K-State College of Education presenting longtime Kansas education commissioner Andy Tompkins with first-ever yunk award

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Source: Pam Monroe, 785-532-5525, pmonroe@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415, ebarcomb@k-state.edu

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

K-STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION PRESENTING LONGTIME KANSAS EDUCATION COMMISSIONER ANDY TOMPKINS WITH FIRST-EVER YUNK AWARD

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University's College of Education is presenting Andy Tompkins, former longtime Kansas commissioner of education, with the inaugural Dan and Cheryl Yunk Excellence in Educational Administration Award.

The award goes to an individual exhibiting the highest quality of sustained leadership in providing or promoting the administration of P-12 schools in Kansas. The honor comes with a plaque and a $1,000 award. Tompkins will receive the award at the College of Education's commencement ceremony Saturday, Dec. 9, where he also will give a commencement address.

Tompkins served as the Kansas commissioner of education from 1996 to 2005. Before his appointment, he was a department chair and interim dean of the School of Education at Pittsburg State University. He previously taught English and served as a high school principal. He also spent 17 years as superintendent at the Satanta, El Dorado and Salina school districts in Kansas. He continues to advocate on behalf of the state's school children and is an associate professor in the educational leadership and policy studies department at the School of Education at the University of Kansas.

Tompkins received his bachelor's degree in English from East Central State University, Ada, Okla. He received his master's in educational administration from Emporia State University and a doctorate in education, also in educational administration, from the University of Kansas.

Tompkins has served as president of the Kansas Association of School Administrators and as a member of the board of directors of the Council of Chief State School Officers. His honors include the Kansas Master Teacher Award, Emporia State University Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Kansas Distinguished Service Award, Kansas National Education Association Friend of Education Award, Kansas Superintendent of the Year and USA Kansas Administrator of the Year. He also was inducted into the Kansas Teachers' Hall of Fame in 2001.

The Yunk Excellence in Educational Administration Award was established through contribution from Dan and Cheryl Yunk, Manhattan. Cheryl Yunk is a retired mathematics teacher and assistant principal at Manhattan High School. Dan Yunk has served as a teacher, principal and superintendent in Manhattan-Ogden USD 383. He is executive director and chief executive officer for administration at the Kansas Farm Bureau.