Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia alumna and former two-term State School Superintendent of South Carolina Inez Moore Tenenbaum will be the keynote speaker before hundreds of alumni, faculty, staff and friends at the College of Education’s Centennial Luncheon at the Classic Center on Friday, June 13-one hundred years to the day the College of Education was founded in 1908.
Tenenbaum, a native of Pineview, earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education from the College of Education. She was first elected state school superintendent in 1998 and completed her second four-year term in 2007.
Under Tenenbaum’s leadership, South Carolina became the first state in the nation to earn federal approval to implement No Child Left Behind. During her tenure, student achievement in South Carolina improved at the fastest rate in the nation, with scores increasing on every state, national and international test administered. In 2007, Education Week ranked South Carolina number one in the country for the quality of its academic standards, assessments and accountability systems.
Tenenbaum serves on the boards of directors for the Southern Regional Education Board, the International African-American Museum, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities Foundation, and the Washington Street United Methodist Church Foundation. Among other affiliations, she is a member of the One Vote 08 South Carolina Ambassadors Committee and the South Carolina Advisory Committee for the Gates-Broad Foundations’ Strong American Schools initiative.
The centennial luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Athena Ballroom. Georgia State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox, UGA Vice President and Provost Arnett C. Mace Jr. will offer remarks and Athens-Clarke County Mayor Heidi Davison will present a proclamation.
In another highlight, Tampa Bay Buccaneer and former Georgia Bulldog football player Jermaine Phillips, who earned his BSEd in Sport Studies in 2001, will present the first COE Centennial Scholarship.
Phillips, a native of Roswell, was drafted in 2002 by the Bucs and was the only rookie on roster to see action in every game of the Super Bowl XXXVII Championship season.
While at UGA, Phillips was an All-SEC first-team selection and a recipient of the Coaches Leadership Award and the Vince Dooley Most Valuable Player of the Year Award.
Phillips will be joined by Douglas Penning, his mentee during his undergraduate course in UGA’s Pediatric Exercise and Motor Development Clinic.
For more information on the COE Centennial, see www.coe.uga.edu/centennial.