School of Education Personnel Problems Complicate Year - Graduate Program Seeks Accreditation For the School of Education, the 1984-85 school year was a year of sadness, yet a year of joy. It was a year of frustration, yet a year of accomplishment. It was a year when "education" received much criticism, yet it was a year when "education" received unprecedented support. At the end of the fall semester, Dr. Edward G. Sewell requested retirement for health reasons. He had taught at Harding for 37 years and had served as Chairman of the Department of Education from October 2, 1965, until August 21 , 1977 , when he requested just teaching responsibilities, relinquishing the Chairmanship to Dr. Bobby L. Coker. He also served as Director of Graduate Studies during the first four years of his Chairmanship of the Department, relinquishing this position to Dr. Nyal D. Royse in the fall of 1969 because of the rapid growth of the institution. During the fall semester Dr. Mary Ann Harris was hospitalized several days for chemotherapy, but she demonstrated spartan courage and genuine Christian faith by returning to her students to complete the semester. She was again hospitalized during the Christmas break and at the time of this writing had been hospitalized for five weeks. Although the need for additional faculty came sooner than expected, James D. NiChols , Director of Staff Personnel and a former high school administrator, had taken a leave to work on the doctorate in school administration at the University of Arkansas. Lewis "Tony" Finley, Elementary Principal at Harding Academy, had taken a leave to complete the doctorate at the University of Arkansas. Both men expected to complete the Ed. D. degree before the 1985 fall semester. In addition to these personnel problems, Dr. Bobby L. Coker, Dean of the School of Education, was involved in the cyclic self study for continued accreditation of the teacher education program , following the new standards that had been adopted by NCATE, with the visit of the on-site team scheduled during 1985-86. The undergraduate program has had NCATE accreditation continuously since 1961. In view of the growth and importance of the graduate program in teacher education, Dean Coker and Dr. Wyatt J ones, Director of Graduate Studies, were seeking initial accreditation of the graduate program as well as reaccreditation of the undergraduate program. Dr. Coker served as President of the Arkansas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. He also served as a member of a sub-committee on teacher education of the Joint Interim Committee of the Arkansas House and Senate Education Committee. Dr . Harris served as Vice President of the Arkansas Teacher Educators of Reading. During the summer she attended a Leadership Conference of the International Reading Association and hosted a meeting of the Arkansas Teacher Educators of Reading on campus. Also during the summer, she directed a reading workshop that involved 17 graduate students who worked with 34 remedial readers in a clinic situation. Dr. Richard Duke made preliminary plans to write a "Student Teaching Handbook. " He was a member of the Arkansas Skill Identification Work Group that developed competency tests for Arkansas teachers in reading . writing and mathematics. Members of the professional education faculty were active in educational, civic and ch urch activities. Hundreds of graduates were making significant contributions to the education of young people not only in the United States but around the earth. Several graduates received state and national citations for their expertise in teaching and administration. 6~ Mary Ann Harris, EdD - Professor, Reading Loleta Higginbotham, MAT - Instructor, Home Economics Education Fred Jewell, EdD - Professor . Social Science Education Wyatt Jones, EdD - Professor , Educational Psychology & Director of Graduate Studies Robert Kelly, EdD - Assoc. Professor, Business Education James Nichols, MEd - Asst. Professor, Middle School Bill Oldham, EdD - Professor, Mathmetics Education Edward G. Sewell, PhD - Professor, Tests & Measurements Evan Ulrey, PhD - Professor, Speech Education Betty Watson, MA - Assoc . Professor, Elementary Education George Woodruff, EdD - Professor. Science Education Winfred Wright, Dr. de I'Universite - Professor. Foreign Language Education School of Education 197
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