October 21, 2013 To Whom It May Concern: It is my privilege to write this letter of support for Dr. Carla Piper.

I have worked with Dr. Piper professionally for over eight years at the Modesto campus of Brandman University. Dr. Piper is a team player serving on the Education Team and Education Advisory Board. On the Education Advisory Board, Dr. Piper has served as Chairperson, Vice-chair and Secretary. Education Team meets 8 times during the academic year and Dr. Piper is an integral member of this team. Most recently, Dr. Piper assisted the Education Team in the planning (including the recruitment of workshop presenters) of Innovate Education 2013 (http://innovate-education.com/). In 2005 Dr. Piper and I served on the Early Childhood ad hoc committee to look at the need to write a BA in Early Childhood. In this ad hoc committee, Dr. Piper was a primary factor in the creation of the BA Liberal Studies emphasis Early Childhood Development (2006 catalog) and the stand-alone BA Early Childhood Development degree (2007 catalog). Dr. Piper and I became involved in CPIN (California Preschool Instructional Network) attending their regional training and expanding and promoting the Universitys new programs. During the evolution of the BA program Dr. Piper and I met with Modesto Junior College (MJC) where we fostered a partnership showing the local community college that we were a viable option for their transfer ECE students. Since 2005 we have served on the Modesto Junior College Child Development Advisory Committee and also have worked closely with the Stanislaus County Office of Education Child Family Services (SCOE). SCOE identified a need for their Child Development Supervisors to earn Masters degrees. This need was verified with CPIN as a state-wide need. In the 2008-2009 academic year, Dr. Piper and I co-authored the emphasis area in Leadership Early Childhood Education (LECE) for the MAE program (2009 catalog). Of our graduates, we currently, have an EdD candidate (BA ECD and MAE LECE) who is the Director of State Preschools for Amador County. Another LECE graduate is the Director of Child Development Programs for Ceres Unified. We also have a BA and an MA graduate who are adjunct early childhood professors for MJC. Dr. Piper was instrumental in the design of EDUU 321 Developing Childrens Cognitive Readiness in Literacy and the mentoring of adjunct faculty both onsite for the Modesto campus and the online campus. This course integrated brain development and balanced this with social emotional development of children. This class was an integral part of the BA ECD program which required to students to critically analyze and evaluate a classroom environment in light of literacy materials. This class also required fifteen hours of fieldwork in a preschool setting. In conclusion, I consider it an honor and a privilege to work alongside Dr. Carla Piper. I highly recommend Dr. Piper for promotion to Full Professor. Sincerely,

Caroline Dias
Caroline Dias, M.A. Assistant Director Advising & Retention Brandman University, part of the Chapman University system

Modesto Campus 5222 Pirrone Court Salida, CA 95368 209-545-1234 Fax: 209-545-0596 www.brandman.edu