USD Magazine Summer 2015

TORERO  NEWS

Fearless outgoing SOLES Dean Paula Cordeiro jumped from a plane in 2012, along with a member of the U.S. Army’s Parachute Team’s Golden Knights Squad.

SOLES Dean Paula Cordeiro is moving on to the next chapter [ p u r p o s e f u l ] DREAM WEAVER

those important conversations can take place.” SOLES’ expansion of pro- grams, cutting-edge research and overall credibility is some- thing to savor. But Cordeiro, who announced her decision to step down as dean last May, is confident about her decision to move on to the next chapter. On April 1, 2015, it was announced that she will become a Dammeyer Distinguished Pro- fessor of Global Leadership and Education. She will be working with the nonprofit organization Edify, whose mission is to improve and to expand sustain- able, affordable education in the developing world. Cordeiro and her SOLES faculty and students have been working with Edify on various projects for years. In this new role, she will con- tinue to work with SOLES stu- dents and other USD students and faculty. “SOLES, the School of Peace, the business school and the International Center, among others, are doing great work around the world. My goal is to connect all the dots.” Cordeiro will also be working to provide microloans to schools, overseeing Edify staff around the globe, and providing training for school leaders. “I truly believe that education can allow people to achieve their dreams,” she says emphatically. But Cordeiro hasn’t left the building yet. She’s mentoring

COURTESY OF U.S. ARMY PARACHUTE TEAM

by Melissa Olesen

T

he hallways of the School of Leadership and Educa- tion Sciences will never

and incorporating the word “lead- ership” into the title of what was previously known as the School of Education. “This building gives us a sense of place,” she explains. “It tells the community that USD values the work being done in this school.” During her time at the helm, Cordeiro has helped SOLES to establish its identity, to grow and to become a true Change- maker in the community. In March, she and her team hosted a Jeffersonian dinner —

a time-honored tradition of connecting people and promot- ing causes through a structured evening of fine dining and top- ic-specific conversation — for members of the San Diego community. “People want to have Jeffer- sonian conversations. Intellectual, polite, but challenging,” Cor- deiro says. “One person talking at a time, with others listening. Facilitated conversations around topics that are important to them. SOLES has become a place where

be quite the same after Paula Cordeiro steps down as dean on June 30, 2015. Her vision has left an indelible mark on the school that’s been her passion for the past 17 years. Cordeiro’s reach as SOLES dean has been helped by two dramatic developments that both occurred in 2007 —moving into a stun- ning, new 80,000-square foot building, Mother Rosalie Hill Hall,

8 USD MAGAZINE