Dr. Ed Scantling
UNK College of Education Dean, 308.865.8502
Three Kearney educators – two university professors and one high school teacher – will be inducted into the Academy for Teacher Education Excellence at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Thursday, April 28.
The three, and their affiliations, include Dr. Ron Bovill, UNK Partner School director; Dr. George Lawson, UNK associate professor of communication; and Gary Stubbs, Kearney High School business teacher.
“The 2011 class of inductees is particularly strong and very representative of the many dedicated educators who commit themselves each year to working with future teachers from UNK,” said Dr. Ed Scantling, dean of the UNK College of Education. “We are indebted to them for their long-term work with our students.”
The inductees will be recognized by the UNK Advisory Council on Teacher Education during a program beginning at 3 p.m. at the UNK Health and Sports Center, Room 150/151.
“The purpose of the academy is to recognize, reward and support the excellence that ‘select’ teacher educators demonstrate in the preparation of the new professionals for the P-12 education profession,” Dr. Scantling said.
Dr. Bovill was the first director of the UNK Network of Partner Schools, where he built a connection between P-12 schools and the UNK College of Education. He is described as having been the face of UNK in schools across Nebraska, as he worked to build a strong partnership with schools that UNK depends on to train future teachers.
In a nomination letter, Dr. Bovill was described as being “…most treasured as a UNK supervisor for student teachers, faculty member and outstanding recruiter for the Teacher Education program. His enthusiasm for the teaching profession knows no bounds, and when he is visiting with a future teacher, his passion and dedication are truly amazing and infectious.”
Dr. Lawson has been a UNK faculty member for 23 years. During this time, he has developed a section of Speech 100 specifically for education majors. The class is tailored to prepare future teachers for a life of speaking in the classroom. He also teaches the methods course for future speech teachers, and uses the most current methodology to prepare them for the classrooms and the students they will teach in the future.
In addition, Dr. Lawson coordinates the Nebraska High School State Speech Tournament which brings approximately 2,000 high school students to UNK for a top level competition each year.
Stubbs is a business teacher at Kearney High school. He regularly works with UNK student teachers, and in a nomination letter, he is described as being “…noted for his wisdom and patience. He regularly speaks to the UNK chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, a student organization for all students interested in business and the college counterpart to Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Stubbs is an adviser for the Kearney High School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). He also volunteers as a judge for the statewide Phi Beta Lambda conference.
“He is a tremendous role model for future business teachers and provides sound advice to those preparing to be business teachers,” Dr. Scantling said.
