With more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, teacher-educator, scholar and higher education administrator, Dr Shireen Pavri will, effective June 6, 2022, officiate as the California State University’s (CSU) assistant vice chancellor — educator and leadership programs. "The California State University system is made up of 23 different universities across the state,” Pavri informed Parsiana. "We are thrilled that Dr Pavri has chosen to apply her considerable expertise and leadership skills to advancing equity, opportunity and high quality education for students across California,” noted a write-up in the April 2022 newsletter of the Zoroastrian Association of California (ZAC).
"My academic qualifications and prior work experience [13 years as an academic administrator — associate dean and dean in the College of Education at CSU, Long Beach (CSULB)] — have prepared me for this position,” stated Pavri when responding to queries from Parsiana. "A job announcement was widely distributed nationwide following which the search committee screened and interviewed applicants. I was selected as the top finalist,” she added. According to the University’s organizational chart, Pavri as also the second assistant vice chancellor Ganesh Raman who is in charge of research will report to the executive vice chancellor Sylvia Alva.
After pursuing her MEd in Special Education from Bombay’s S. N. D. T. Women’s University in 1992, she started her career as a cross-categorical (where a qualified educator can simultaneously help students with different need levels) and multilingual special education teacher in the city where she taught children and adolescents with mild/moderate learning disabilities and provided remedial and consultation services to students and their families. Proceeding to the US as an international student, she completed her Masters in School Psychology followed by an Education Specialist degree from the Miami University and a PhD in Special Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
She has served as principal investigator on multiple federal, state and foundation grants. Among the prestigious assignments where she has played the lead are a $ 2.75 million (Rs 2,132 lakh) project by the US Department of Education; $ 1.2 million (Rs 930 lakh) Next Generation of Educators Initiative; $ 180,000 (Rs 139.5 lakh) math science teacher initiative promoted by the CSU Chancellors Office; three million dollar (Rs 2,326 lakh) National Science Foundation’s program on Person Centered Technologies and Practices for Individuals with Disabilities.
Passionate about promoting excellence and equity for all students, over the years she has coordinated different courses including the Master of Science program in Special Education at CSULB and started the interdisciplinary graduate certificate program in Applied Disability Studies, according to the University website. Presently though she will not be teaching as her new role as assistant vice chancellor is "a full-time administrator position,” Pavri clarified.
Over the years Pavri has been invited to work on different advisory and research committees and was chair of the executive committee of the CSU Education Deans. Additionally, she has published and presented widely in her area of expertise and has served on the editorial board or as contributor/reviewer of several publications and journals connected with experimental educational psychology, disability and development.
While she may not be involved in the activities of the ZAC, Pavri maintains, "The Zoroastrian tenets of good thoughts, words and deeds have always guided my personal and professional life.” Married to Abhijeet Chavan, a technology consultant, the couple has a son Rahul who is studying biomedical engineering at the University of California San Diego, and daughter Meera who is a senior at high school.