1999
Jon R. Hendrix, Phil L.Metcalf, and Donald R. Yeoman

Jon R. Hendrix has been named the Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus for the year. Dr. Jon R. Hendrix is one of three 1999 recipients of the Outstanding Teachers College Alumni Award. He is currently professor emeritus of Ball State University teaching human genetics and bioethical decision-making. He is also on a hospital ethics committee and has had two clinical internships in medical genetics. Along with being a teacher, Dr. Hendrix also operates a bioethics consulting service called Resolution. He consults for corporate as well as clinical ethics committees and is a consultant on medical ethics to the Community Hospital Corporation in Indianapolis.

Dr. Hendrix has published over 100 articles, 5 books, and several book chapters. Most articles have been in science education journals or journals related to human genetics and bioethics. He is also the recipient of numerous awards. In 1998, he became the first Ball State faculty member to receive the CASE/Carnegie Indiana Professor of the Year and was selected from among nominees from 10 Indiana colleges and universities. In 1997 alone he was honored with the Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher in the Nation, SCST/Kendall Hunt; the Distinguished Service to Science Education, Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, 1997; the Warren Vander Hill Award; and the Outstanding Honors Teaching at Ball State University. He has received other awards such as the 1969 Indiana University Northwest Outstanding Teacher Award, the 1986 Gustav-Ohaus Outstanding Teaching Award, and a 1992 Honorary Membership National Association of Biology Teachers. Although now retired from teaching, Dr. Hendrix is still active on the Genetics Advisory Committee for the State Board of Health. He enjoys the travel and camping time retirement allows. He hears from former students daily and would like them to know that he loved every minute of his teaching career at Ball State. He says, "Peace to all and especially my former students."

Phil L. Metcalf has been named the Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus for the year. Mr. Metcalf completed his education degree from Ball State in 1970 and his masters from St. Francis College in 1974. He was formerly a math teacher at Milford Jr. High for 13 years and is now educating the students and serving as the Math Department chairman of Wawasee High School.

Some of his honors include being appointed to the Indiana Professional Standards Board since 1992, chairing the Indiana Professional Standards Board since 1994, and being appointed to the Board of Visitors for the College of Education at Butler University since 1995. Metcalf has received several awards such as the 1996 ISTA Pacesetter Award and the 1999 Sagamore of the Wabash award. He has also co-authored a book and a student teaching manual.

Mr. Metcalf is currently active in his community as a member of the Webster Lake Association Board of Directors. When he is not serving on a committee of some sort or educating young minds, Mr. Metcalf enjoys weight lifting, running, working in his yard, reading, and going to the movies.

Donald R. Yeoman, superintendent of the Tri-Creek School Corporation in Lowell, Indiana, has been named the 1999 Outstanding Teachers College Alumnus. This award is given annually to Ball State University College alumni who are presently active in education and who have made significant contributions in teaching, administration, counseling, scholarship, or service to the profession.

Dr. Yeoman has served as superintendent of the Tri-Creek School Corporation in Lowell, Indiana since 1990. Prior to that time, he served as assistant superintendent for the South Madison Community School Corporation in Pendleton, Indiana, from 1981 to 1990. He also served as elementary principal in Munster, Indiana, from 1977 to 1981 and as an elementary teacher in the M.S.D. of Washington Township in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1970 to 1976.

Dr. Yeoman holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from Butler University and an Ed.D. from Ball State University.

Dr. Yeoman is past president of the Northwest Indiana Public School Study Council, past president of the Hammond Area Reading Council, vice president of the Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative Board of Managers, vice president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free Lake County, Inc., and a state director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. He is chairman and co-founder of the Lowell Improvement Team, past president of the Lowell Rotary Club, and past chairman of his church's Administrative Council. He was named Indiana's 2000 Superintendent of the Year and Lowell's 2000 Man of the Year.

His professional interests include school improvement, innovation, strategic planning, crisis intervention planning, substance abuse prevention, and staff/board/parent training and development.

1997
E. Sharon Banks and Beverley J. Pitts

E. Sharon Banks has been named the Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus for the year. A graduate of Central High School, Banks received her B.S. in business education and her M.A. in education, all from Ball State University. After teaching and counseling at Central and Elmhurst High Schools, Banks received her administrative certificate from Indiana University, Fort Wayne. She then became dean of girls at Wayne High School. Banks received her doctorate in educational administration and supervision at Ball State. For five years she also served as an educational consultant for Lincoln National Corporation's summer base program. She spent time as coordinator, division head over the personnel department, and liaison to several important community organizations for Fort Wayne's Mayor Helmke.

Dr. Banks was principal of Northrop High School the largest school in Northeast Indiana. She also served as Northrop/South Side area and Wayne area administrator, where she worked with approximately 13,000 students, nineteen principals, and parents to achieve the Northrop/South Side area goals.

Some of Dr. Banks achievements include being named as "Women of the Year" by Turner Chapel AME (1981) and "Fort Wayne Educator of the Year" (1981). While in Indiana, Banks also was presented with the Frederick Douglas Freedom Award (1988), the outstanding African-American Alumni Award of Ball State University (1989) and the Canihead Start Award (1990). She also received the 1991 Family Advocacy Award for the State of Indiana and was named Educator of the Year of 1992 by the Fort Wayne Urban League.

Dr. Banks was named Principal of the Year for the State of Indiana by the Indiana PTA Association. Other accomplishments include the Phoebe Hurst Apperson 1993 National Educator of the Year Award and the YWCA's Helene Foellinger Woman Achiever of the Year in 1995.

Whereas Dr. Banks' own personal philosophy is to be a life-long learner, those who know her well say that she is certain to be a life-long teacher.

Beverley J. Pitts has been named the Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus for the year. Beverley Pitts is currently associate provost at Ball State University.

Before coming to Ball State, she was chair of the Department of Communication at Anderson University. At Ball State, she has held the positions of director of general studies, director of academic assessment, and assistant provost before moving to her current position as associate provost. She is also a professor of journalism and served as director of graduate studies in the Department of Journalism at Ball State. She has a BA from Anderson University, a masters in journalism and a doctorate in higher education from Ball State University. Her dissertation was a study of the news writing process.

In addition to her educational career, she has been active as a practicing journalist. She has been a staff writer, researcher, and communications consultant for the National Football League Players Association in Washington, D.C. Results of her research with the NFLPA have appeared in more than 30 newspapers and magazines including USA Today, Newsday, Football Digest, and Sports Medicine.

Her teaching and research activities have focused on the news writing process. Her research on the news writing process led to the development of a model that was published in "A Model for the News Writing Process," in 1989. She has published more than 50 articles including publication in Newspaper Research Journal, Journalism Educator, and The Journal of Teaching Writing. In 1997 she and three colleagues published a textbook, The Process of Media Writing. Grant projects include three Lilly Endowment grants and a Newspaper in Education grant to improve writing in secondary schools.

She has received numerous other awards. To name just a few, Dr. Pitts has received the Ball State Journalism Hall of Fame award, the Anderson University Outstanding Alumni award, the Women in Communication Woman of Achievement in Education award, a Fulbright scholarship to study in Germany, the Ottoway Fellowship and the American Press Institute Fellowship.

She is currently a member of the board of the Professional Athletes Foundation, the Lyn St. James Foundation, Ivy Tech State College Region 6, the United Way of Delaware County, Family Services of Delaware County, the Community Foundation Board, and Muncie Rotary. She is a former chair of the Indiana Humanities Council and former president of the National Association for General and Liberal Studies. Finally, she was a founder and is former president of the Indiana Teachers of Writing.

1996
Richard D. Hibschman and Alan D. Wolfelt

Richard D. Hibschman has been named the 1996 Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus. He is a 1962 graduate of Ball State University and is currently headmaster of Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, MO.

Hibschman, after completing his teaching degree in elementary education, completed his doctorate at Harvard University. For 24 of the 31 years he served as a public school administrator, he provided leadership as superintendent. Before moving to Kansas City, he was superintendent of the Scarsdale Public Schools, NY.

Alan D. Wolfelt has been named the 1996 TC Outstanding Alumni. Dr. Wolfelt received his M.A. in 1977 and Ph.D. in 1982 from Ball State University. Upon leaving Ball State, he completed a doctoral internship at the Mayo Clinic. He is currently the director of the Center for Loss and Life Transition and is on the faculty at the University of Colorado Medical School's Department of Family Medicine. Past recipient of the Association of Death Education and Counseling's Death Educator Award, Dr. Wolfelt is an educational consultant to hospices, hospitals, schools, universities, funeral homes and a variety of community agencies across North America.

Author of ten books and nearly 100 articles in scientific journals, he has been named the Outstanding Death Educator in North America. He is internationally acclaimed for his work. Dr. Wolfelt writes the "Children and Grief" column for Bereavement magazine. He has appeared on such television programs as Oprah Winfrey, The Larry King Show, The NBC Today Show and Nick News.

1994
Suellen K. Reed

Suellen K. Reed has been named the Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus for the year. Dr. Reed has been a teacher at elementary, middle and high school levels, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. Her areas of expertise include international education, gifted and talented education, elementary education and history, political science and curriculum. Since 1992, she has been Indiana's Superintendent of Public Instruction and therefore Indiana's chief state school officer, serving as the chairperson of the State Board of Education and CEO of the Indiana Department of Education.

She has a B.A. from Hanover College and master's and doctorate degrees from Ball State University. In addition, she has done graduate work at several universities including some in other countries. Dr. Reed has visited schools in Japan, Singapore, the former U.S.S.R., United Kingdom, China, and Germany.

Dr. Reed has been a member of several committees and is active in almost every aspect of education. She served as officer, on the Board of Directors, Committee on International Relations, and on the Task Force on Strengthening Professional Practice of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). Dr. Reed served as a commissioner for the Education Commission of the States (ECS) and was treasurer of the group. She was the first national chairman of the K-12 Compact for Learning and Citizenship and the chair of the Policy and Priorities Committee. Dr. Reed is a member of the Women's Council on Literacy for the Indiana Literacy Foundation. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Hanover College, the Commission for Drug-Free Indiana, the Indiana Commission on Community Service, the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS), and the Rush County Community Foundation. She also serves as a member of the National Children's Film Festival Board of Directors, the Council for International Educational Exchange Advisory Committee for International Teacher Education, the International Technology Education Association's Advisory Committee (ITEA), the Board of Trustees for the Center for Agricultural Science and Heritage, North Central Association Board as an ex-officio member, Project Lead the Way Board, and NCATE Board.

Dr. Reed served as honorary chair of the 1994-95 fund raising campaign for Young Audiences of Indiana. She is a member of the National Advisory Board for the National Association of Gifted Children. She is also a member of the 1995 Statewide Advisory Council for the Ball State University School of Continuing Studies and Public Service.

1993
Constance A. (White) Jones

Constance A. (White) Jones is the 1993 recipient of the Teachers College Outstanding Alumni Award. She earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education and music at Ball State University and her M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction with emphasis in math and science as well as her Ed.S. and Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with emphasis in educational leadership from the University of Southern Florida. Her postgraduate work has been in education policy at the University of Virginia.

She has been in public education as an elementary teacher, principal, and district summer school coordinator for the Lee County Public Schools in Fort Myers, Florida. During that time, she was also an adjunct professor for Nova University in Fort Lauderdale teaching graduate courses in curriculum and instruction, early childhood education, as well as administration and supervision. She is the past president of the Core Knowledge Foundation, an independent, nonprofit corporation. Since 1991 she has worked with school districts throughout the country in developing school wide strategies to align grade-specific content guidelines with state standards and assessment programs.

In addition to this award and numerous others, the National School Boards' Association recognized Dr. Jones as one of the top 100 executive educators in North America.

1991
Donald C. Locke

Donald C. Locke was awarded the 1991 Teachers College Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus Award at the spring Teachers College Commencement ceremonies.

Dr. Locke received his bachelor's degree from Tennessee State University in 1963 and his master's from that institution one year later in 1964. At that point he became a social studies teacher in Fort Wayne for six years and a high school counselor for two more years. In 1974 he received a doctoral degree in guidance and counseling from Ball State University. He has spent a summer studying at the Stanford University Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences.

Dr. Locke began his career in higher education at Ball State, where he served as an assistant professor in the European Program immediately after receiving his doctoral degree. Subsequently, he accepted a position at North Carolina State University, where he has been employed for the past 16 years. Currently, he serves as professor and head of the Department of Counselor Education at North Carolina State University.

Dr. Locke has published more than 50 articles, books, and book chapters on various aspects of school counseling and multicultural counseling. His research covers a broad spectrum of topics; his current research focuses on multicultural and cross-cultural counseling.

Dr. Locke, is not, however, a one-dimensional academician. Dr. David Dixon, chair of the Department of Counseling Psychology at Ball State, noted that, "Since his graduation from Ball State, Dr. Locke has had a distinguished career as an academician, school consultant, professional association leader, school counselor, and high school teacher." Dr. Locke's record provides ample evidence of the truth of Dr. Dixon's praise. Since 1982, Don Locke has served continuously in a leadership capacity in a professional organization devoted to counseling or education. He has been a consultant to school districts, universities, prisons, courts, social service agencies, governmental agencies, business organizations, and other organizations. He is a registered practicing counselor as well as a licensed psychologist in North Carolina.

Dr. Locke's efforts on behalf of counseling and education have not gone unnoticed. He has received numerous awards including the Writing and Research Award, the Ray Thompson Multicultural Counseling Award, and the Ella Stephens Barrett Leadership Award. He has been listed in Who's Who Among Black Americans, and has received the African American Outstanding Service Award from North Carolina State University.

1990
David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson

David W. Johnson has been named the Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus for the year. After earning his bachelors degree from Ball State, David went to Teachers College at Columbia University, where he received his master's degree in 1964 and Ed.D. in 1966, both in social psychology.

Currently a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, he has been a faculty member at the University of Minnesota for the past 23 years. He is the author of 27 books, more than 200 other publications, and 3 films. He has been the recipient of many awards over the years, among them the Professor Advancement Award for Outstanding Research from the American Association of Counseling and Development in 1988; the 1986 Research Award in Social Studies Education by the National Council for the Social Studies; and the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Award in 1981 for the Outstanding Article of the Year on intergroup relations.

Roger T. Johnson has also been named the Teachers College Outstanding Alumnus for the year. After completing a master's degree in educational psychology and clinical reading from Ball State in 1962, Roger departed for California, finishing an Ed.D. in elementary school curriculum with a major in science education at the University of California-Berkley in 1968.

Dr. Johnson is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota, where he has been a faculty member since 1968. His professional publications also number well over 200. He proudly points to his early years of elementary school teaching experience in Kindergarten through Grade 8 from Indiana to Colorado to Massachusetts to California. Now he is nationally and internationally known for his consultant activities and workshops in most parts of the United States and England. His long and distinguished career includes many other successes of note in science education, in education for the handicapped, and in teacher education.