Athens, Ga. – Five University of Georgia graduates have been recognized for their career achievements and community leadership with 2010 Distinguished Alumni Awards from the UGA College of Education at its annual Spring Celebration April 16 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.
Crystal Apple Awards
Debbie Clark, an English/language arts teacher at Hall County’s Chestatee Middle School, and Janis Stephens, the director of Early Learning and Family Engagement for the Clarke County School District, received 2010 Crystal Apple Awards, an honor given to alumni in K-12 education who have made a significant impact on student, school or school district performance.
Clark (B.S.Ed. ’83, M.Ed. ’86), of Gainesville, was named Georgia High School English Teacher of the Year in 2005 and Hall County School System Teacher of the Year in 2003. She was also honored as a 2009 Woman of Inspiration by the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
Stephens, of Watkinsville, earned special education administration certification from UGA in 1993. She received the Foundation for Excellence in Public Education Kathryn H. Hug Instructional Leadership Award in 2006.
During Stephens’ tenure, the district’s Early Head Start Program was named the 2003 Program of the Year by the Georgia Association of Young Children. She has generated more than $64 million in grant funding for the school district since 1993.
Professional Achievement Award
Evan Glazer, principal of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., received the 2010 Professional Achievement Award, an honor given to alumni in the midpoint of their careers who have demonstrated significant achievements in their fields.
Glazer (Ph.D., ’03), of Washington, D.C., was recognized for his commitment to addressing the declining interest and performance in mathematics and science among high school students.
In 2009, Glazer’s school was named the best public high school in the U.S. for an unprecedented third consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report and as a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.
Alumni Service Award
Mary Frances Early, former department chair and associate professor of Clark Atlanta University’s department of music, received the 2010 Alumni Service Award for her outstanding and continued dedication in service and philanthropy to the college.
Early (M.M.Ed. ’62, Ed.S. ’71), an Atlanta native, is the first African-American graduate of UGA. She received the UGA Outstanding Alumna Award in 2000.
UGA officially recognized Early as the first African-American to receive a degree in 2000, and the Mary Frances Early Lecture was established in 2001 by UGA’s Graduate and Professional Scholars organization. Sponsored beginning this year by the Graduate School, the annual lecture is held in the spring.
In 2003, the Mary Frances Early Professorship in Teacher Education was established in the College of Education, with a $250,000 endowment from Georgia Power. The faculty search for the chaired professorship will soon get under way.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Patti Harrison, a professor of school psychology at the University of Alabama College of Education, was recognized with the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding success and significant impact in her field.
Harrison (A.B. ’76, M.Ed. ’77, Ph.D. ’79), of Northport, Ala., is the primary developer of one of the most widely used measures of adaptive behavior, the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System.
She is a Fellow of Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association and a Fellow of the American Education Research Association. She is also the 2006 recipient of the Jack Bardon Distinguished Service Award from APA Division 16.
Harrison is currently the president of the National Association of School Psychologists, a 25,000-member organization that represents university faculty and practitioners in school psychology.