Miami University

Honors and Recognition

Here is a sampling of recent honors:

   

• Craig Divis '03, a social studies teacher at Bellows Falls Union High School, Vermont, received a Distinguished Fulbright Award and will be spending the 2011-12 school year in South Africa, working with teachers and schools.
• Venia Papanikolou '08, a fourth grade teacher at Donovan Elementary School in Lebanon City Schools (Ohio) received the top award in the Hixson Teacher of the Year program.  The honor included a $5,000 prize. (May 2011)
  
• Miami dietetic students who applied for internships had a 91 percent acceptance rate compated to the national average of only 52 percent. (May 2011)
• Kristy Wood is one of only three students in Ohio to receive the 2011 Dr. James J. Sheehan Pre-Service Social Studies Teacher Award from the Ohio Council for the Social Studies.  (April 2011)

• The Ohio Association of Teacher Educators named senior Mandie Bryant as Ohio’s 2010 Outstanding Student Teacher. It is the second time in three years that a Miami student teacher has won the statewide OATE award. (March 2011)
• Robin Vealey (kinesiology and health) is one of two faculty members selected by Miami's Graduate Council to receive the 2011 Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. (March 2011)
• Three foreign language education students won first place and shared a $500 award in a podcast competition sponsored by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (February 2011)
• Karen Anthony Streeter '97 was one of only 12 teachers to be named a 2011 Distinguished Teacher by the National Catholic Educators Assocation. (January 2011)
• Timothy Dove, a teacher in Worthington City Schools and a 1980 Miami University graduate was named Ohio's 2011 Teacher of the Year. (January 2011)
  
• Andrea Mueller, a senior exercise science major from Arlington Heights, Ill., won first prize in the undergraduate research presentation competition sponsored by the Midwest American College of Sports Medicine at its annual meeting (ACSM) in Indianapolis. (November, 2010)
• Martha Castañeda (teacher education) was named Miami University’s Outstanding Professor for 2010. She was among 69 faculty members nominated by graduating seniors for the award, presented by Associated Student Government (ASG) and Campus Activities Council on March 22. Eight faculty members from EHS were nominated, including
  Castañeda, Ann MacKenzie (teacher education), Tom Misco (teacher education), William Newsome (family studies and social work), Nancy Parkinson (kinesiology and health), Jeff Potteiger, (kinesiology and health), Marie Elise Radina (family studies and social work) and Rose Marie Ward (kinesiology and health). (March 2010)
• Chris Maraschiello, who earned his undergraduate and three master’s degrees from Miami University, was recently named Ohio Middle School Teacher of the Year by the Ohio Council for the Social Studies. (April 2010)
• Jenny Halsey, a first grade teacher in the Edgewood School District, was named Outstanding Cooperating Teacher of 2009 by the Ohio Association of Teacher Educators (OATE) for her exceptional mentoring of Miami student teachers. (April 2010)
• Judy Rogers, associate dean for academic affairs, Marcia Baxter Magolda, distinguished professor, and Peter Magolda, professor, all of educational leadership, were honored by two separate national professional organizations for the cumulative impact of their scholarship, teaching, mentoring and professional service.
  Rogers was one of 25 professionals honored as a “legacy” at the national convention of NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.
  Baxter Magolda and Magolda were recognized as two of today’s most influential student affairs educators at the America College Personnel Association (ACPA) College Student Educators International convention. (March 2010)
• Michael Evans (family studies and social work, educational leadership, teacher education) has received the outstanding dissertation award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Family, School, Community Partnerships Special Interest Group (January, 2010).
• Both Ohio winners of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching have been active in programs sponsored by The Discovery Center at Miami University. The
  Ohio winners, who each received a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation, include
  Sharon Hall (science) and Sally Pellegren (math). Hall, a 4th-grade teacher at Maineville Elementary School in the Kings Local School District, also earned an M.A. in teaching from Miami (December, 2009).
• Carie Tragesser '86, an elementary teacher in the Hamilton (Ohio) School District, was named Hamilton’s Educator of the Year (December, 2009).
• Sheri Leafgren (teacher education) won the outstanding dissertation from the International Institute of Qualitative Methodology (IIQM).
  The IIQM honor is the third outstanding dissertation award that Leafgren has received from professional organizations for her research, which challenges the presumptions that teachers often make about the actions of young children as either “good” or “bad” December, 2009)
• Julie Park (educational leadership) was selected as a 2010 Emerging Scholar by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). (November 2009)
• Leah Wasburn-Moses (educational psychology) was recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) for publishing the most influential article in 2008 in the CEC journal Teacher Education and Special Education. (November 2009)
• Miami University’s undergraduate and graduate educator preparation programs received full accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).  (November 2009)
• Helaine Alessio, chair of kinesiology and health, received the Founders Award from the Midwest Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine in recognition of outstanding service.

  In addition, junior exercise science major Hayden Ansinelli received an award for the best undergraduate research poster for her presentation on “A Structured Pediatric Rehabilitation Exercise Program Results in Increased Physical Activity and Fitness for Single Ventricle Children.” The award included a check for $150 (October 2009).

• Michael Dantley, associate provost and professor of educational leadership, gave the keynote lecture on educational leadership and social justice for the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services (NCLSCS) in London, England, Sept. 24. 


• Craig Divis, who graduated from Miami University in 2003 with a major in integrated social studies education and minors in history and political science, has been named 2010 Vermont Teacher of the Year. (September 2009)
• Steve Heck, who earned a bachelor’s in education in 1974 and a master’s in education in 1975 from Miami, is one of the Pathfinder 7 — seven teachers chosen from thousands of U.S. teachers for the nonprofit, privately funded Teachers in Space program. He and the other six will train during school breaks the next two years to conduct science experiments on suborbital spacecraft. (September 2009)
• Melissa Chase, associate dean, School of Education, Health and Society and associate professor, kinesiology and health department, was named a Fellow for the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. (September 2009)
• Kate Rousmaniere, chair of EDL, was elected president to a three-year term as president of the International Standing Conference for the History of Education (ISCHE) at the organization’s annual meeting in Utrecht, the Netherlands. (August 2009)
• Two of nine students receiving 2009 Provost's Student Academic Achievement Awards worked on out-of-classroom projects with EHS faculty members.  Nicole Mitchell and Benjamin L. Walker were honored for their academic accomplishments at Miami's fall convocation. (August 2009)

• Doris Bergen, Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, was inducted as an inaugural Fellow of the American Education Research Association, an organization that encourages inquiry about educational topics that serves the public good, at AERA’s national meeting April 14 in San Diego. (April 2009).

• Jason Abbitt and Michele Dickey, educational psychology department, are among 10 educators honored statewide for using technological innovation to reduce the cost of textbooks to students. The award, which included a $1,000 honorarium, recognizes the use of innovative, affordable instructional materials. (March 2009)
• The Ohio Association of Secondary School Administration has named James Schoenlein, principal of Kettering-Fairmont High School, the 2009 Ohio High School Principal of the Year.
  Schoenlein earned three degrees from Miami, including a master of arts in teaching in 1979, a master of educational leadership in 1984 and a doctorate in educational leadership 1993. (March 2009)
• The Ohio Association of Teacher Educators has named Curtis Bradshaw, a December 2008 graduate, Ohio’s 2008 Outstanding Student Teacher.

  Bradshaw, who majored in middle childhood language arts and social studies education, student taught at Clinton-Massie Middle School. (March 2009)

• Robin Purdy, who graduated from Miami University in December 2008, won first place and an $600 award in the post-secondary category of a podcast competition sponsored by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).(February 2009)
  
• Alexandria Espy, a health studies major at Miami University, received the Legacy Award at the Black Student Leadership Development Conference held in Washington, D.C. Jan. 8-11. (February 2009)
• James M. Smith, who earned his doctorate in educational leadership ('88) and his undergraduate degree in elementary education ('79) has been named president of Northern State University, Aberdeen, S.D. (February 2009)
• Sheri Leafgren, an assistant professor in teacher education, won outstanding dissertation awards for 2008 from two separate professional organizations, including the Curriculum and Pedagogy Conference and the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (January 2009).
  

• James Shiveley, chair of teacher education department, was named the Charles and Frances Condit Endowed Professor by Miami President David Hodge (October 2008).
• The annual total of grants received by faculty in the School of Education, Health and Society (EHS) has soared by more than 150 percent in the past five years—from $1.3 million in 2003-04 to $3.4 million in 2007-08 (October 2008).
• Dennis Carlson, professor of educational leadership, has received a two-year $275,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to fund two "summits" that will bring together top scholars along with community activists and public educators to take part in "complicated conversations" about youth culture and sexuality (October 2008).
• Kevin Smith, a doctoral student in educational administration at Miami University, is the first Miami recipient of a Welsh-American Academy Visiting Fellowship awarded by the Welsh-American Academy at Trinity College, Carmarthen, Wales (October 2008).
• Beginning in fall 2008, Miami students may major in Chinese language education. The program is the first undergraduate licensure program in Ohio. Graduates will be eligible to teach Chinese in grades pre-K through 12 (August 2008).
• The Digital Learning Lounge will help Miami graduates transform teaching and learning.
  The Digital Learning Lounge (DLL), located at 214 McGuffey Hall, includes state-of-the-art multimedia software and hardware, a small group meeting space, and a podcasting room. The goal is to
  create an environment that encourages collaboration and informal learning so that Miami students will master not just technological skills, but how technology can be used to actively create knowledge in the classroom (May 2008).
  
  
• Tom Romano, professor of teacher education, was named as one of two inaugural Naus Family Faculty Scholars in spring 2008.
  The program, funded by a $250,000 gift to Miami’s For Love and Honor Campaign by James and Susan Naus, both class of ’67, supports faculty who exemplify the best of Miami’s traditions (April 2008).
• Randal Claytor (kinesiology and health) is the 2008 receipient of the Richard T. Delp Outstanding Faculty Award from Miami University’s School of Education, Health and Society (April 2008).
• A novel by Miami alum Tracie Vaughn Zimmer ('96, master of education) has been awarded the Schneider Family Book Award from the American Library Association. The book, Reaching for the Sun, uses poems to tell the story of a year in the life of a middle-school student who has cerebral palsy.
• Keith Zullig (kinesiology and health) was one of nine candidates inducted as a Research Consortium Fellow at the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) convention (April 2008).

• Jaclyn R. Saurber, a senior special education major, has been selected to present the findings of her Undergraduate Summer Scholar research project at the National Council for Exceptional Children convention in Boston in April. She’ll be participating in a roundtable discussion session normally reserved for doctoral students, said her faculty advisor, Leah Washburn-Moses (educational psychology). (February 2008).

• The Association for the Study of Higher Education presented Marcia Baxter Magolda (educational leadership) with its annual Research Achievement Award (November, 2007).
• Tom Romano (Teacher Education) was named the 2007 Effective Educator by the Miami University Alumni Association.
• Doris Bergen (Educational Psychology) is one of only a dozen Miami faculty members to be awarded the title of Distinguished Professor by Miami’s Board of Trustees since the program begin in 1981 (2007).
• Tom Poetter (Educational Leadership), director of Miami’s Partnership Office, is one of only 30 university and school district educators in the nation to be recognized for his contributions to the Institute for Educational Inquiry’s Agenda for Education in a Democracy (2007).
• Karen Montgomery (Teacher Education) was named 2007’s Outstanding Professor by Miami’s Associated Student Government. More then 50 professors were nominated for the honor.  
• Miami is only the 2nd university in the country to initiate a Partners for School Health Program with a major school district and the American Heart Association.   The collaborative effort is aimed at reducing the epidemic of children’s obesity.  Nationally, 18 percent of children are obese. In Cincinnati it’s more than double that—38 percent (2007). 
• A new Ph.D in Student Affairs in Higher Education has been approved.  The doctoral program focuses on student learning and the role of student affairs in promoting learning.  The holistic approach to undergraduate education embodied in the program blurs the traditional boundaries between the academic side of the university and student affairs (2007).
• EHS external funding increased by more than 250 percent from the 2004-05 academic year to 2005-06, from $1.75 million to $4.5 million (2007)).
• EHS faculty are piloting Miami’s ITunes U participation (2007). 
• EHS was awarded a five-year $1.5 million grant aimed at helping address the challenges of teaching students who are not native English speakers.  It will be used to help preservice teachers and other school personnel learn to more effectively accommodate English language learners in regular classroom settings.
• EHS’s innovative alternate special education licensure program (created in partnership with the Ohio Department. of Education via a $400,000 grant) can boast of a 100 percent Praxis II rate to date (Praxis tests are required for teacher licensure in Ohio).  Of the 25 teachers in the initial phase, 22 completed the program.  The second group had 27 teachers add the special education licensure to their credentials.  EHS is the first and only university in the state to offer an online alternative certification program for special educators.   The program was cited as a model program for online certification by ODE. 
• Tamara Long, a first-year school psychology graduate student, was one of only five students nationwide to be named a recipient of the highly selective $5,000 minority scholarship from the National Association of School Psychologists (2007).
• Paula Saine (Teacher Education) was awarded Miami’s “Distinguished Woman of Color” Award. She is the third faculty member from EHS to be so honored in the past five years. Other faculty award winners include Iris Johnson (Teacher Education) in 2003 and Susan Mosley-Howard (Educational Leadership and Dean of Students) in 2005 (2007). 
• Dr. G. Nathan Carnes, who earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Miami in 1980 and 1996, was named the Outstanding Science Educator of the Year (Level 1) by the Association for Science Teacher Education.  He is a faculty member at the University of South Carolina (2007).
• Tom Romano (Teacher Education), who teaches English methods and writing, won first place honors for best broadcast writing in the 2007 Associated Press competition.
• For the third time in four years, a Miami student teacher supervisor was awarded the top state honor for such professionals from the Ohio Association of Teacher Educators (OATE).  Judith A. Wyckoff received the outstanding supervisor award in honor of the guidance and mentoring she has provided to more than 65 Miami physical education and health student teachers since 2000 (2007).
• “I Can, Can You,” a children’s book by Marjorie Pitzer (instructor, Educational Pyschology) has been named a top 40 book for children with disabilities by the International Board of Books for Young People. Pitzer is also an intervention specialist at Winton Forest Elementary (2007).
• Dr. Kathy McMahon-Klosterman (Educational Psychology) was named the winner of Miami University’s most prestigious teaching honor, the E. Phillips Knox Teaching Award (2006).
• A children’s picture book database project by Dr. Valerie Ubbes (Physical Education, Health and Sport Studies) was named one of the “101 Best Web Sites for Elementary Teachers” by the International Society for Technology in Education (2006).
• Dr. Gary (Pete) Peterson (Family Studies and Social Work) was named a National Council on Family Relations Fellow in recognition of his outstanding scholarly achievements and leadership on family issues (2006).
• Kathleen (Allen) Cawrse, a 1975 Miami teacher education graduate, received an American Stars of Teaching Award from the U.S. Department of Education (2006).