The Larry and Barbara Efaw Center for Educator Excellence supports education students and alums in their development as excellent educators across the educator lifespan. The Efaw Center provides individualized attention, focused learning communities, and event programming for all education students. The Efaw Center acknowledges that barriers to academic success can be addressed by proactively offering a holistic approach to support services. Further, the Efaw Center embraces ISU values related to equity, diversity, inclusion, and access (EDIA) and is involved with promoting these campus and college initiatives in the center and through our collaborations. Efaw staff work collaboratively with faculty, staff, and students across campus who interact with education students.
Larry and Barbara Efaw Center for Educator Excellence
Undergraduate Student Support
Efaw Peer Mentor
Connect with a mentor to access campus resources, engage with a thought partner, address areas for professional learning outlined in a disposition concerns assessment, to get support around organization, time management, punctuality and attendance, conflict resolution, communication, and/or constructive criticism. Fill out the connection form to get matched with a peer mentor.
Workshops
The Efaw Center offers professional learning workshops for undergraduate education students on a variety of topics including content test preparation, stress management, and educator professionalism and leadership skill building. RSVP for workshops on RedBird Life.
Education Alumni Mentor Program
Designed for first-generation sophomore education students seeking leadership development, this mentorship program matches education students with educators working in the field. This program is open to all education students and all education program areas.
Upcoming Events
Events
Finals Prep and Destress Week! December 2-5th.
Featured Workshop: Nutrition Basics
Join us for an informative workshop with Gabrielle Gay from Health Promotion and Wellness (HPW), where she will cover essential nutrition tips and strategies for a healthier eating
.
Free healthy snacks will be provided!
Please check out and RSVP for all events on RedBird Life.
If you need an accommodation to fully participate in a program/event, please contact Dr. Becky Beucher, Director of the Efaw Center. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.
Campus Partners and Student Resources
The Efaw Family
Barbara ’59 and Larry Efaw ’56, M.S. ’59 supported Redbird educators for many years. In 2021, Barbara and her family generously gifted the College of Education $500,000 to establish the Larry and Barbara Efaw Center for Educator Excellence.
Barbara and Larry met at ISU and were both active students while on campus. Passionate about literacy, education, and family, Barbara became an elementary educator, mother, and grandmother and Larry, a father and grandfather, served as the Executive Director for the Library Book Selection Service in Bloomington, Illinois. The Efaws credit their experiences at Illinois State for their success in education.