Helen Chase Botnarescue, 1949
B.A., Denison University
M.A., University of Alabama
Ph.D., University of Alabama
Citation awarded June, 1999
Helen Chase Botnarescue has devoted a distinguished professional career to early childhood education, a field in which she continues to be active, despite official retirement. She holds the M.A. in Counseling and Guidance, and the Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, both degrees from the University of Alabama.
Having begun her teaching career in the Granville Village School District and later in the City Schools of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Helen joined the Department of Teacher Education at California State University, Hawyward in 1968. She retired twenty-seven years later as full Professor of Education, having taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her special interest are in the interrelationships among various aspects of child development, such as social, emotional, and cognitive, and how family and community factors can influence development.
Much of Helen’s extensive volunteer service focuses on her church, Redeemer Lutheran Church in Redwood City. She is Secretary of the Board of Directors, and serves on several committees, in addition to assisting the Director the church’s Child Development Center on various projects. Since her retirement, Helen has pursued international service interests, teaching in Taipei and volunteering in 1997 as a teaching missionary for her church in Vietnam.
A member of numerous professional organizations, Helen also continues both public speaking and writing. She and a colleague are currently in the process of preparing the fourth edition of their textbook, Student Teaching: Early Childhood Practicum Guide.
The parent of five grown children, Helen is also the proud grandmother of ten grandchildren.
