John Kornfeld, Associate Vice-President for Undergraduate Studies
John Kornfeld is Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies at Sonoma State University. He received his A.B. degree in English from Princeton University, his M.A. in Education from Sonoma State, and his Ph.D. in Education from Indiana University. Prior to coming to SSU, he taught in elementary, middle, and high schools for 16 years. In 1995 he joined the faculty in SSU’s School of Education, where he taught courses in secondary education and the M.A. program. His research interests include curriculum theory, children’s literature, and the politics of education. He likes to explore the ways that social, political, and institutional norms affect schools and the experience of students and teachers in the classroom. Dr. Kornfeld has published articles and book chapters with his wife, his daughter, his son’s first grade teacher, and several SSU colleagues; he is currently writing (by himself) a book about teaching. In 2006 he received Sonoma State University’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Dr. Kornfeld used to do a lot of construction and home improvement projects (in fact, he built his house and designed and installed its water system); but he doesn’t have the time to do much of that any more. He spends as much time as he can with his wife and three grown children and their spouses. They like to camp and hike. Every summer they spend a week in the Sierras and, when time permits, he and his wife travel for a week or two somewhere outside California. In fact, he has visited every state but Alaska. That state is next on his list.