Tina Hansen McEnroe

Honorary Degrees
 
 

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San Luis Obispo

Tina Hansen McEnroe is a visionary leader and creative innovator in elementary and middle school education locally, statewide and nationally.  As a passionate Education Specialist, she has dedicated her life to helping children.  Her unique curriculums have been published by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (CFAITC) and are in use throughout the State.

Born to a 4th generation John Steinbeck country farming family, Tina won the title of Miss California Rodeo before studying at University of Southern California, where she earned a degree in education.  After receiving a Master’s from University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), she earned her final credentials in special education from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) while teaching in local public schools. Simultaneously, she created a successful and enduring after school program for under-privileged students and their parents in English as a Second Language, Special Education, and Reading.

From little more than a pile of dilapidated boards, Tina has authentically refurbished the oldest (1869) one-room schoolhouse in Santa Barbara County.  Classes of children from throughout the area visit each week to benefit from her voluntary and renowned 1890- style lessons in the Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse.

Tina’s background in agriculture is embodied in her recent viticulture curriculum, developed in partnership with Cal Poly and conducted in the teaching vineyard adjacent to the schoolhouse.  She is currently collaborating with Cal Poly to create a campus based reading lab for challenged learners, as well as a Strawberry Sustainability Research and Education Center on her Monterey County ranch.  Tina has also placed perpetual conservation easements on her ranches.

Her outstanding accomplishments in agricultural education have led to recognition as the “Outstanding Educator of the Year” by the CFAITC, by the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau, and nationally by the United States Department of Agriculture.  She has been given an Outstanding Educator award by Santa Barbara County, named Woman of the Year by the Junior League, and received the Distinguished Community Service Award from the Anti-Defamation League. Tina was also recognized as a Distinguished Alumna by the Santa Catalina School in Monterey and by Cal Poly’s School of Education.

She and her husband, Paul V. McEnroe, founded the McEnroe Reading and Language Arts Clinic at UCSB, where she volunteers as the associate director and master teacher.  Tina serves on several advisory boards, fulfilling her commitment to community.

Their working Rancho La Purisima is home to herds of cattle and horses, and frequented by their five children and four grandchildren.

In recognition of her dedication to excellence in education and commitment to community, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo are proud to confer upon Christina “Tina” Hansen McEnroe the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.​