The Larry and Barbara Efaw Center for Educator Excellence supports teacher education students and alums in their development as excellent educators across the educator lifespan. The Efaw Center provides individualized attention, focused learning communities, and special event programming for all teacher 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, and inclusion (EDI) 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 teacher education students.
The Efaw Center will be under construction so our physical location is closed. We are offering online services for content test preparation and mentoring to connect with campus resources.
In order to connect with the Efaw Center to access services, the Efaw Center Connection Form must be completed by faculty, staff, or students.
You should expect to receive an email response in 2-3 days. If you are experiencing a crisis click this link to view Student Counseling Services "What to do in a Crisis" information.
The following services are available to students:
We offer online tutorials, practice test vouchers, learning communities, and one: one support. Please complete the Efaw Center Connection Form to learn how you can access these resources.
Note: all students are eligible for one voucher to take the practice test for free after you have completed Efaw Center preparation prerequisite tutorials that will assist you in your preparation.
We offer case management, campus resource referral, and follow-up meetings. Please complete the form above to get connected with an Efaw Peer Mentor.
As a graduate student, you can make an appointment for yourself with one of the writing fellows. Please click the Efaw Connection Form above to schedule an appointment with a Writing Fellow and access Efaw Center Peer Mentor services. Writing appointments are available throughout the semester; we hold evening and weekend hours. Our internationally and linguistically diverse cohort of writing fellows have a broad range of writing, editing, presentation, and publication experience that they are delighted to share with their peers.
Location: (online) and Milner Library, in the study pods on the east side of Floor 5. Please stop by the front desk at Milner to ask for the location of the writing fellows!
The writing fellows can support you with:
Coming Fall 2023!
Career Services
Center for Civic Engagement
Dean of Students
Department of Educational Administration and Foundations
Department of Psychology
Graduate School
Health, Wellness and Promotion
Honors College
Milner Library
National Center for Urban Education
Office of Financial Aid
Office of International Engagement
Student Access and Accommodations
Student Counseling Services
Study Abroad
School of Teaching and Learning
Special Education Department
University College
Visor Center
Dr. Becky Beucher, Director:
rlbeuch@ilstu.edu | 309-438-2041 | DeGarmo 341
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.