Education professor to transfer to psychology department

After serving five years as an assistant professor in the education department, one Augustana educator plans to transition to a new role. 

Starting in fall 2024, Celeste Uthe-Burow will transfer to Augustana’s psychology department, where she will be a professor and program director of the Master of Arts in Counseling program.

“Dr. Uthe-Burow is someone who has shown that she can thrive and work well with others in many different settings, as can be seen in her very successful career in teaching and elementary school administration even before coming to Augustana,” Anne Zell, psychology department chair and professor, said. “We are thrilled to have her.”

An Augustana alumna, Uthe-Burow graduated with a degree in education in 1985. It was teaching that started her transition into the field of psychology and counseling.

“I taught in a very low-income school, and Augie had done a fabulous job of teaching me how to be a teacher, but I felt that I didn't have the background that could relate necessarily to some of the homes that the kids were coming from,” Uthe-Burow said. “I came from a very loving home and a lot of them unfortunately had a lot of challenges. There was poverty. There was abuse in many of the homes, and I didn't quite know what to even say to them.”

Uthe-Burow decided to remedy that disconnect by enrolling in a graduate program in counseling at South Dakota State University. 

After graduation in 1990, Uthe-Burow started working as an intern for Lutheran Social Services, where she was later hired to run a satellite office in Mitchell. Just about every Saturday for two years, Uthe-Burow would travel to a church, where she provided counseling services to families and individuals. 

Uthe-Burow also had another part-time job working as a counselor in addition to her work with Lutheran Social Services; however, she said she encountered a bit of a dilemma regarding her career: She was, first and foremost, a teacher, and she didn’t want to leave teaching behind.

“I loved both, and I thought, ‘Well, I have to combine these somehow,’” Uthe-Burow said. “So I applied for a sabbatical leave and went for my doctoral degree at the University of South Dakota in counseling, psychology and education. It combined those two things with an emphasis on counselor education.” 

During her doctoral studies at USD, Uthe-Burow said a professor who knew her from her time at SDSU convinced her to also pursue a degree in administration. When Uthe-Burow returned to the Sioux Falls School District in 1998, she was hired as a part-time assistant principal at Oscar Howe Elementary School and then as a full-time assistant principal at Cleveland Elementary School. 

“I applied for a principal job around then and got that, so I was an administrator in an elementary school for two different elementary schools for about 13 years,” Uthe-Burow said.

Uthe-Burow took a break from her counseling career after having children, but she said she always knew she wanted to return.

“I always kept up my credentialing, did [Continuing Education Units], and knew that I wanted to get back to that at some point. So, I took early retirement from the school district,” Uthe-Burow said. 

Uthe-Burow said she always wanted to teach at the college and university level, and when Augustana had an opening for a part-time professor in the Master of Arts in Education program in 2016, she was more than delighted to apply. 

This semester, Uthe-Burow is teaching “Educational Psychology,” “Adolescent Development” and “Life-Span Human Development.” 

Uthe-Burow’s love for teaching and her students is reflected in the way joy crinkles the corners of her eyes into a brightening smile when she talks about them.

“I think that the students keep me young. They keep me on my toes,” Uthe-Burow said. “They keep me creative. I love it, and I love seeing that excitement, and the talent is incredible here. It's just fun to see that and watch them just perform and change the world.”

Many of her students reciprocate the appreciation she has for them.

“We will miss her dearly in the ed department and seeing her in our classrooms, but we know she will still be around to guide us if needed,” junior Julia Lee, an elementary education major, said.

Junior Nick Becker, an elementary education major, said Uthe-Burow is a great teacher. 

“She actively facilitates meaningful conversations in class, genuinely cares for student's success and is therefore accommodating and knows how to synthesize information in a relevant way,” Becker said.

Uthe-Burow said her transition to the psychology department has felt like the “right thing to do.” 

 “It was a fit, and I feel like the Circle of Courage is all met,” Uthe-Burow said. “I'm able to be generous in this way: mastery, belonging and helping people.”

The Circle of Courage, a Native American concept widely used in education departments all over the United States, is based in four universal growth needs of all children: belonging, mastery, independence and generosity. Uthe-Burow said she intends to bring this concept with her as she transitions to a new department.

“I don't think that the Circle of Courage has really been brought to the field of psychology,” Sharon Andrews, associate professor and program director of teacher education, said. “Dr. Uthe-Burow presented about that during her interview, and I just thought that was really exciting and interesting because it brings up a lot of research opportunities, involving students as well as her colleagues.”