Studying Success: SDSU 'Lifer' James Marshall Receives COE’s Distinguished Faculty Award

James Marshall has had a long and winding career at San Diego State University, spanning multiple departments and programs over the course of two-plus decades. But through it all, his work has followed a single common thread.

“My passion, day in and day out, is understanding what makes a program successful,” says Marshall, now a professor and senior director of the PK-12 Ed.D program in the Department of Educational Leadership. 

“What makes a program result in learning? Ideally, what makes a program life changing?" 

Marshall’s excellence in the pursuit of programmatic excellence has earned him one of SDSU’s top awards for faculty excellence. He has been named the College of Education’s 2023 recipient of the Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Faculty Contributions.

For Marshall, who views himself as someone who works hard but generally keeps his head down, the honor came as something of a shock.

"I would say my initial reaction was disbelief, but now I feel honored,” said the triple alumnus of SDSU. “It's really nice to be recognized by peers who are looking at people across the university who stand out.”

An SDSU Lifer

A native San Diegan born just a few short miles from campus, Marshall dubs himself an SDSU “lifer.” He started at the university as an undergrad but dropped out amid difficult life circumstances. Eventually, after regaining his footing at a community college, he returned to Montezuma Mesa and earned his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies before pursuing his master’s in instructional systems design.

After graduate school, Marshall designed elementary reading and language arts learning programs for a local K-12 educational software company. Meanwhile, he started teaching and co-teaching courses at SDSU as a way of scouting promising master’s students.

Little did he know, it was also Marshall who was being recruited.

"Over time, I discovered I really enjoyed the mix of having one foot in the real world and another foot in the graduate college,” Marshall said. “And as I did more and more research, and publishing I said to myself, ‘You know what, this is a pretty good gig.’"

Marshall, who earned his doctorate in SDSU’s Joint Ph.D. Program with Claremont Graduate University, was a lecturer in the Department of Educational Technology (now Learning Design and Technology) for more than a decade before joining the tenure-track faculty in 2011. 

A crossroads came in 2014 when his department moved to the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts (PSFA). Marshall eventually chose to make a home in the Department of Educational Leadership instead of remaining with his LDT colleagues in PSFA.

“I'm pretty sure I’m the only faculty member at SDSU who has ever completed their probationary period in two colleges, three departments and eight different degree programs," he said with a laugh. “That has taught me persistence. It's also given me opportunities to look at my expertise and passions through different lenses." 

Keys to Success

Early in his career, Marshall’s research centered on student perceptions about online learning, which was then in its early stages. His work enabled program designers to more effectively meet the needs of learners. 

Now, he studies programs and initiatives in all modalities. Working with schools and other organizations — including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting —  his work informs the design and evaluation of learning programs.

So what makes a program successful?

"Careful attention to the people in it," he says, without hesitation. "So many times, programs are done to people rather than for and with them. One of the things we often fail to do in education is begin the design of any program without a deep dive to consult the people involved — not only the audience it's designed to teach, but the people who are going to be implementing and supporting the program at the organizational level.”

And what has made his own time in COE successful?

“The College of Education is a place that values relevant practitioner-focused graduate work,” he says. “We provide this bridge from theory to practice, and vice versa. That's the beauty of being in education. And, by applying what we know from theory into practice, we can create programs that have predictable and life-changing results. 

“The SDSU programs that produced me had that impact; I’m living proof. Now I spend my time doing the same for leaders across the state, who in turn, provide the same effective experiences for their colleagues and students.”