JimNichols, Ed.D. Prof, Dir/ Fie/dExp. JeaninePeck,Ed.D. Prof Richard Peck,Ed.D. Prof Ca rolyn Priest,M.Ed. Insl. Gordon Sutherlin, EdD . Prof, ChaidS<.'c. Ed,Dir/Ullde'8rad. TcacherEd. Linda 111Omton, Ed.D. Ass'l. Prof BettyWatson , Ed.D. Disl.Prof ctJr. cf30bby Coker steps down as dean ofSchool ofeducation This year was Dr. Bobby Coke r's last to serve as dean o f the School of Education. Since Coke r became dean in 1979, the numbe r of students maj o ring in educa ti on jumped tremendously, from about 200 to well over 900 fo r the 1997-98 school year. "] rea ll y enj oy Dr. Coke r's classes. I appreciate his concern for the individual student. He always has time to stop and explain a concept," graduate Leedy Kay Smith said. Coke r's 30 yea rs at Ha rd ing University included e ight yea rs as director of insti tutional testing and 20 years in educa tion, first as chair of the Department of Education and then as dean of the School of Education. Afte r re tiring as dean , he planned to remain at Harding as a faculty member for a whil e longer, go to HUG in the fall of '99, and compl etely retire in Decembe r of '99. Among Coke r's many responsibilities as dean was the important task of dea ling with the National Council for Accreditation o f Teacher Educa tion (NCATE). Since 1961, NCATEhas visited Harding fi ve times. Coker assisted w ith or was in charge of four of the vis its. The most recent was during the 1995-96 school yea r. One of Coker's reasons for reti ring was the NCATE evaluation in 20002001. "The new dea n is responsible for the development and accreditation process and needs to be on board for at least three years before the visit ," Coke r said. Another reason for his retirement was the number of changes that were scheduled to take p lace in the School of Education ove r the next few years. "We 're undergo ing tremendous change in teacher education, and ] would rather someone e lse took us through that process ," he said. Some o f th ese cha nges w ill in c! ud e dropping the elementary education majo r and adding ea rl y childhood education and middle-level education as majors. "The 30 yea rs ] have been he re have been pleasant. ] have enjoyed the students and have made many friends among those students . It has been a joy to work with my Christi an colleagues," Coker said. Coker saw ·many changes occur, many of whi ch we re hi s responsibi li ty. His legacy in both the School of Educa tion and at Harding University will live on for many yea rs through the work of the program that he headed for so long. "Dr. Coke r is a professor who looks out for the student 's best interest. He looks to the future of educa tion by looking at diffe rent ideas that might be useful fo r educating futu re students ," senior Mary Al ice Reed said. - Brad Brooks Dr. Bobby Coker completes his tenure as dean of the School of Education with the 1997~98 academic year. Coker stepp ed down, bavingseroed in thatposition since 1979. PhotobyKI1:Sti Burns. Academics 59 t1&
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