Faculty Awards 2006-2007

Stephanie Salzman of Bellingham has been appointed to a term on the state's Professional Educator Standards Board effective February 15, 2007, ending June 30, 2010. Ms. Salzman is the Dean of the Woodring College of Education within Western Washington University. She is on the board of the Whatcom Coalition for Health Communities and the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force.

The Board is responsible for state policies and requirements for the preparation, certification, assignment and continuing education of certified education professionals.

Woodring Professor William Demmert received the Alumni Achievement Award March 3 at the Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE).
 
The award recognizes and celebrates the work of HGSE alumni of color by honoring individuals who have made significant contributions in the field of education, according to Malia Villegas, chairperson of the AOCC and the person who nominated Demmert, a professor of education at Western’s Woodring College of Education.
 
Demmert earned his doctorate in education from Harvard in 1973 and was one of four Harvard alumni to receive the award this year.
 
He has spent the last 47 years being an advocate for American Indian students, being part Tlingit and Oglalla himself. He was a former deputy commissioner of education in the U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and was a former director of education for the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. He served as Alaska's Commissioner of Education, and was invited to teach at Stanford as an Irvine Scholar before moving to Western. 

Faculty Awards 2005-2006

Marsha Riddle Buly, Elementary Education Associate Professor of Literacy Education, received Western's 2005-2006 Excellence in Teaching Award.  Riddle Buly was selected by a committee of faculty, alumni and students.  Her passion for teaching and very strong student evaluations were cited as major components in the decision.

Morgan Livingston, former director and current lecturer in Woodring's Human Services program in Everett, earned the 2006 Educator of the Year Award at the Northwest Human Services Association (NWHSA) conference in April.  She was nominated by colleagues, instructors from other institutions and current and former students.

Robert Hyung-Chan Kim, professor emeritus from the Department of Educational Foundations at Woodring College of Education, received Western's 2006 Diversity Achievement Award.  Since joining the faculty in 1971 and continuing past retirement, he has served as a  advisor, founder, and board member for numerous projects relating to scholarly exchanges between Asian faculty and students and Western's campus. 

Faculty Awards 2004-2005

Susan Mancuso, Department of Educational Leadership, received the Distinguished Service to the Profession Award (National Association of Student Personnel Administrator (NASPA) Region V (seven northwest states and two Canadian provinces).

Trish Skillman, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), was named Outstanding English Language Teacher at the 2005 National TESOL Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Rita Smilkstein, Secondary Education, won the prestigious Educator’s Award from Delta Kappa Gamma Society International for her book We’re Born to Learn.

Faculty Awards 2003-2004

William G. Demmert, Elementary Education, was the second recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (2004) by the National Indian Education Association (NIEA).  Demmert was one of the founders of the NIEA and was the first U.S. Deputy Commissioner of Education for the U.S. Office of Indian Education. 

William G. Demmert, Elementary Education, received the Medallion Award from Seattle Pacific University for alumni who have served the university and community with special commitment.  He is a leader in local, state, national and international research and assessment of education for native and indigenous peoples.

Susan Mancuso, Department of Educational Leadership, was inducted into Hall of Distinction by Whatcom Community College for contributions to the field of continuing and community college education.

Faculty Awards 2002-2003

Nancy J. Johnson, Elementary English Education professor, received the 2003 Arbuthnot Award from the International Reading Association for her ability “to inspire students to generate enthusiasm for reading children’s and young adults’ literature.”  Johnson was also one of 15 children’s literature experts nationwide serving on the 2003 John Newbery Award Committee, which annually selects the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Bruce Larson, Secondary Education, was awarded the 2003 Western Washington University Excellence in Teaching Award for the tremendous impact his teaching has had on students. His current research focuses on examining the difference between online learning and face-to-face discussion in the traditional classroom setting.  He is the fourth faculty member in the Secondary Education Department to receive this award.

LeAnn Tyson Martin, associate professor of physical education, received the State Board of Education Excellence in Teacher Preparation Award for 2003.  She was honored “for contributions in curriculum development, research on effective teaching, dissemination of research through publications and presentations, and service.”

Joseph E. Trimble, assessment/psychology/ Woodring College, editor of the Handbook of Racial and Ethnic Minority Psychology (with G. Bernal, K. Burlew, and F. Leong), which was selected by the library publication CHOICE as an Outstanding Academic Title for overall excellence in presentation and scholarship, relevance to field, and value to undergraduate students.

Faculty Awards 2001-2002 

Chris Ohana, Elementary Education, was chosen to serve as editor of Science and Children, the National Science Teachers Association journal for elementary teachers (circulated to 20,000 teachers monthly).       

Sheila Fox, Special Education, was appointed by Governor Gary Locke to a charter membership on the Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board in 2000.  The 19-member board, comprised mainly of educators, advises the State Board of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Legislature, and the governor on a full range of issues affecting educator professions.  Her term expires in 2004.

William Demmert, Native American Education Programs, is a member of the Steering Committee for the International Cross-Cultural Education Seminar Series in the Circumpolar North.  The goals of this committee of Native and non-Native educators and Native political leaders include helping indigenous peoples of the North develop ownership of their education systems and schools by creating, collecting and disseminating information on that process.

Faculty Awards 2000-2001

Bruce Larson and Angela Harwood, Secondary and Elementary Education, received the Outstanding Research Award in Social Studies Education from the American Educational Research Association. 

Angela Harwood, Secondary Education, was awarded the WWU Excellence in Teaching Award for 2001; only two such awards are given each year.

Karen Hoelscher, Elementary Education, received the WWU Diversity Achievement Award for 2000-2001. One such award is given each year by the President for the furtherance of efforts which enhance diversity and multicultural understanding on the WWU campus.        

Faculty Awards – 1999-2000

Dr. Tim Keiper, Secondary Education, received the Best Elementary Teaching Article Award for 2000 from the National Council for Geographic Education.  The award was given for an article published in the Journal of Geography, and selected from among all articles published in eleven issues (March 1998 – November 1999) of the journal.

Dr. Christine Ohana, Science Education, received an award for “Outstanding Leadership” from Iowa State University for her contributions teacher education during the 1996-1999 period of time.

Dr. Robert Kim, Educational Foundations, published text, Distinguished Asian Americans, was named the “Library Journal’s Best Reference Source for 1999”.  The award from the Library Journal denotes the top reference resources published each year.

Brian Rae, Secondary Education practicum supervisor, received the Distinguished Principal Award for the North Cascades League from the Washington Association of Secondary School Principals.

Rob Jones, math education, was nominated for Teacher of the Year for the Clover Park School District, 1999-2000.