2007 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients Honored

The College of Education, in conjunction with the Educational Alumni Association will honor seven recipients with 2007 Distinguished Alumni Awards and one recipient of a Beginning Educator Award at an April 28, 2007, ceremony in Champaign. These awards, given each year, honor graduates of the College who have excelled in their personal and professional endeavors.

“These ten men and women have truly established themselves as the standard by which educators should be judged,” said Mary Kalantzis, Dean of the College of Education. "Together, they represent the very best that we can hope for of our graduates. We are honored by their achievements and we are so very proud to call them alumni of the College."

The Distinguished Alumni Awards honor outstanding achievements and work of graduates of the College of Education. While the career paths of recipients often run the professional gamut, the one unifying factor is always the ongoing commitment to furthering education in any form.

The Education Alumni Association (the official alumni organization of the College of Education) created the awards in 1995 to recognize and honor the achievements of College graduates. Presented annually, recipients are nominated by peers and selected by a committee of College faculty, alumni and students. Winners’ names are inscribed on a permanent display in the South Lobby of the Education Building.

If you would like more information about the award recipients or about the nomination process, contact Bill Turner (217-244-4217).

2007 Beginning Educator Award Recipient

Anne K. Craig
B.S. ’04

Anne K. Craig currently teaches at Catlin Elementary School in Catlin, Illinois. Already in her young career, she is known for her high level of energy and genuine commitment to the teaching of children.

By focusing on the social and emotional learning in addition to the cognitive learning of her students, Ms. Craig is able to make each activity she does with her class valuable on a personal level. Each day she holds meetings with her students to allow them to share things happening in their lives. She then uses this background information to build community amongst her students in the classroom as well as make lessons applicable to each of her students’ lives.

Ms. Craig uses her position as educator and role model to teach students to think on a global level. This year, she developed and initiated a Culture of the Month program. Each month the students immersed themselves in a different culture, combining Literature with Social Studies, Writing, Science, and Culinary Arts.

Even as a beginning teacher, Anne serves on building committees, attends student events, and coaches the Varsity girl’s softball team. During her summers away from the classroom, she directs a YMCA camp in Rockford, Illinois.

Ms. Craig’s long term goal is continue her formal education and teach at the collegiate level. She currently is working on a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the College.

Anne Craig was nominated for this award by Jean Johnson, her former University supervisor for student teaching.

2006 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
(in alphabetical order) 

Lillie R. Albert
Ph.D. ’95

Lillie R. Albert is Associate Professor at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. Dr. Albert’s research explores the relationship between the cognitive act of teaching and learning mathematics and the use of cultural and communicative tools to develop conceptual understanding of mathematics. She has published her research in leading national and international journals in her field and presented papers at major research conferences nationally and abroad.

Dr. Albert is actively involved in professional and community service activities. Through a grant funded by the GE Foundation, Dr. Albert formed the Boston College/Brighton High School Mathematics Excellence Partnership in 2002 to focus on overall low student achievement in mathematics. The Partnership project addresses the need for resources for motivating students who show a high interest and/or aptitude in mathematics, and for building awareness about the connection between high achievement in mathematics and related college achievement and career opportunities.

At the national level, Dr. Albert has been active in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics as well as the American Educational Research Association (AERA), having served on the Advisory Council for Research in Middle Level Education Special Interest Group. She is an editorial reviewer for Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, and American Education Research Journal as well as a member of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study Anchoring Panel.

Dr. Albert has a B.A. from Dillard University and an M.A. from Xavier University in New Orleans.

Lillie Albert was nominated for this award by Karen Arnold (A.M. ’84, Ph.D. ’87), and Robert J. Starratt (Ed.D. ’69), associate professor and professor at Boston College, and past 2004 and 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients, respectively.

Samrerng Boonruangrutana
Ph.D. ’78

Samrerng Boonruangrutana was born in Ayutthaya province, Thailand. Upon completion of his doctorate from the University of Illinois, Dr. Boonruangrutana returned to Thailand to work at Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok. Later, he would become regarded as one of the top educators in Southeast Asia.

His body of work includes teaching and advising undergraduate and graduate students, developing curricula and tests, and doing educational research on measurement and evaluation, in addition to serving as a university administrator.

Dr. Boonruangrutana was a founder of a branch campus in the Nakornnayok Province, was one of the founders of Her Royal Highness Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn Hospital of Srinakarinwirot, and was one of the founders of Her Royal Highness Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn Building for Research and Continuing Education at Srinakarinwirot.

He is the author of books in measurements and evaluation, statistics, educational psychology, pedagogy, curriculum, primary school mathematics, educational administration, philosophy, and chemistry. To date, he has published 45 research papers and 155 articles on education. He is the author of The Message in My Mind and Three Waves, both books of poetry.

Dr. Boonruangrutana has received many awards including the Best University Instructor in the Nation in 2001. In 2005 he was one of fifteen people selected to present Thai Wisdom in the Celebration of 400th Anniversary of the Death of King Naresuan the Great.

He graduated from Srinakharinwirot University in Thailand with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in test and measurement.

Samrerng Boonruangrutana was nominated for this award by Robert Stake, professor emeritus in the Department of Educational Psychology and Director of the Center for Instructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation.

Y. Barry Chung
A.M. ’91, Ph.D. ’96

Mentored by some of the best-known counseling and vocational psychologists (including Lenore Harmon, Helen Farmer, Terry Tracey, Jim Rounds, and Louise Fitzgerald), Y. Barry Chung received his master’s and doctoral degrees in counseling psychology from the Department of Educational Psychology. He currently is Associate Professor and Training Director of counseling psychology at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Dr. Chung is most noted for his research and scholarship on career development, multicultural counseling, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues. He has published 44 journal articles and book chapters, and has presented 105 papers at national and international meetings.

Dr. Chung currently serves as President of the National Career Development Association (NCDA), and is a member on the Board of Educational Affairs of the American Psychological Association (APA). He has been recognized with several national honors including the Asian American Psychological Association Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions, the APA Division 35 Psychotherapy with Women Research Award, and the APA Division 44 Annual Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training.

His commitment to improving the lives of those marginalized and oppressed is reflected in his NCDA presidential and conference theme, “Integration and Collaboration within a Multicultural World,” which focused on multicultural workforce issues, international collaboration, and collaboration with other career organizations.

Dr. Chung earned a B.A. from National Taiwan Normal University.

Y. Barry Chung was nominated for this award by Melanie Reinersman (M.A. ’90), a colleague at the National Career Development Association.

Joseph L. DeVitis
Ph.D. ’72

Joseph L. DeVitis is considered by colleagues to be among an elite group of scholar-practioners in the country. A professor of education at Georgia College and State University, he also has taught at the State University of New York at Binghamton (where he is emeritus professor), the University of Louisville, and the University of Tennessee at Martin. Prior to earning his doctorate, he worked as an elementary school teacher in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. 

Dr. DeVitis considers his scholarly interests to flow from experience with what he considers to be some of more the vital problems of society. His broad interdisciplinary interests focus on moral development, school reform, education history, and philosophy of education. He has authored several books in these areas, two of which have been selected for the American Educational Studies Association’s Critics’ Choice Award. For the past six years, he has been co-editor of a book series on “Adolescent Cultures, School, and Society,” which has produced over 30 books since its inception in 1997.

Dr. DeVitis has compiled an admirable record of professional service activities. He is past-president of the American Educational Studies Association, the Council on Social Foundations of Education, the Society of Professors of Education (SPE), and the Southeast Philosophy of Education Society. He has received the Outstanding Service Award from SPE in 2001. He has served as a reviewer and/or board member for several highly selective journals, including Educational Theory, Journal of Thought, and Educational Studies.

Dr. DeVitis has a B.A. in history and M.Ed. from The Johns Hopkins University.

Joseph DeVitis was nominated for this award by Christine M. Shea (Ph.D. ’80), professor of Foundations of Education at East Carolina University.

Daniel L. Householder
Ed.D. ’63

Daniel L. Householder is an outstanding mentor, scholar, and public servant. He currently serves as Visiting Professor in the College of Technology at Purdue University, as Principal Investigator on Career Curriculum for Technology, a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) at Hofstra University. He is a former Program Officer in the Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education at NSF.

Dr. Householder began his career teaching industrial arts at the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, Junior/Senior High School in 1953. He also taught in Olney, Illinois and Manahawkin, New Jersey before coming to the Illinois for doctoral study. After completing his degree, he held faculty positions at Purdue University, Texas A&M University, and Iowa State University.

Dr. Householder has had a tremendous impact on the fields of industrial education and technology education. At last count, he has over 75 publications and 125 presentations, along with an extensive listing of grants and contracts. His work has focused on change and transition, prompting him to become one of the key leaders in promoting the “modernization” of industrial arts to the current field of technology education.

Additionally, he is past president of the International Technology Education Association and of the Council on Technology Teacher Education, and chaired the Mississippi Valley Industrial Teacher Education Conference. He is a member of the Academy of Fellows of the International Technology Education Association and is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Technology at Eastern Illinois University.

Dr. Householder has a B.S. and an M.S. in education from Eastern Illinois University.

Daniel Householder was nominated for this award by Scott Johnson, professor and head in the Department of Human Resource Education.

Taffy E. Raphael
Ph.D. ’81

Taffy E. Raphael currently is a member of the Literacy, Language and Culture program faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she coordinates the master’s program, teaches courses in literacy teaching methods, and conducts doctoral seminars in perspectives on literacy and research methodology. She previously held positions at the University of Utah, Michigan State University, and Oakland University. She received the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award from the International Reading Association in 1997.

Dr. Raphael’s research has focused on comprehension strategy instruction, strategy instruction in writing, and frameworks for literacy curriculum and instruction. She has also studied teacher learning and professional development. She currently is Director of Partnership READ, a school-university partnership funded by the Chicago Community Trust to improve literacy instruction through professional development, recognized by AACTE’s 2006 Best Practices Award for Effective Partnerships. Dr. Raphael has published 9 books and 3 edited volumes, and over 100 articles and chapters, in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, American Educational Research Journal, The Reading Teacher, Language Arts, and books by respected educational publishers such as Teachers College Press, Erlbaum, and International Reading Association.

Dr. Raphael received the Research Excellence Award from Oakland University in 2002 and has been a Fellow of the National Council of Research in Language and Literacy since 1996. She was elected to the Board of Directors of International Reading Association in 2007.

Dr. Rafael has a B.A. in elementary education/social science from Michigan State University and an M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Taffy Rafael was nominated for this award by Kathryn Au (Ph.D. ’81), professor of education at the University of Hawaii, and a 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.

Ronald S. Rochon
Ph.D. ’97

Originally from Chicago, Dr. Ronald Rochon currently serves as the Dean of the School
of Education and Associate Vice President for Teacher Education at Buffalo State College in New York. Prior to this, he served as the Director of the Research Center for Cultural Diversity and Community Renewal and Director of the Master of Education Professional Development Program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

His areas of professional interest center around the recruitment, retention, and successful matriculation of culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse students across the university campus. His research agenda is grounded within a historical context that examines trends among African Americans with respect to their feelings, attitudes, and perspectives toward ethnic and national identity. His work also investigates the current educational curriculum controversy regarding multiculturalism as well as the role of public schools in addressing questions of ethnic identity.

Dr. Rochon has distinguished himself as a tireless advocate for students of all races, particularly as an advocate for students of color. Moreover, his remarkable drive to reach out and to serve a wide variety of university community members is reflected in his extensive involvement in community-university activities. He has acquired over $2 million in federal grant funds to direct a Hmong Teacher Education program, and coordinated exchange programs between the University of Cape Coast (Ghana) and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Buffalo State College International Educational departments.

Dr. Rochon has a B.A. in animal science from Tuskegee University and a master’s degree
in animal science from the University of Illinois.

Ronald Rochon was nominated for this award by Paul Theobald (Ph.D. ‘90), professor of Urban and Rural Education at Buffalo State College, and a 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.

Paul T. Sindelar
M.S. ’74

Paul T. Sindelar is Professor of Special Education and Associate Dean for Research at
the University of Florida. From 2000 to 2005, he co-directed the Center on Personnel Studies in Special Education, funded by the U. S. Department of Education to conduct research on teacher supply and demand, professional preparation, certification, and licensure, and to disseminate findings to inform policy.

Previously, Dr. Sindelar served on the Special Education faculty at Penn State and Florida State Universities. He was Professor-in-Charge of Special Education at Penn State for 4 years, Head of the Department of Special Education at Florida State for 3 years, and Chair of the Department of Special Education at the University of Florida for 8 years.

Dr. Sindelar’s recent research has focused on the design and evaluation of teacher education programs, particularly alternative routes to certification. With colleagues from Florida’s Warrington College of Business Administration, he has conducted an economic analysis of program design and has undertaken a study of teacher education cost effectiveness.

Dr. Sindelar’s work has influenced teacher education in special education research, practice, and policy at every level. He has authored dozens of books, chapters and peer reveiwed articles. His research has brought in over $12 million to support training and research efforts. He was the 2001 recipient of the Merrill/TED Teacher Educator of the Year Award, one of the most prestigious awards for faculty in teacher education.

Dr. Sindelar earned a B.A. in history from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Paul Sindelar was nominated for this award by Department of Special Education faculty Janet Gaffney, James Halle, and Lisa Monda-Amaya, who completed her doctoral degree under Dr. Sindelar’s guidance.

George H. Wood
M.A. ’80, Ph.D. ’82

George H. Wood is nationally known as an educator, author, activist, and leader in the field of school reform. Dr. Wood entered college teaching as Assistant Professor of Education at Ohio University in Athens. While working at Ohio for almost two decades, Dr. Wood founded the Institute for Democracy and Education and the journal, Democracy and Education. Additionally, Dr. Wood published a wide range of papers on education in democratic societies and authored two books, Justice and Ideology (co-authored with Dr. Edward Stevens) and Schools that Work.

In 1992, Dr. Wood was appointed Principal of Federal Hocking High School (FHHS) in Stewart, Ohio. Over the past 15 years FHHS has earned a number of honors for its innovative work, including an Ohio Venture Capital Grant, an Ohio’s BEST award, designation as a First Amendment School, and identification as a Mentor School for the Coalition of Essential Schools Gates Foundation program. Much of this is chronicled in
Dr. Wood’s book, A Time to Learn. Dr. Wood took a two-year leave of absence and, with the assistance of his faculty and students at FHHS, started Wildwood Secondary School in Los Angeles in 2001.

Currently Dr. Wood is on leave from FHHS and serving as the Director of The Forum for Education and Democracy. Dr. Wood, along with Deborah Meier, edited and authored The Forum’s volume Many Children Left Behind and speaks widely on educational policy. Recently he authored the Transition Report on K-12 Education for Ohio’s Governor Ted Strickland.

Dr. Wood has a B.S. in social studies education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

George Wood was nominated for this award by Department of Educational Policy Studies faculty, Walter Feinberg and Jeanne Connell.