Newsmakers in Education

Pam Hedgpeth, superintendent of the Republic R-III School District, was named chairwoman of the district accountability committee for the Missouri Association of School Administrators for the current school year. Her duties include monitoring state accountability requirements for school districts and making recommendations to MASA’s Executive Committee.

Missouri State University’s Board of Governors elected new officers at its August meeting. Mary Sheid, who served as vice president, was elected president, succeeding Michael Franks. Michael Duggan was elected vice president. Kent Kay was re-elected treasurer and John McAlear was re-elected board treasurer. Committee membership for the next year also was announced.

Duggan, Phyllis Washington, Gordon Elliott and Sheid (ex-officio) are serving on the executive committee. John Winston is chairman of the finance committee, with members Duggan and Elliott. Kathy Smith is chairwoman of the student affairs committee, with members Ryan Sivill and Sheid. Brian Hammons is chairman and Washington is a member of the academic affairs committee.

Also during the meeting, the board approved the Citizen Scholar Award to annually recognize five full-time students who have made significant accomplishments while enrolled at MSU.

Cheryl Taylor was named acting director of the doctor of ministry program at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary for the 2007–08 school year. Taylor has a bachelor’s degree from Northwest University and a master’s degree and a Doctor of Ministry from AGTS. She has a decade of ministry experience that includes work in the local church, on the district level and on the foreign mission field.

She has served as adviser for the doctor of ministry program since 2003. She also serves as the vice president for academics at Asia Theological Centre for Evangelism and Missions, an Assemblies of God college in Singapore. Her doctoral research was centered on sexual integrity for ministers.

The Branson R-IV School Board and the Nixa R-II School Board are among nine boards in the state to receive the Missouri School Boards Association’s 2007 Leadership Team Award. The award is presented to school boards that complete 16 hours of required training from MSBA and meet other criteria, including participation in MSBA’s Policy Services and the completion of a policy review in the last year.

Herb Hamann, an associate professor of physical therapy at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, received the 2007 Parkway Distinguished Professor Award, made possible by the Parkway Baptist Church in St. Louis. Hamann, who earned his doctorate in physical therapy in 2002 from Creighton University, is a certified clinical specialist in sports physical therapy. He has worked at SBU since 1983 and has been part of SBU’s physical therapy programs since the master’s program was instituted, and he was a major part of the school’s transition to offering the doctoral degree.

The Board of Education for Springfield Public Schools approved five new principals for the current school year. Michelle Wilkerson is principal at Bingham Elementary School. She has been with the R-XII district for seven years, serving as assistant principal at Hickory Hills prior to her new post. Wilkerson has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from MSU and a master’s degree in educational administration from William Woods University. Marty Marsh is principal at Jarrett Middle School. He has worked for the district for 11 years, serving as assistant principal at Kickapoo High School for six years prior to his new position. Marsh has a bachelor’s degree in physical education, a master’s degree in secondary education and physical education and a specialist in educational administration degree from MSU. Debbie Grega is principal at Reed Middle School. She has worked for the district for 12 years, most recently as assistant principal at Hillcrest High School. Grega has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Missouri, a master’s degree in secondary teaching from Drury University, and a specialist in educational administration degree and a doctorate in educational administration from Saint Louis University. Jay Rush is principal at Hillcrest High School. He has worked for the district for 15 years, most recently as principal at Study Middle School. Rush has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in special education and a specialist in educational administration from MSU. Jim Harvey is principal at Study Middle School. He has worked at the district for 11 years, most recently as assistant principal at Study. Harvey has a bachelor’s degree in physical education, health and math from Evangel University and a master’s degree in educational administration from MSU.

Eric Patterson, a 1994 graduate of Evangel University, was selected as a 2007–08 White House Fellow. Patterson serves as assistant director of the Berkley Center for Religion and World Affairs and assistant professor of government at Georgetown University. Patterson is one of 15 individuals chosen by the President’s Commission on the White House Fellowships for this year. White House Fellows usually spend a year working as full-time, paid special assistants to senior White House staff, the vice president, Cabinet secretaries and other top-ranking government officials. Patterson was awarded a Foster Fellowship for 2005–07 at the U.S. State Department, where he was a visiting scholar on the issue of illicit national trade in small arms and light weapons. He has written and edited several books and articles on topics, including religion, politics and international affairs.

Ozarks Area Community Action Corp. received a $3,000 grant from the Ozarks Health Advocacy Foundation to provide counseling and crisis intervention to children enrolled in OACAC’s Head Start Program, aimed at student learning and development.

Evangel University senior Tabitha Eutsler, an elementary and middle school math education major, received a $1,000 Sprint Foundation Scholarship. She is a 2005 graduate of Parkview High School. Her scholarship is underwritten by the Sprint Foundation through a donation to Missouri Colleges Fund.

Diana Haytko, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing with MSU, is part of a research team that received a $262,000 grant from the French government to study marketing geared toward children and its link to childhood obesity. She will work with lead researcher Joel Bree of the University de Caen Basse Normandie in France and Cathy Curran-Kelly of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.

The three-year project will use qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys of children around the world to explore ways to promote healthy eating habits in marketing to children.

Dorothy Wittorff-Sandgren of MSU’s Center for Resource Planning and Management received a $7,750 grant from the city of Marshfield to conduct a feasibility study and examine environmental impact for the construction of a city bus barn. The CRPM is an applied research and academic support unit of the university’s geography, geology and planning department. Each semester, the center employs interns in community and regional planning, resource planning and public administration.

Evangel University psychology professors Jean Orr, Geoffrey Sutton and Dolly Thomas provided a series of in-service education programs for Court Appointed Special Advocates in Springfield. Orr’s program focused on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Orr is a licensed psychologist and a graduate of Forest Institute of Professional Psychology. Sutton presented a parenting seminar on discipline.

He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in Columbia, and Sutton is the author of “Discipline With Respect.” Thomas, a clinical psychologist, presented a third session focused on post-traumatic stress disorder and child abuse, which also was the subject of her master’s thesis. Thomas is a graduate of Fordham University.

Ellen Hartman received the Maestro Masterful Teaching award from Kindermusik International. The Maestro program recognizes licensed Kindermusik educators for fast-growing programs, outstanding community service and mastering levels in early childhood development. Hartman opened her Springfield studio, Kindermusik with Ellen, in 2004 and teaches the Kindermusik program to 80 families. Her studio is ranked among the top 5 percent of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

Commerce Bank has awarded a $15,000 scholarship grant to the Missouri Colleges Fund for students at MCF member schools who are pursuing teaching careers. Area MCF schools include Drury and Evangel universities in Springfield and Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar.

Ash Grove native and Evangel University graduate Leslie Tate recently completed an internship at the White House. She worked for the Executive Office of the President in Correspondence, primarily processing the mail and also working with the comment line, proclamations and presidential photos. She also was able to volunteer for several activities, including garden tours and portraying Peter Rabbit at the White House Easter Egg Roll and attending the state arrival of Queen Elizabeth. [[In-content Ad]]