Elizabeth Lynn Diffendal, Ph.D.
Emeritus Member of the Faculty
The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA 98505
diffendb@evergreen.edu
Educational Background
PhD The Union Graduate School, Cincinnati, Ohio
Applied Anthropology, 1986
M.A. with honors, University of California, Los Angeles
Cultural Anthropology, 1968
B.A. cum laude, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Sociology/Anthropology, 1965
Antioch College, Yellow Springs,
Social Sciences 1962-63
Special interest areas include the impact of cultural diversity on organizations; cultural
issues in schools; cross-cultural perspectives on human health and behavior.
Academic Awards and Grants
Phi Beta Kappa
NDEA Title IV Graduate Fellowship, UCLA, 1966
Ford Foundation Field Training Grant in ethnography, Aniak, Alaska, 1967
Ford Foundation Field Training Grant in archaeology, Mussidan, France, 1968
Evergreen Summer Fulbright Study Tour, Women in Education and the Economy,
India, 1991
Professional Affiliations
Fellow of the International Society for Applied Anthropology
American Anthropological Association
National Association for the Education of Young Children
American Association of Higher Education
Professional Experience
Member of the Faculty in Anthropology, The Evergreen State College,
Olympia, WA 1975-2005; Post-Retirement Contract, 2006-present
Faculty member teaching with interdisciplinary, multi-ethnic faculty teams in
both undergraduate and graduate “learning communities”. Responsibilities
include lecturing, seminar leadership, collaborative curriculum design, individual
student learning contracts, internship field supervision
and narrative evaluation of students and faculty peers.
Teaching areas include Introduction to Anthropology, Cross-Cultural Perspectives
on Aging, Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Human Development, American
Immigration History, Cultural Cycles of the Pacific Northwest Native
Populations, Anthropology of Religion, Cultural Ecology, Culture Change,
Medical Anthropology, Qualitative Research Methods, Social Construction of
Knowledge, Issues in Human Development, Health and Human Development,
Culture in the Classroom, faculty and field supervisor in the interdisciplinary
Master in Teaching Program.
Special responsibilities have included serving on statewide program evaluation
teams; program planning and consultation with community college faculty
designing learning communities; coordinating inter-institutional educational
programs as a consultant with the Washington Center for the Improvement of
Undergraduate Education; acting as Principal Investigator for a Pew Charitable
Trust grant to enhance student diversity in Evergreen’s Master in Teaching
Program.
Exchange Faculty, University of Hawaii, Hilo – 1987-88. Taught in a yearlong, team-taught learning community with a focus on native Hawaiian issues –
Ho’o ulu mau: To Grow Continually. Provided technical assistance to Hawaii
Community College campuses on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii in the
development of interdisciplinary, learning communities.
Academic Dean. The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA 1981-1985.
Fully responsible for curriculum and budget planning and supervision of the
college’s weekend and evening programs; Prior Learning from Experience
program and self-supporting summer session. Annual evaluative responsibility
for one-fourth of the college’s full time faculty and all adjunct faculty. General
institutional policy planning and management responsibilities, including the
development of special self-supporting academic offerings and inter-institutional
arrangements.
Branch Office Manager, Project Manager, Senior Analyst. UNCO, Inc.,
Washington, D.C. and Tacoma, WA
Social science consulting firm contracting with state and federal government –
1972-75. Examples of projects and roles: Senior Analyst on Federal regional
study of the quality of federally funded child care. Major responsibility for study
design, instruments, preparation of data for computer, analysis and report writing.
Project Manager and author of regional study of Day Care for School-Aged
Children.
Senior Planner, Puget Sound Council of Governments, Seattle, WA 1972-73
Senior Analyst, Special Research Coordinator, Volt Information Sciences, Inc.
Washington, D.C., 1970-1971.
Responsible for instrument design and field work on major Office of Economic
Opportunity funded evaluation of Rural Resource Mobilization Programs
throughout the country. Assisted Project Director on reorganization study of ten
Federal regional offices of the Office of Child Development and Head Start.
Evaluation Specialist, Seattle-King County Economic Opportunity Board,
Seattle, WA 1968-70
Evaluated manpower development and training projects, community advocacy
grants, tutoring and child care programs. Participated in the development of a
computerized management information system. Supervised three staff members.
Consultant Contracts
From 1968 until the present I have acted as a consultant to the following
organizations and projects:
Tacoma Public Schools, Office of Bilingual Education
Evaluation of Tacoma School District’s Transitional Bilingual Education
Programs
including the Bilingual Preschool, Newcomer Center, Migrant Program.
1986,87,88,89.
U.S. Department of the Army and Joint Services Child Care
Subcommittee. Consultant in the design of a national training plan for
military child care program administration, child development and early
childhood programs. Trained military child care center directors in the
U.S. and Europe. Project Director on evaluation of pilot projects for the
Joint Services Family Day Care Project. 1978, 79, 80.
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child
Development. Consultant to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska on
procedures for improving compliance with Federal Day Care
Requirements.
National Urban Coalition, Washington, D.C. Evaluated grants to local
Coalitions – including increasing minority participation in media and
increasing job placement services available to minorities.
Stanford Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA. Consultant on instrument
design for national evaluation of Income Maintenance Experiment.
UNCO, Inc. Consultant on instrument design for National Day Care
Consumer Study, Office of Child Development, Washington, DC.
ACTION, U.S. Government Domestic Operations. Washington, D.C.
Responsible for providing advice and guidance in the development,
collection and dissemination of management information on VISTA,
Foster Grandparents and Senior Volunteer programs.
Publications
Vavrus, Walton, Kido, Diffendal, King, “Weaving the Web of
Democracy: Confronting Conflicting Expectations for Teachers and
Schools” (1999), Journal of Teacher Education, 50(2): 119-130.
Day Care for School Aged Children. National Day Care and Child
Development Council. Washington, D.C. 1974.
Significant Differences: an Ethnographic Study of Women and Minority
Faculty in the Development of an Innovative Liberal Arts College. Ph.D.
Dissertation, The Union Graduate School. University Microfilms,
September, 1986.
Contract Reports:
Final Performance Report: Newcomer Center Program. 1986-87; 198788; 1988-89; 1989-90. Tacoma Public Schools, Office of Bilingual
Education.
Final Performance Report: Pilot Bilingual Preschool Program, 1987-88.
Tacoma Public Schools, Office of Bilingual Education.
Final Performance Report: Transitional Bilingual Education Program,
1988-89. Tacoma Public Schools, Office of Bilingual Education.
Final Performance Report: Chapter1 Migrant Education Program. 198889. Tacoma Public Schools Office of Bilingual Education.
Family Day Care on Military Installations: Current Issues. U.S.
Department of Defense. 1981.
Designing Child Care Options for Military Installations. U.S. Department
of Defense. 1981/
Scavo, Riewald and Diffendal. Creating Healthy Environments for
Children Series.
Five separate handbooks for training military child care providers. U.S.
Department of Defense. Published by U.S. Government Printing Office.
1980.
Scavo and Diffendal. Child Care Administration Series. Five handbooks.
U.S. Department of Defense. Published by U.S. Government Printing
Office. 1980.
Scavo, Liddell, Lake and Diffendal. The Caring Role in a Child Care
Center Series.
Six handbooks. U.S. Department of Defense. Published by U.S.
Government Printing Office. 1980.
Assessing Needs for Human Services: an Introduction for DecisionMakers. King County, Washington. 1975.
An Evaluation of Federally Funded Child Care in Region X. DHEW,
Office of Child Development. Volumes 2 and 3. 1973.
Selected Presentations/ Speeches
“Weaving the Web of Democracy: Teacher Education: Confronting
Conflicting Expectations for Teachers and Schools” presented at the
annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher
Education. Feb.25, 1998. New Orleans, LA.
“The Many Faces of Portfolios: Student Self-Assessment, Demonstrations
of Learning and External Accountability.” Washington State Higher
Education Assessment Conference. May, 1998.
“The Risks, Discoveries and Empowerment of Engaging in Team
Teaching”. Panelist, 1987 Conference, American Association of Higher
Education, Chicago, Ill., Feb. 1987.
“My Mother is the last “Traditional Learner” that I know” Keynote
Address, Annual Conference of College and Research Librarians, Walla
Walla, WA, May, 1986.
“Applying Anthropology to Higher Education Administration.” Paper
presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Society for Applied
Anthropology, Reno, NV, April, 1985.
Community Organizations
Past President and Member, Board of Directors
First Place for Children, Tacoma, WA