At a Jan. 18 ceremony in Asheville, Western Carolina University Chancellor John W. Bardo presented replicas of the Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award to representatives of WCU’s public school partners. Pictured at the far left is Michael Dougherty, dean of Western’s College of Education and Allied Professions. Receiving awards on behalf of their institutions, beginning second from left, are Benny Hendrix, Rutherford County; Rick Davis, Graham County; Carol Douglas, Haywood County; Steve Demiter, Burke County; Jeanette Hedrick, Cherokee County; Stephen Page, Henderson County; Cliff Dodson, Buncombe County; Ronald Wilcox, Madison County; Roger Metcalf, Western Regional Education Service Alliance; Scott Penland, Clay County; John Arnold, Cherokee Central Schools; Bob McGrattan, Asheville City Schools; Bill Miller, Polk County; Sue Nations, Jackson County; Brock Womble, Mitchell County; and David Sutton, Transylvania County.

Western Carolina University recently honored several Western North Carolina school system representatives for their district’s help in preparing university students for careers in the classroom.

At Jan. 18 ceremonies in Asheville, WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo gave a replica of the prestigious national Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award to each of the districts involved in WCU’s school-university partnership. After the American Association of State Colleges and Universities presented the McAuliffe award to Western in October, the university decided to share that distinction and publicly thank all 100 partnering schools. 

School system representatives accepting the award were Bob McGrattan, assistant superintendent of human resources for Asheville City; Cliff Dodson, superintendent of Buncombe County; Steve Demiter, director of human resources for Burke County; John Arnold, personnel director for Cherokee Central; Jeanette Hedrick, superintendent of Cherokee County; Scott Penland, superintendent of Clay County; Rick Davis, superintendent of Graham County; Carol Douglas, director of human resource and staff development for Haywood County; Stephen Page, superintendent of Henderson County; Sue Nations, superintendent of Jackson County; Dan Brigman, superintendent of Macon County; Ronald Wilcox, superintendent of Madison County; Ira Trollinger, superintendent of McDowell County; Brock Womble, superintendent of Mitchell County; Bill Miller, superintendent of Polk County; Benny Hendrix, chief technology officer for Rutherford County; David Sutton, director of human resource for Transylvania County, and Roger Metcalf, director of the Western Regional Education Service Alliance.

Also recognized were Avery County, Swain County and Yancey County schools.

“This award recognizes how much our school partners contribute to the success of Western’s teacher preparation program,” said Michael Dougherty, dean of the College of Education and Allied Professions. “Participating schools welcome our students into their classrooms and send their teachers to Cullowhee to share their knowledge with us. They are more than colleagues. They are our friends. We work together to help the children of Western North Carolina learn to high standards. And, together, we do that much better than we could alone.”

The Christa McAuliffe Award is presented annually by AASCU, whose 430 member colleges and universities prepare about 50 percent of the nation’s teachers. 

“This award is named for Christa McAuliffe, who was chosen to fly on the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. She had been selected from among 11,000 teachers nationwide to be the first teacher – and the first private citizen – in space,” Bardo said. “Because of her courage and dedication to the teaching profession, Christa McAuliffe’s memory will live forever. Through this prestigious annual award, she continues to inspire and motivate educators and those who aspire to follow in her footsteps in classrooms across the nation.”

The ceremony in Asheville was sponsored by AT&T North Carolina with support provided by Wachovia and AdvantageWest.

For more information about Western’s teacher education program, contact the College of Education and Allied Professions at (828) 227-7311.

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Last modified: Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008