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About K-State

2009 Education Achievements

* The American Humanics/nonprofit leadership focus program at Kansas State University is the best among American Humanics Academic Alliance members at placing students in nonprofit sector internships. The K-State program, offered through the School of Leadership Studies, is the recipient of the 2008-2009 American Humanics Outstanding Internships Benchmark Award. During the 2008-2009 school year, 22 students -- or more than 45 percent of K-State's American Humanics/nonprofit leadership focus program students -- participated in internships, contributing more than 4,500 hours combined. Their work included completing essential projects and improving the organization capacity of local, national and international nonprofit organizations, according to Olivia Collins, director of the American Humanics/nonprofit leadership program at K-State. Dec. 2009

* The Kansas Board of Regents' adult education program and K-State's department of educational leadership's Adult Basic Education Leadership Academy received the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education-Commission of Professors of Adult Education's 2009 Curriculum Innovation Award. The honor, given every two years, recognizes innovative approaches to the education of adult educators. Recipients were Dianne Glass, director of adult education for the Kansas Board of Regents and state director for adult education and state administrator for Kansas GED testing; and Jeff Zacharakis, associate professor of educational leadership at K-State. The Adult Basic Education Leadership Academy is a three-year program developed by Zacharakis and K-State to strengthen the leadership and management skills of directors and coordinators at the state's 30 adult learning centers. Nov. 2009

* A new scholarship will help K-State science majors who want to become certified teachers. K-State TEACH is a collaboration between the departments of secondary education, physics, geology, chemistry and biology. It is funded by the National Science Foundation's Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, which awarded K-State $875,000 over a five-year period. The program is designed to increase the supply of highly qualified middle- and high-school teachers in the science areas. Through K-State TEACH, freshmen and sophomores majoring in a science field with a possible interest in teaching are eligible for paid summer internships in various teaching-related positions both on and off campus. These internships help students further explore their interest in teaching and could help attract them to the teaching field. Juniors or seniors currently completing a baccalaureate science degree or postbaccalaureates holding a science degree are eligible to apply for the Robert Noyce Scholarships. The awards range from $13,000 to $15,000 per year for up to two years. After being accepted into the program, students are required to complete a semester internship experience in a public school. Oct. 2009

* Linda P. Thurston, professor, assistant dean in K-State's College of Education and director of the Office of Educational Innovation and Evaluation, has been appointed a program director for the National Science Foundation in Washington D.C. Her appointment begins this month. Thurston's responsibilities will include evaluation and work on increasing the representation of underrepresented groups in science, math, engineering and technology. Her duties will specifically involve disability and gender projects. Thurston was tapped for the one-year appointment under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Program. She will be program director in the Research in Disabilities Education Program, Division of Human Resource Development, Directorate for Education and Human Resources. Her selection by NSF honors her significant achievements, experience, and ability; her appointment marks only the third time in our college's history one of our colleagues was chosen for this role, according to Mike Holen, dean of the College of Education. Sept. 2009

* Michele Murphy, senior in elementary education, Olathe, is among the 10 winners of the Kappa Delta Pi/EF Tours Scholarship. The national scholarship, which provides a 10-day, expenses paid educational tour to Europe, encourages members of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education, to explore the idea of how international travel can impact future classrooms. Scholarship applicants had to submit six 250-word essays and a letter of recommendation to be considered. May 2009

* Two faculty members from K-State's College of Education have earned recognition for their teaching and research. Susan Dillinger, instructor of special education, counseling and student affairs, has received a Lucile Cornetet Individual Award for professional development from the Delta Kappa Gamma Educational Foundation. The award helped Dillinger attend the Council for Exceptional Children 2009 Convention and Expo in Seattle, Wash. Jeong-Hee Kim, assistant professor of secondary education, received an award from the American Educational Research Association for an outstanding narrative research theory article. Kim's article, "A Romance with Narrative Inquiry: Toward an Act of Narrative Theorizing," was published in 2008 in Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue. Kim also received the award in 2007 for her article, "For Whom the School Bell Tolls: Conflicting Voices Inside an Alternative High School." April 2009

* The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City honored President Jon Wefald with the Buck O'Neil Legacy Award, recognizing him for his long-standing support of the museum. K-State's College of Education also got involved. Through the efforts of Dean Mike Holen and numerous faculty members, an Internet project carries the league's story all over the world. A video introduction to the museum is online at http://www.coe.ksu.edu/nlbemuseum/intro.html and teacher resources are on the Web athttp://www.coe.ksu.edu/nlbemuseum/about.html Jan. 2009

 

College of Education