UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The College of Education Alumni Society recognized eight honorees Oct. 21 at its annual awards banquet. The award winners have distinguished themselves in their careers as well as in the field of education. M. Christopher Brown II, Roland E. Walters Jr., Marion Wheland, Jaclyn Gruber, Lauren Reese, Amy Stafford, Maggie Baker and Brittany Bonnell were each recognized for their achievements.
M. Christopher Brown II is the 2011 recipient of the Excellence in Education Award. He received his doctorate degree in higher education from Penn State in 1997, as well as a master’s degree in educational policy and evaluation from the University of Kentucky in 1994 and a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from South Carolina State University in 1993.
Brown has held many positions within the field of education, which include executive vice president and provost at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn.; dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; vice president for programs and administration for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; and executive director & chief research scientist for the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute of the United Negro College Fund. He is the current president of Alcorn State University.
Brown has served as a professor, researcher, and faculty member at over ten different schools and universities across the country. He has worked on over 15 funded grant projects and given over 200 academic lectures, addresses, and presentations at assorted schools, colleges, and assemblies. He has held positions for both the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education. He has contributed his writing to over 200 scholarly publications including books, refereed journals, and encyclopedias. He has authored or co-authored over 10 books.
Roland E. Walters Jr. is the 2011 recipient of the Leadership & Service Award. Roland received a bachelor of science degree in secondary education with an English teaching option in 1971 and a master’s of education degree in counseling and student personnel in 1972, both from Penn State.
Walters currently holds the position of director of the Career Services Office at Ferrum College in Ferrum, Va. In this position he provides leadership for an inclusive career services office that focuses on career planning and the employment search process for approximately 1,500 students. He also plans and conducts a career week program for students, which includes faculty, staff, and community involvement. In addition, he teaches two or more classes annually.
Walters previously worked in many positions, which include director of the Career Services Center at Radford University in Radford, Va., for 18 years; a consultant for AT&T; and a career counselor at Wytheville Community College in Wytheville, Va. He served in the military for five years during the Vietnam era and advanced to Top Secret security clearance in the U.S. Navy.
Walters is a member of many organizations and has also received many honors and awards. A highlight of his career was being one of nine career services directors from across the U.S. selected to participate in the Fulbright Scholarship to Germany in 2007. While abroad, he learned about the German higher education system and was able to share goals and outcomes with international colleagues.
Marion Wheland is the 2011 recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Award. She graduated from Penn State in 1973 with a bachelor of science degree in elementary education and has taken more than 75 hours of graduate-level courses.
Wheland has taught at a variety of schools and grade levels and currently works as an instructional support teacher at Park Forest Elementary School in State College, Pa. She has worked with the State College Area School District for over 35 years.
Throughout her career, Wheland has served on countless boards and committees for the school district. She has presented at education conferences on the state and national level and is a member of the National Education Association. She has even taught courses at Penn State in the past.
Jaclyn Gruber is the 2011 recipient of the Outstanding New Graduate Award. She graduated in 2008 and received a bachelor of science degree in secondary education with an English and communication teaching option as well as an English minor. She graduated with honors from the Schreyer’s Honors College after writing a thesis on “Comparative Classroom Practices within Varying Cultural Contexts.”
Gruber completed her student teaching at Altoona Area High School, where she taught Honors English and served as adviser to the yearbook staff. She currently teaches English at Great Valley High School in Phoenixville Pike, Pa., and is pursuing a master of arts degree in English literature at West Chester University.
In her current job, Gruber has taught a variety of courses that include Standard and Honors Form of Fiction, Twentieth Century Fiction, and Basic Reading and Writing Strategies. She developed a curriculum for 12th-grade courses and taught senior English.
Lauren Reese is a recipient of the Fall 2010 Outstanding Student Teaching Award. She graduated with a bachelor of science degree in secondary education, with an English and communication teaching option. She also received a bachelor of arts degree in comparative literature and minored in both English and Spanish.
Reese completed her student teaching at Elizabeth Forward High School in Elizabeth, Pa., where she taught 11th-grade English, honors English, and advanced placement English. She incorporated technology into the classroom in her honors English class by asking students to create, design, and maintain a Facebook page for a character from a novel they were reading. When her mentor teacher had to miss seven days of school for an emergency surgery, Lauren took over teaching all of her classes as well as the Advanced Placement class, which she had never taught before. Lauren also assisted with the school’s Mock Trial club and chaperoned a dance at the middle school.
Amy Stafford is a recipient of the Fall 2010 Outstanding Student Teaching Award. She graduated with a bachelor of science degree in elementary and kindergarten education with an elementary education teaching option and a minor in special education.
Stafford completed her student teaching at Jamison Elementary School in the Central Bucks School District, where she taught in a fourth-grade classroom. She used PowerPoint and real-world examples to help students in her class understand the use of decimals. Stafford maintained excellent relationships with staff, administrators, and parents alike. Joseph MacClay, a parent of a student in Amy’s class, commended her on her efforts that reached outside of the classroom after finding encouraging statements of praise on his son’s homework and assignments.
Maggie Baker is a recipient of the Spring 2011 Outstanding Student Teaching Award. She graduated with a bachelor of science degree in elementary and kindergarten education with an elementary education teaching option.
Baker completed her student teaching at Tilden Elementary in Hamburg, Pa., where she taught in a fourth-grade classroom. She taught a unit on animal adaptations and habitats, in which she organized a school-wide presentation by the Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels program. She was responsible for the entire program including funding, arranging the schedule, and the final presentation. She successfully executed all aspects of the program for the entertainment and education of her students. She also actively incorporated technology into the classroom to engage her students daily.
Brittany Bonnell is a recipient of the Spring 2011 Outstanding Student Teaching Award. She graduated with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics with a teaching option.
Bonnell completed her student teaching in the middle school and the high school of the Bald Eagle Area School District. She taught four different levels of math throughout five periods every day. She assumed most of the primary teaching duties in the classroom throughout her entire term because of her mentor teacher’s health. Brittany faced many challenges in the classroom, including students with learning disabilities and having to tailor the same algebra lesson to suit her applied and academic classes. In addition to her teaching duties, she led anti-bullying seminars for her students weekly, held tutoring sessions during lunchtime, and even chaperoned a school dance.