means my colleagues and students considered me worthy of being an outstanding professor. Recognition by my peers as a professor is the greatest honor I can receive. I can’t even explain the feeling. I’m very excited. I never really anticipated winning. I’ve been [at Cal State] for 10 years. I’m a former elementary school teacher. I’ve been teaching for 32 years. This is amazing.

Patch: You’re a Mar Vista resident. How long have you lived here?

Ulanoff: I’ve lived in Mar Vista for 11 years. I actually moved here from down the road in West Los Angeles. I’ve lived on the Westside for 27 years.

Patch: What do you like about living in Mar Vista?

Ulanoff: I love my house here at the top of the Mar Vista hill. On a clear day I can see the Hollywood sign and the fireworks from Dodger Stadium. I also love the community feeling here. I can walk around here and feel safe. I often see lots of other people out walking, too. I used to live in a condo in West L.A. There’s a lot less density here. For a while I didn’t even know this part of town existed. Mar Vista has a kind of cozy feel about it and I have wonderful neighbors. I’ve been really happy living here.

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