College Honors Six With Distinguished Alumni Awards
The College of Education at the University of Georgia honored six graduates for their career achievement and community leadership with distinguished alumni awards at its annual Spring Celebration held April 28 at the Georgia Center.
Crystal Apple Awards
Kimberly S. Halstead, principal at Tucker Elementary School and Michael R. Gwatney, principal of East Fannin Elementary School, received Crystal Apple awards, an honor given to alumni in K-12 education who have made a significant impact on student, school or school district performance.
Halstead (Ed.S. '97, Ed.D. '02), of Perry, was honored for her significant contribution to enhancing educational opportunities for children and promoting the growth and development of teachers who work with students of poverty.
Under the direction of Halstead, Tucker Elementary was removed from the state's “need improvement list” and now has students consistently scoring in the 90th percentile or above in language arts, reading and mathematics since the 2002-03 school year. Both Halstead and the work of her school have been showcased nationally. Halstead was also recently recognized as one of Houston County 's top 10 leaders under the age of 40 by Houston County Magazine. She worked as an elementary, middle school and high school teacher and instructional coordinator before becoming a principal.
Gwatney (M.Ed.'98, Ed.S.'00, Ed.D.'03), of McCaysville, taught fifth- and eighth-grade classes and was an assistant principal before being named principal in 2004. While receiving three graduate degrees at UGA, Gwatney maintained a 4.0 GPA and as part of his scholastic honors, was admitted into UGA's chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.
In 2003, Gwatney worked to make corrections to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.). As a result of his report and recommendations, Georgia House Bill 1225 was created to clarify and fine-tune the existing school safety zone law, O.C.G.A. 16-11-127.1, which was developed in the mid-1990s and established 1,000-foot “weapon-free and violence-free school safety zones.”
Professional Achievement Award
Damon M. Evans, Director of Athletics at UGA, received the Professional Achievement Award, an honor given to alumni for distinguished service in the diverse fields of academia, healthcare, business or government.
Evans (B.A.'92, M.Ed.'94) of Athens, became one of the youngest athletic directors in the nation when he was named to the post in 2004. During his time at UGA, Evans has developed a distinguished record of success by maximizing revenue, regulatory compliance and national prestige for the university.
A former UGA football player, Evans served as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Internal Affairs from 2000-04. He was named one of the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports,” by Sports Illustrated magazine in 2003.
Evans also serves on the Children's Health Care Network Board, the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the United Way of Northeast Georgia Board and the Terry College of Business Alumni Board.
Alumni Service Award
Sylvia M. Hutchinson, professor emerita of Higher Education and Reading Education, received the Alumni Service Award, given to an alumnus that has demonstrated outstanding and continued education in service and philanthropy.
Hutchinson (B.S.Ed.'62, M.Ed.'65, Ph.D.'76), of Athens , served as associate dean of the College of Education from 1994-99. She was acting associate dean of academic affairs for the College in 1992.
Hutchinson came to work at UGA as an assistant professor in 1978 from Southwest Texas State University , but she was hardly a stranger. She first arrived on the UGA campus as an undergraduate student in 1960. Over the next 15 years she earned her bachelor's and master's, both in elementary education, and a Ph.D. in reading education from UGA.
Although she retired in 2002, Hutchinson continues to serve as coordinator for a number of UGA faculty support and development programs including the Honors Mentoring Program, Postdoctoral Teaching programs, Peer Consulting Team and the Emeriti Scholars programs.
Some of her academic honors include Emerti Scholar Program Charter Membership, the Annual Blue Key Award and was named Aderhold Distinguished Professor.
She remains active in the community, serving on boards of a variety of organizations including Kiwanis, Jeanette Rankin Society, Lanier Gardens , Ten-O Gymnastics and Georgia Voyager magazine.
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Marc E. Fey, a professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Cecil Reynolds, a Distinguished Research Scholar at Texas A&M University , were recognized with Lifetime Achievement Awards for their demonstration of outstanding success in the diverse fields of academia, healthcare business or government.
Fey (M.Ed.'75), of Kansas City , KS., is regarded as a leading scholar in language development and language intervention in children. He has published 57 research articles and book chapters, 48 abstracts and more than 100 papers at state, national and international meetings.
Fey has served as chair of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) Publication Board and editor of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology among other departmental, institutional and professional association committee positions.
Reynolds (M.Ed.'76, Ed.S.'77, Ph.D.'78) of Bastrop , Texas , is the youngest recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the National Academy of Neuropsychology and the only member to have also received the Distinguished Clinical Neuropsychologist Award, the academy's highest award for scholarly accomplishments in 2000.
He has conducted more than 300 workshops during his professional career, authored an extensive number of books, chapters, tests and manuals, computer programs and reviews in educational psychology.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
WRITER: Nicole Richardson, 706/542-5889, nrichard@uga.edu
CONTACT: Sandy Smith, 706/542-4558, sandys@uga.edu