Jonkgo

Whitehead Road Elementary’s Aaron Jongko (BSED ’08, MED ’09) named Clarke County Teacher of the Year, reports a September 30 Athens Banner-Herald story. Jongko received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in early childhood education from UGA.

Gast

Donna Gast  (EdS ’09, MEd ’94, BSA ’92), selected last week as the Oconee County School System’s Teacher of the Year, was featured in a front page story in the September 24 edition of the Athens Banner-Herald.

Dixon

Dyer

Timothy M. Dixon, principal of Ware County High School, and Merrianne Dyer, superintendent of Gainesville City Schools, received 2013 Crystal Apple Awards, given to alumni in K-12 education who have made a significant impact on student, school, or school district performance.

Dixon (BSEd ’86), of Millwood, was the 2011 Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals Met Life Georgia Middle School Principal of the Year while he was at Waycross Middle School. He was one of three finalists for the national award.

“Mr. Dixon models values, beliefs, and attitudes that encourage others to higher levels of performance,” said Joseph C. Barrow, Jr., superintendent of Ware County Schools.

Dyer (EdS ’97), of Gainesville, was named the 2008 Georgia Distinguished Principal for District 9 by the Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals.

“Merrianne Dyer consistently sets high expectations for both adults and students and is a tireless worker. She leads by example, exhibits character beyond reproach, and naturally displays a compassion and humility often missing in the position in which she serves,” said William Schofield, superintendent of Hall County Schools and recipient of the 2012 Professional Achievement Award.

Professional Achievement Awards

Sta. Maria

Crews

Tena Crews, director of online learning for the University of South Carolina’s College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management, and Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria, secretary-general (Trade) for Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry, received 2013 Professional Achievement Awards, given to alumni in the midpoint of their careers who have demonstrated significant achievements in their fields.

Crews (EdD ’94), of Lexington, S.C., also serves as acting associate dean of academic programs for the college.  She received the National Business Education Association’s 2012 John Robert Gregg Award, the highest honor in business education and recognizes lifetime achievement in the field.

“Drive, determination, and hard work are reflected throughout Dr. Crews’ professional career as a postsecondary educator and administrator, and she has provided significant leadership for important and futuristic educational initiatives,” said Wanda Stitt-Gohdes, professor and associate head of the department of career and information studies.

Sta. Maria (PhD ’00), of Kuala Lumpur, is working to make Malaysia the preferred investment destination among the most globally competitive trading nations by 2020. She provides policy oversight and strives to ensure that the nation continually reviews its incentive package, processes and procedures to facilitate conducting business in Malaysia.

“Dr. Sta. Maria is extremely smart intellectually and practically, has a clear vision of how the world works and a conception of how it should work to benefit all people, and is viewed as a proactive and effective leader,” said Ronald Cervero, associate vice president of instruction at UGA, who served on Sta. Maria’s dissertation committee.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Ross-Gordon

Gordon

Jovita Ross-Gordon and Stephen Gordon, professors in the department of counseling, leadership, adult education and school psychology at the Texas State University-San Marcos College of Education, received the Lifetime Achievement Award as a partner team for outstanding success and significant impact in adult education.

“They are unique as a pair and either one would deserve the Lifetime Achievement Award. Together, they are a powerhouse of accomplishments for the purposes for which we educate,” said Stan Carpenter, dean of the Texas State University-San Marcos College of Education and UGA COE alumnus.

Ross-Gordon (EdD ’85) and Gordon (EdD ’89), of Austin, Texas, met when they were doctoral students at UGA, married, and pursued joint academic careers. The pair developed and implemented Texas State’s first two doctorate programs in education.

Ross-Gordon has authored or co-authored nine textbooks, one monograph, and edited three books. Gordon has authored or co-authored 11 text books, two monographs, and edited two books.

Supervision and Instructional Leadership: A Developmental Approach, which the couple co-wrote with UGA professor emeritus Carl Glickman, has been the field’s leading text for a number of years and is now in its 8^th edition.

Service Award: Special Posthumous Award

Womack

Mary Elizabeth “Libby” Womack is the recipient of the College of Education’s 2013 Service Award (posthumously). The award honors Womack for her service to the College and her community and for her commitment to the advancement of STEM education.

Originally from Albany, Womack (BSEd ’65) enjoyed a successful career teaching advanced mathematics in secondary education and college and in information technology with Delta Airlines. In 1994, she returned to Albany with her husband, Jim, where they owned and operated Tri State Florist Supply. Jim continues to run the company today.

Among her volunteer activities, Womack worked to boost STEM experiences for local high school students. The Womacks have also established an endowed chair in mathematics education in the College through their estate plans. The chair will support a leading scholar in the field of mathematics education whose work impacts progress in the field nationally and globally.

“Libby’s commitment to the importance of STEM education is a major part of her legacy,” said Aldon Knight, executive director of college advancement for the College of Education. “The College and her community are better because she was who she was. We are deeply grateful to her and to Jim for their generosity and are proud to honor Libby’s work and life in this way.”

Gleaton

Amy Gleaton (BSED ’93) has been named 2013-14 Dalton Teacher of the Year, reported  Sept. 10 stories  on  Chattanoogan.com and WSMV.com in Nashville.  Gleaton has taught in Dalton Public Schools for 10 years—the last two at Dalton High School as a chemistry and physical science teacher.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science from the University of Georgia.

The husband and wife have more than three decades of service and ties with UGA and the College of Education (COE) from 1971 when Beverly (AB ’73, BS ’76, MA ’85) first enrolled as an undergraduate in the department of anthropology until Charles’ (EdD ’91) retirement in 2004.

Beverly holds bachelor’s degree from UGA in geology, double major bachelor’s in anthropology/sociology and a master’s in anthropology/archaeology. In addition to her field work in archaeology for UGA, she worked for many years as a curriculum designer in the COE Vocational Education Materials Center.

Charles holds an EdD in curriculum and instruction and served as a graduate assistant, employee and faculty member at the COE until his retirement from UGA in 2004. While at the COE,  he founded the Harriette Austin Writing Program and the Harriette Austin Writing Conference, and served as director of both for 12 years, until his retirement.

To see article in Oak Ridge Life, click below:

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For more information on Beverly Connor, visit:
beverlyconnor.net

Hedgepeth

Abbey Hedgepeth (BSED ’13) is featured in the first of a series of Association of Middle Level Educators podcasts about  the critical work happening in middle level-schools and the critical lives that make that work possible.

Listen in as AMLE talks to Hedgepeth, a first-year teacher, talks about the hopes she has for herself and her students as the school year begins.  You can follow Abbey’s journey as AMLE keeps the conversation going throughout the school year.

Hedgepeth was in a cohort taught by Educational Theory and Practice faculty Kathy Thompson and Gayle Andrews at Hilsman Middle School, one of the Model 4 Professional Development Schools.  She was a leader in her EDMS (Middle Grades Program) cohort, contributed significantly to the work at Hilsman and to the Athens community (she tutored at the East Athens Community Center). She did her student teaching at another of the Model 4 Professional Development Schools,  J.J. Harris Elementary Charter School.

AMLE Podcast:  Middle Level Journeys – Episode 1

Elms

Pamela Nix Elms (BSED ’95), has been named the joint executive director for the Kappa Delta Sorority and Foundation.

She will oversee both the sorority and foundation staff and operations at the Kappa Delta national headquarters in Memphis, Tenn. She became executive director of the sorority in 2011, reported an August 14 story in the Gainesville Times.

Elms  served as the president of the Sigma Pi chapter of Kappa Delta while she was a student at the College of Education where she received her bachelor’s degree in middle school education.

Thomas

Longtime mathematics teacher Trevor Thomas (EdS ’97), who got his specialist degree in mathematics education from UGA,  writes that there are inherent flaws in how Georgia and the Common Core Standard teaches math in the “Get Schooled” blog of the August 20 issue of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Burton

Maxine Burton (BSED 72, MED ’78), founder and president of balloon and gift supply store burton + BURTON, was appointed earlier this month by Gov. Nathan Deal to serve on the Georgia Council for the Arts, reported a story in the August 2 issue of the Athens Banner-Herald.

Luh

Wei-Ming Luh, Distinguished Professor at National Cheng-Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, was named director of the Center for General Education at the school on August 1.

Luh (PhD ’92, MEd ‘88), who received her doctorate in educational psychology and master’s degree in instructional technology from UGA, received the College of Education’s Alumni Professional Achievement Award in 2008.

Luh received the Outstanding Research Award in Education from the National Science Council in Taiwan in 2004 and the Ta-You Wu Memorial Award for distinguished young scholar in 2002.

She served as a Fulbright Research Scholar at Georgia College and State University’s School of Education conducting research on testing methodologies in 2008.