Top faculty honored in ceremony

"Celebration of Teaching" ceremony held

Thursday, April 30, 2009

On Wednesday, April 29, the Indiana University School of Education honored its top faculty and introduced the newest group of Armstrong Teacher Educators during the 2009 "Celebration of Teaching." A committee of IU faculty and former recipients chose 7 Indiana public school teachers as the Martha Lea and Bill Armstrong Teacher Educators for the 2009-10 school year. Over the next year, the teachers will participate in professional development opportunities and work with IU faculty and students studying to be teachers.

The top annual faculty award went to Suzanne Eckes, assistant professor in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Every year the IU School of Education presents the Gorman Teaching Award to honor the best and most creative professors. It is named for Burton Gorman, who earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from IU in the 1930’s. Throughout a 57-year educational career he sought new and innovative ways to enhance teaching. In the early 1980’s, he established this award to honor creative teaching that incorporates risk-taking in its methods, but succeeds.

eckes with gonzalezEckes has earned high praise from both students and faculty. One student wrote she felt like Eckes was “teaching a one-on-one course with each student.  She gave each and every student her full attention.” One former master’s student said of his former professor’s teaching style that she “set the bar with the professionalism, enthusiasm, and dedication to her students.” The faculty member who nominated her for the award wrote that she is “an incredibly creative teacher.  Aspiring school leaders are laudatory about her ingenuity in the classroom and her ability to connect research with practical problems they are facing in their jobs.”

Below is the complete list of award winners. 


Armstrong Teacher Educator Awards
    Michael Baer, South Adams Schools
    Jan Brill, Westfield Washington Schools
    Tammy Lee Daugherty, School Town of Munster
    Melinda McDugle, Danville Community School Corporation
    Dawn Musolino, Carmel Clay Schools
    Jeff Peterson, Center Grove Community School Corporation
    Anthony L. Sturgeon, Hamilton Southeastern Schools


Outstanding Associate Instructor Awards
    Nicholas Husbye, Literacy, Culture, & Language Education
        E341: Reading II, Methods of Teaching Reading/Assessment
        E342, Reading and Language Arts Methods K-12
    Candace R. Kuby, Literacy, Culture, & Language Education
        E339: Methods of Teaching Language Arts
        E340: Methods of Teaching Reading
        M301: Laboratory/Field Experience
    Roy J. Reynolds, Art Education / Curriculum & Instruction
        M130/Z533: Introduction to the Teaching of Art
        M333: Art Experience for the Elementary Teacher
    Olga N. Shonia, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
        T550: Cultural/Community Forces and the Schools
        M550: Practicum - Ethnic and Cultural Studies
    Lyndsay R. Spear, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
        F205: The Study of Education and the Practice of Teaching

Adjunct Faculty Teaching Awards
    Timothy Davis, Counseling & Educational Psychology
    Catherine A. Diersing, Literacy, Culture, & Language Education

Trustees Faculty Teaching Awards
    Curtis Bonk, Instructional Systems Technology
    Phil Carspecken, Counseling & Educational Psychology
    Laura Stachowski, Cultural Immersion Projects
    Robert Toutkoushian, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
    Andrea Walton, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
    Karen Wohlwend, Literacy, Culture, & Language Education
    Y. Joel Wong, Counseling & Educational Psychology

Student Choice Awards
    Leana McClain, Clinical Faculty Recipient
    E325: Social Studies in the Elementary School
    E341: Methods of Teaching Reading II
    Sarah Vander Zanden, Associate Instructor Recipient
    E341: Methods of Teaching Reading II

Graduate Studies Faculty Mentor Awards
    Rebecca Martínez, Reid Counseling & Educational Psychology
    Dionne Danns, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies

Graduate & Professional Student Organization Faculty Mentor Award
    Andrea Walton, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies

Gorman Award
    Suzanne Eckes, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies