Dr. Cindy Ratekin Scholarship

• Major: Child Development
• Undergraduate
  The intent of the scholarship is to support promising child development students toward completing their educations and becoming skilled professionals in their field.

Cindy Ratekin was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1970, she graduated from Katella High School in Anaheim, California and later received her associate of arts degree in early childhood education and her bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Pacific Christian College. She then moved to San Diego to direct her first preschool while attending San Diego State, where she received her Master’s degree. After relocating to the Los Angeles area, Cindy directed the early childhood special education program at Easter Seals from 1978 to 1982. She earned her Ph.D. at UCLA in 1990 in education psychology. Cindy married Gary Bess, a social worker, in April 1986. The family relocated to Chico, CA in 1991 as director of the Child Development Lab at Chico State and maintained her position until spring 2002.
BSS-CHLD