There was celebration and remembrance at Catawba College's Commencement Exercises on May 11. Three graduates and one alumnus received awards during the two ceremonies, while one student who died just five credit hours away from completing the coursework for his bachelor's degree was honored with a special tribute.

Catawba College recognized three retiring faculty members at its May 11 Commencement Exercises. Drs. James "Jim" Beard, John B. "Jack" Green and Cynthia B. Osterhus '73 were cited for their contributions to the institution at the 10 a.m. ceremony held in Keppel Auditorium.

Catawba College's End-of-the-Year Luncheon for Faculty and Staff was a time to recognize 10 individuals who are retiring from the college this year.

The professor whom students call "Dr. O" was recognized by the students and her colleagues in the Catawba College Department of Teacher Education at a retirement reception held April 30 in the atrium of Ketner Hall. Dr. Cynthia B. Osterhus, an associate professor of teacher education and director of the Shirley Peeler Ritchie Academy for Teaching at Catawba, will retire at the end of this academic year after 10 years as a full-time faculty member at the college.

Members of the Catawba College community gathered in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on April 23 to celebrate achievement. The occasion was the annual Awards Convocation.Scheduled the day after Earth Day, the awards distributed were eco-friendly, made of Catawba blue, 100% recycled glass. They symbolized the college's commitment to environmental responsibility and are a reminder to the recipients to promote a greener, more sustainable lifestyle.

by Sydney Smith of Salisbury, West Scholars Cohort '11 - Eighteen Catawba College sophomores and juniors who are West Teaching Scholars ventured to Charleston, S.C., to gain firsthand experience of the historic town. The April 5-9 excursion was led by Dr. Rhonda Truitt, associate professor of teacher education and chair of education department at Catawba, and Teresa Weddington, administrative assistant for Catawba's Academy for Teaching.

by Lizzle Davis, Class of '13 - Catawba College students pursuing careers in teaching participated in a free workshop on campus that will help better prepare them for their pending jobs. Catawba's Teacher Education Department hosted the Spencer Kagan workshop, "From Survival to Success: Essential Strategies for New Teachers" at the Center for the Environment on March 14 and 15 for juniors and seniors majoring in Education.

by Rachel Shelton (West Scholar Cohort '11). As part of its annual teacher of the year presentation, the Academy for Teaching at Catawba College welcomed the 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year, Darcy Grimes.

The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) will host a Regional Professional Learning Day on the campus of Catawba College on Saturday, February 23. This training day for pre-service and current teachers, as well as National Board candidates, is one of five sessions being held across the state.

In a formal pinning ceremony held in late October, thirty eight Catawba College students and two faculty members were accepted into the Department of Teacher Education at the college. The ceremony, held in Hedrick Little Theatre, was sponsored by the Student North Carolina Association of Educators (SNCAE). Ms. Laura Ritchie, a 2011 Catawba alumna, shared remarks about her perspective on teaching and a reception followed in the Peeler Crystal Lounge.

Two open houses for Catawba's Evening Program are scheduled in December. Prospective students will have the opportunity to learn more about the evening degrees offered by the School of Evening & Graduate Studies. View details on the open houses and programs...

Learn why birth to five years of age are a child's most formative years at Catawba College's November Community Forum. Deborah K. Howell, M.Ed., Assistant Director at Partners in Learning Child Development and Family Resource Center in Salisbury, will be the keynote speaker at the event scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in Tom Smith Auditorium on the Catawba campus.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Catawba College alumnae Sally Schultz and Katiearl Etters graduated from the Teacher Education program) By Sarah Campbell, salisburypost.com - They weren't dressed the part, but three teachers from Hanford Dole Elementary School were sure acting like fairy godmothers Wednesday as they stood in the parking lot of Weant Street Apartments giving out candy and school supplies.

Fourteen Catawba College students employed their unique gifts and talents in service to others as interns with tax-exempt nonprofit organizations during the summer of 2012. Funding and coordination for the program were provided through the college's Lilly Center for Vocation and Values. While these students clearly benefitted from the experiential learning opportunities offered through such internships, they also filled vital roles within the programs they served.

Catawba College has received a $1.45 million grant from the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program of the National Science Foundation that will provide five years of support for scholarships and internships that help prepare Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors for teaching careers. This is the largest grant of this type that Catawba has ever received.

Bunker Hill High recently named Catawba College Alumnus Lee Miller as the new athletic director for the upcoming school year. Miller, assistant principal at Bunker Hill, will add the title of athletic director to his duties and replaces the recently retired Jim Woodruff. Miller is a 1990 graduate of Bunker Hill and began his career as a teacher and coach at St. Stephens High in 1995 after graduating from Catawba.

St. Thomas Players, the award-winning theatre company of the Center for Faith & the Arts, will present Dinner with Friends, written by Pulitzer prize winner, Donald Margulies. Dinner with Friends will be presented in the Florence Busby Corriher Theatre on the campus of Catawba College on June 14-16 and 21-23 at 7:30pm and June 17 at 2:30pm.

Several open houses for Catawba's Evening Program are scheduled during the month of June. Prospective students will have the opportunity to learn more about the evening degrees offered by the School of Evening & Graduate Studies. View details on the open houses and programs below...

Fourteen students in Catawba College's School of Evening and Graduate Studies (SEGS) program were inducted into the College's chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society during a ceremony held April 18 in Tom Smith Auditorium on campus.

Catawba College's Theta Phi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) education honor society installed new officers for the 2012-2013 year and inducted 25 new members in a ceremony held at 7:00 p.m. on April 3 in the Tom Smith Auditorium on campus. Faculty members from the Teacher Education Department played active roles in the ceremony.

On Thursday, April 26, 2012, from 5:30-7:00 p.m., there will be a Special Education Awareness Fair held in Catawba College's Cannon Student Center. The fair will be sponsored by Catawba's Student North Carolina Association of Educators (SNCAE).

The SNCAE Benefit Concert hosted on the Catawba College campus in Goodman Gymnasium on Saturday, March 24 was a successful event. According to Catawba's SNCAE advisor and director of Catawba's Curriculum Materials Center, Amanda Bosch, "The performers were excellent, booths were fun and best of all, we had a total of 387 school supplies donated."

The N.C. State Board of Education has granted final approval of Catawba College's Special Education Licensure Program. While special education teachers work with children and youth who have a variety of disabilities, Catawba's licensure program will prepare teachers to work with students with mild to moderate learning challenges.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Dan Ryan, a 2009 graduate of Catawba College, majored in Music and minored in K-12 Education. He has been the choral director at North Iredell High School since 2009 and wrote the music and lyrics for the upcoming original musical "The Millennium Problem," which is set for March 8th, 9th, and 10th.

K-12 students in the Rowan-Salisbury Schools will be the beneficiaries of a Saturday, March 24th benefit concert hosted on the campus of Catawba College by Catawba's Student North Carolina Association of Educators (SNCAE). Admission to the 11 a.m. concert, featuring a special performance from Christian Rock band, Grace Reigns Down of Greensboro, will be open to those who make a donation of one school supply to attend.

The Martha Kirkland West Scholars are students from both inside and outside of the state of North Carolina who have demonstrated leadership, community involvement and a strong commitment to teaching. The Scholars are so designated in honor of Catawba College alumna, College trustee and former Teacher Education faculty member, Dr. Martha Kirkland West of Salisbury, N.C. Watch a video of the Teaching Scholars singing the Standards Song...

The Catawba Conservation Camp, a summer camp that teaches middle school girls about the importance of conserving and protecting the natural environment, will continue operating this summer, thanks to a $25,000 Ribbon of Hope grant. In late 2011, the NC GlaxoSmithKline Foundation's Board of Directors awarded the Ribbon of Hope grant to Catawba College to continue its Catawba Conservation Camp or C3 that began in 2009 with funding provided by a three-year grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

Two new and temporary administrative positions were filled Tuesday evening by the Davidson County Board of Education. At the monthly meeting, the board unanimously approved Lydia E. Mack, as the assistant principal of both Midway and Friedberg elementary schools, and retiree Max T. Cole as the temporary assistant principal of Central Davidson Middle School.

Forty eight Catawba College students and one faculty member were honored in a formal pinning ceremony held in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on Wednesday, October 12, 2011. This event marked admission to the Teacher Education Program at Catawba College. The ceremony was sponsored by the Student North Carolina Association of Educators (SNCAE).

Newton and Nancy Fowler of Concord and members of their family have made a gift to Catawba College that moves their Fowler Endowed Scholarship Fund, established in 2005, to the First Family Scholarship level. Preference for the Fowler Family First Family Scholarship will be given to a student athlete who maintains a 3.0 grade point while majoring in Education.

Rowan County's Partners in Learning (PIL) Child Development & Family Resource Center marks its 15th anniversary on October 6 and its director Norma Honeycutt says the non-profit has much to celebrate. From serving less than 50 children the first year it opened, PIL has grown to serve more than 300 children a week. In its 15 years of existence, Honeycutt believes a total of more than 5,000 children and their families have been served by her organization that she terms "an extended family."

By David Freeze, for the Salisbury Post - [EDITOR'S NOTE: Lori Wong graduated summa cum laude from Catawba College in the B.A.E. program and completed her licensure program in teacher education] Young students at Partners in Learning Children’s Development Center know they are taught by a high-energy teacher named Lori Wong. However, few of the children or their parents, and just a small number of the school’s staff, know Wong’s story.

[Katie Earl Etters is a 2010 Catawba College graduate who majored in Elementary Education (K-6). Etter's father is among the music faculty at Catawba.] When the calendar turns to August, children, teachers and parents know all too well it's time for school again. Even now there are children moaning and groaning, while at the same time their parents are in the background trying to hide laughter.

By Sarah Campbell, salisburypost.com - In a sense, Catawba College alumna and China Grove native Tammy Tutterow is coming home. Sure, she never left the area. But when she graduated from South Rowan High School in 1992 she wasn’t exactly expecting to come back, to the school that is. But this fall, Tutterow will start her teaching career by launching to school’s first marketing program.

Two new academic majors will be offered to Catawba College students beginning this fall. The Ketner School of Business adds a new Economics and Finance major, while the Goodman School of Education adds a new Special Education major with a variety of concentrations. According to College Provost, Dr. Richard W. Stephens, Jr., the new majors are in response to the projected needs in the marketplace.

by Mark Wineka, SalisburyPost.com - Catawba College associate professor Dr. Cyndi Osterhus has strong, personal ties to the shuttle program as one of the NASA Teacher in Space finalists and considered traveling to Florida for the final shuttle launch.

by Sarah Campbell, scampbell@salisburypost.com - When Rick Hampton took over as the principal of North Rowan Elementary School in 2004 he quickly realized that regular Band-Aids simply aren’t good enough. "I had to go out and buy Blues Clues and Sponge Bob Band-Aids," he said. "I fixed a lot of boo-boos with those Band-Aids. They always brought a smile."

Catawba College alumna Dinah Carpenter retires from Overton Elementary School after teaching 24 years. Carpenter received her teaching certification from Catawba.

Catawba College's School of Evening Studies will sponsor an open house in Kannapolis on Monday, June 27, from 5:00-7:30 p.m. in the ante room of the Core Lab Building in Kannapolis. Prospective students are invited to drop by at any time for an overview of the program and financial aid opportunities.

Catawba College's School of Evening Studies will sponsor an open house on Tuesday, June 21, from 5:00-7:30 p.m. in the Conference Center on the main campus of Davidson County Community College. Catawba currently offers evening courses on the DCCC campus. Prospective students are invited to drop by at any time for an overview of the program and financial aid opportunities.

Kathy Conte, a 1973 alumna of Catawba College, retired from Charles England Elementary School after a 38-year career in education. After receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education at Catawba, Conte started her career at Cecil School teaching third grade. Later, she taught at Southwest Elementary School and Dunbar School, which was later renamed to Charles England.

Catawba College's School of Evening Studies will sponsor an open house on the Catawba campus on Monday, June 20, from 5:00-7:30 p.m. in Ketner Hall, Room 108. Prospective students are invited to drop by at any time for an overview of the program and financial aid opportunities.

By Sarah Campbell, Salisburypost.com - Theresa Pierce '10 can't walk down the halls at Overton Elementary School without students waving, calling out her name or running to hug her. "They are always so excited to see her," Jennifer Sheppard, the school's Title I coordinator, said. Pierce was recently named the Rowan-Salisbury Teacher of the Year, an accolade Sheppard said is well-deserved.

Again this year, Catawba College students from various disciplines shared their diverse research projects during the 2011 Interdisciplinary Research Symposium held Thursday, April 21 in the Leonard Lounge of the Cannon Student Center. Faculty, staff and students on campus dropped by during the two-hour event to listen and learn from these students.

In early April, the Catawba College Student North Carolina Association of Educators (SNCAE) became one of seven colleges and universities to be designated a blue ribbon chapter and was awarded a $150 prize for membership activities by the North Carolina Association of Educators.

by Jessica Everett, '09 West Teaching Scholar - C-3 Campers began their journey with us in July 2010 with a weeklong, residential science camp experience on the Catawba campus. There could not have been a better way to conclude the 2010-2011 chapter of this second group of conservation campers than to take the young group of middle school girls to the Mary L. Farm in Mt. Ulla. This organic dairy farm gave the campers the ultimate field-trip experience.

Salisbury natives Gordon P. Hurley and Martha Kirkland West '59 were honored by Catawba College on Sunday, April 10 as recipients of the 2011 Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Hurley and West received the recognition in a 4 p.m. ceremony held in Hedrick Little Theatre on campus. The awards ceremony was part of the college's annual President's Circle event.

Catawba College's Theta Phi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) education honor society installed new officers for the 2011-2012 year and inducted 22 new members in a ceremony held on campus Tuesday, April 5.

A 1944 Catawba College alumna, Edith Smith Kenerly Holshouser, has created a new scholarship fund at her alma mater that will benefit students from her native Rowan County. The Kenerly Smith Family Scholarship is a way for Mrs. Holshouser to pay tribute to the fact that she, her late first husband, Harold Kenerly '47, and four of her late siblings, William Lamont Smith '33, Maxine Smith Carlton '37, Quay Thurston Smith '41 and Martha Viola Smith Adams '41, all graduated from Catawba.

Dr. Lou Ann Kasias, a Catawba College professor of education and coordinator of the college's graduate program, believes teachers in the region need to know just what Catawba offers in its Master of Education in Elementary Education.

Educator and author Dr. Ruth Anderson shared her own morality tale with members of the Catawba College community when she spoke on campus at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22. Anderson was the keynote speaker for the eighth annual Lilly Colloquium and her visit to campus was sponsored by Catawba's Lilly Center for Vocation and Values and Catawba's Goodman School of Education.

"Don't be afraid about your choice to become a teacher," Jennifer Facciolini, the 2010-2011 AT&T N.C. Teacher of the Year, told Catawba College's prospective teachers during a Feb. 24 visit to campus. "There will always be jobs for great teachers. Don't be afraid of the unknown in education."

The Gazette – 2/7/2011 (published with permission) - Laurel High School named Todd Sommerville as its new head football coach on Monday. He replaces Brian Moore, who was not retained by the school following the 2010 season. Sommerville, a physical education teacher at Parkdale High School, served as the Panthers' defensive coordinator the past three years under head coach Rich Holzer, who resigned from Parkdale last week...

Educator and author Ruth Anderson, who serves as executive director of The Servant Leadership School of Greensboro, will be the keynote speaker for Catawba College's eighth annual Lilly Colloquium on Tuesday, February 22. Anderson's visit to campus is sponsored by Catawba's Lilly Center for Vocation and Values and Catawba's School of Education.

The 2010 Cohort of West Teaching Scholars recently went on a retreat to Wrightsville Beach over Fall Break, October 16-19. As part of the retreat, they took an eco tour, did team and trust building exercises, and visited Wrightsville Beach Elementary School. They shared videos and photos of their experiences with us.

The Catawba College School of Education, specifically, the Curriculum Materials Center at the college, will host the Fall/Winter 2010 North Carolina Curriculum Materials Center Directors Association Meeting on campus on December 17. The Association consists of librarians from a variety of public and private institutions across the state and meets twice annually to discuss issues related and pertaining to maintaining and managing curriculum materials center collections and technology as well as a

by Bridgett Henderson, '08 West Scholar. On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 17, Katie Cornetto presented a program in the Tom Smith Auditorium on Professional Development and Legal Behaviors. This was a great event for all education students and faculty as well.

Several Catawba students' poems have been published in the latest issue of Muse & Spirit, a magazine distributed by the Center for Faith and the Arts. These students wrote poems in response to art work displayed as part of the Center's Abstraction and Beyond exhibit, including a photograph by Dr. Seth Holtzman, a philosophy professor at Catawba. Lizzle Davis was selected as one of two featured poets for the magazine.

Source: www.berksmontnews.com. Few people have the kind of passion and dedication it takes to be a teacher. But for Dr. Ronald W. Christman, teaching is in his blood, and for as long as he can remember his life has revolved around the betterment of education and the many children whose lives he has touched. Christman, much to the disappointment of many, is preparing to retire from Gilbertsville Elementary School after more than 20 years of service with the school as both teacher and principal.

N.C. State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction In-House Staff Attorney Katie Cornetto will speak to students enrolled in Catawba College's Teacher Education program at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Cornetto will make her remarks in Tom Smith Auditorium of Ralph W. Ketner Hall on the Catawba campus and area educators and those interested in education are invited to attend.

Catawba College's School of Evening Studies will sponsor an open house on Tuesday, November 9, from 5:30-8 p.m. in the Conference Center on the main campus of Davidson County Community College in Lexington. Community college graduates who are interested in completing the bachelor's degree by attending Catawba classes on the DCCC campus are encouraged to attend.

Fifty-five Catawba College students were honored in a formal pinning ceremony held in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on Wednesday, October 13. For those students pinned, the event marked their admission into the Teacher Education Program at Catawba College. Ms. Julie Stoltz, Rowan-Salisbury Teacher of the Year presented the program for the early evening event, which was followed by a reception at the Peeler Crystal Lounge, sponsored by Debbie Suggs Catering. The ceremony was sponsored by the Student Nor

The late Eugene Deal of Mooresville, N.C., formerly of Charlotte, N.C., made a gift the year before his death to establish a scholarship at Catawba College named for him and his late wife. Deal, a 1938 alumnus of Catawba, died July 10, 2010. His wife predeceased him in 2005. The Evelyn S. and Eugene E. Deal Family Endowed Scholarship will be targeted to students who are graduates of South Rowan High School, members of First Reformed Church of Landis, N.C., and who are majoring in education.

Catawba College's School of Evening Studies will sponsor an open house on Thursday, July 22, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the old Cabarrus Bank Building at 201 West Avenue in Kannapolis. Prospective students will be given an overview of the program and financial aid opportunities.

Catawba's School of Evening and Graduate Studies will sponsor an open house on Thursday, June 24, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on campus in Ketner Hall, Room 108. Prospective students will be given an overview of the evening program and financial aid opportunities. Two bachelor's degree programs are offered in the evening: Business Administration with concentrations in Management and Information Systems, and Birth-Kindergarten Education for community college graduates who have completed...

Catawba College's School of Evening and Graduate Studies will hold a drop-in interest meeting regarding Catawba's Bachelor's Degree Completion Program on the main campus of Davidson County Community College from 6:00-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 17. The meeting will be held in the Conference Center Building at DCCC, Room 202.

By Susan Shinn, Catawba College News Service. Here's an easy math problem for you: What do you get when you add one Catawba College professor with seven eager academically gifted fifth- graders? Answer: A lot of good writing. In mid-March, Dr. Paul Baker, mathematics professor at Catawba, attended a Meet the Author event for Donna Rymer '93, who teaches AIG students at Bostian Elementary School. Rymer received her master's from Catawba in 1999.

By Susan Shinn, Catawba News Service. So how did a 43-year-old, slightly overweight, non-traditional Catawba College student find herself at the Cooper River Bridge run in late March? It was about a bridge. But it was about much more than that, too. I'd always wanted to do the Cooper River Bridge Race. My mother ran over 500 miles last year so I figured surely I could make it across some dinky bridge. "Some dinky bridge" turned out to the be Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge — 2.5 miles long, 200 feet h

Catawba College's Theta Phi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KPD) education honor society installed new officers for the 2010-2011 year and inducted 21 new members in a ceremony held at 7:00 p.m. April 13 in the Tom Smith Auditorium on campus. Dr. James K. Stringfield, dean of the Goodman School of Education and Physical Education, opened the ceremony with welcoming remarks to the inductees, members, and invited guests. Mrs. Pam Rutherford spoke about how new teachers can be effective and can thrive i

Jessica Garner, the 2009-2010 N.C. Teacher of the Year, spent time on campus Thursday, February 25th with West Scholars and the Department of Teacher Education, sharing her vision of the 21st Century Classroom. Ms. Garner is a Spanish teacher at Porter Ridge High School and is a resident of Indian Trail, N.C.

"Kids don't care how much we know until they know how much you care," Larry Bell asserted and then added, "and when they know, 'it's on.' " Bell, a national education consultant and motivational speaker, spoke to a capacity audience of prospective teachers, current teachers and area educators at Catawba College's Tom Smith Auditorium on Thursday, Dec. 3rd. His message was delivered with good humor, laughter and plenty of audience participation.

National education consultant and motivational speaker, Larry Bell, will speak on "The Power of a Teacher" at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 3rd in Tom Smith Auditorium of Ketner Hall at Catawba College. Bell's presentation will focus on the power of high expectation, strategies for motivating, the importance of classroom culture, and overcoming barriers.

By Susan Shinn, Catawba College News Service. What do you get when you mix 24 college students, a tour of an historic downtown, teambuilding, a city high school and an ecotour hosted by Captain Joe? The West Scholars' first-year trip from Catawba College to Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach. This is the third group or cohort of West Scholars. Each year, each class takes one excursion together.

Source: SalisburyPost.com - Rebecca "Becky" Kepley-Lee, principal of Cleveland Elementary School, has been selected as the 2010 Wachovia Principal of the Year for the Rowan-Salisbury School System in a program sponsored by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and Wachovia Corp., a part of Wells Fargo Co.

Rowan-Salisbury School System's Theresa Pierce has been selected as the 2009 North Carolina Gilder Lehrman Preserve American History Teacher of the Year winner. As a state finalist, Pierce will now become eligible to compete this fall for the national title, which will be awarded by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Catawba College's School of Evening Studies will sponsor an open house from 6-8 p.m. on Monday, June 29, in Ketner Hall, Room 201. Prospective students will be given an overview of the program and financial aid opportunities.

The academic structure at Catawba College is changing. In addition to different academic departments headed by chairs, academic departments will now be affiliated with five different schools, each headed by a dean. Overseeing the five schools and serving as the institution's chief academic officer is Provost Dr. Rick Stephens who joined the College in January.

Catawba College's Theta Phi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi education honor society installed new officers for the 2009-2010 year and inducted 17 new members in a ceremony held at 7:00 p.m., April 14th in the Tom Smith Auditorium on campus.

Fifty-three rising sixth or seventh grade girls have been selected to participate in the Catawba Conservation Camp (C3), a weeklong residential science camp to be held July 5-10 on the Catawba College campus.The 53 students were selected from 280 applications received from girls enrolled in 40 different schools in Rowan, Stanly and Iredell counties.

by Stephanie Hill '11. On Thursday, February 26, 2009, The Academy for Teaching and the Martha West Teaching Scholars of Catawba College attended the Rowan Salisbury Schools/Rowan Partners in Education's 2nd Annual Winter Education Summit at Cornerstone Conference Center in Salisbury, NC.

by Philip Russ '10. What does Education, Technology, Orange People, Pencil Darts, ABC News, and National Teacher of the Year Finalist mean? Well of course there is only a single name that comes to mind, Mrs. Cindi Rigsbee, AT&T's 2008-2009 North Carolina Teacher Of the Year. She met with West Scholars in the Tom Smith Auditorium this morning, discussing her path in education and technology in her seminar titled "Making Connections as a Teacher."

by Philip Russ '10. What does it mean to be a true "Man" and a true "Woman"? Who would ever guess that the answer behind this question could be answered by a former NFL Pro Bowl defensive lineman from the Baltimore Colts. Who is this Man?

Rising sixth or seventh grade girls interested in the environmental sciences are invited to make application to attend the Catawba Conservation Camp (C3). The camp is open to girls who are enrolled in public or private school or who are home schooled in Rowan, Cabarrus, Iredell, Davie, Davidson and Stanly counties

by Philip Russ '10. Prospective students entered the Peeler Crystal Lounge looking for information about Catawba College. Among the students who visited for Open House were more than 20 students who were Regional Finalists in the prestigious North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program.

Student Blogs by the West Teaching Scholars in their Spring 2009 excursion to Savannah, Georgia. Thirty-one teaching scholars, along with faculty and staff from Catawba College's Ritchie Academy for Teaching, traveled to Savannah, Georgia January 17-20 and were amazed by the history and ecology of this Southern city and its coastal islands.

Catawba College's chapter (#1002) of the Collegiate Music Educator's National Conference received its seventh straight annual "Chapter of Excellence Award" for exceptional activities in service and professional development in music education at the 2008 N.C. Music Educators Association In-Service Conference held annually in Winston-Salem at the Benton Convention Center.

Through the Independent College Fund of North Carolina, Charlotte-based Clariant Corporation – the U.S. headquarters of one of the world's leading makers of specialty chemicals – has awarded three $2,000 scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year to students planning for careers teaching math or science.

Delivered by Dr. Lou Ann Kasias during the Pinning Ceremony for Students Admitted to the Teacher Education Program. My comments tonight will be directed in tribute to Dr. Shirley Lambert Haworth, former chairperson of the Department of Teacher Education at Catawba College. Shirley, we welcome you back to Catawba College.

Thirty-seven Catawba College students were honored in a pinning ceremony October 9 in Tom Smith Auditorium for their admission to the Teacher Education Program. The ceremony was sponsored by the Student North Carolina Association of Educators' (SNCAE).

Martha Caulder talks fast, walks fast and likes to stay busy. You'll probably notice her start to fidget if you ask her to sit still too long. That's good, because she's taking on a lot in her new job as principal at Andrews Elementary School. But she's not new to administration: Caulder has been an assistant principal at four elementary schools.

Source: CarolinaNewswire.com. Phil Kirk, vice president for external relations at Catawba College and longtime state education leader, has been named the sixth chair of the Public School Forum of North Carolina, a not-for-profit policy think tank that has made significant contributions to the advancement of North Carolina schools. Kirk will become the organization's volunteer leader on July 1, succeeding N.C. Sen. Katie Dorsett.

Catawba College's Teacher Education Program has been reaccredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). At an April 2008 meeting of NCATE's Unit Accreditation Board, Catawba's Teacher Education Program application for accreditation was considered and approved as meeting all required standards.

by Jane Snider, Staff Member. The West Teaching Scholars with mentors and chaperones loaded a chartered bus to begin the trek across the state to the Outer Banks. The Outer Banks are a 200 mile stretch of barrier islands and comprise approximately half of the northern coast of North Carolina.

LearningStation, a leading provider of customized, online solutions for the K-12 classroom, today announced the appointment of Phillip J. Kirk, Jr. to its board of directors. "Supporting education has been a driving factor throughout my career," said Kirk. "I am honored to serve on LearningStation's board of directors and contribute to their mission of improving student achievement in North Carolina and around the country."

Amanda G. Bosch, director of curriculum Materials Center in Catawba College's Department of Teacher Education, hosted the N.C. Curriculum Materials Center directors on Catawba's campus April 25. Bosch serves as president of this state organization made up of curriculum materials center directors from various teacher education departments in North Carolina.

Catawba College's Theta Phi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi education honor society installed new officers and co-officers for the 2008-2009 year and inducted 17 new members in a ceremony held April 1 in the Tom Smith Auditorium on the campus.

Eight students in Catawba College's School of Evening and Graduate Studies Program were inducted into the College's chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society during a ceremony held April 16 in Tom Smith Auditorium on campus.

Catawba College made application and has been selected to be one of 18 institutions across the State of North Carolina to offer a N.C. Teaching Fellows program within its nationally accredited Teacher Education Department. The announcement was made today by the N.C. Teaching Fellows Commission.

Angela Draeger, an employee in the preschool program at South Lexington Elementary School and Developmental Wing, received a standing ovation when she shared how encouragement from Smart Start had brought her very close to achieving a lifelong goal. She will graduate soon from Catawba College with a degree in early childhood education.

Catawba College's 14 West Teaching Scholars, accompanied by several mentors, faculty, and staff, traveled to Atlanta in late January to visit three Atlanta Public Schools — Heritage Academy (elementary), Parks Middle School, and Booker T. Washington High School.

CULLOWHEE — Janice Raper of Salisbury has been named the Phillip J. Kirk Jr. Honored Educator Scholar for 2007–08 at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. The announcement was made during the January 28 meeting of the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education.

By Cindy Stranad, articulon.com. SALISBURY, N.C. (November 19, 2007) — Phil Kirk, vice president of external relations for Catawba College and Chairman Emeritus of the State Board of Education, has been elected chair-elect of the Public School Forum of North Carolina. Next July, Kirk will succeed Sen. Katie Dorsett of Guilford County as the chair of the Raleigh-based organization.

Dr. Cyndi Osterhus, director of Catawba College's Shirley Peeler Ritchie Academy for Teaching and assistant professor of teacher education, recently made a presentation at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Regional Conference and Exposition held Oct. 11-12 in Richmond, Va.

Phil Kirk, vice president for external relations at Catawba College, public speaker and consultant, was presented with a resolution from The Council of State Chambers at its semi-annual meeting at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. The resolution commends Kirk for several notable accomplishments, including his career contributions to helping restore respect to public schools, elevating the political process, and forming professional stature among business lobbyists.

by Cyndi Allison, Catawba News. Phillip Kirk's life flashed before his eyes. He didn't suffer a near-death experience. In fact, he laughed from start to finish as friends and family members gathered to share memorable moments spanning his years of service in business, education, politics and as the father of four daughters.

by Cindy Stranad, articulon.com. The National Kidney Foundation of North Carolina presents "Speak Up while Phil Kirk Takes the Hot Seat," a gentle roast of Phil Kirk, vice president of external relations for Catawba College, chairman emeritus of the State Board of Education and former state senator.

by Belinda Branson, lincoln.k12.nc.us (June 6, 2007). Lincoln County Schools new 2007-2008 Teacher of the Year, Jennifer Carroll, walked into what she thought was a faculty meeting. She was surprised to learn that the faculty meeting was called to announce she had been selected as Lincoln County's Teacher of the Year. Jennifer is a 1st grade teacher at St. James Elementary School.

"As an educator, you can be a dream maker and serve students by helping them develop dreams," Dr. June Atkinson, North Carolina's State Superintendent of Public Instruction told prospective teachers, educators and community members gathered Tuesday evening, October 9th, at Catawba College. "In our classrooms, we have students with short-term goals but many don't have short-term, intermediate or long-term goals. In the big scheme of things, little happens without dreams," she continued.

Two Catawba College Trustees, both former members of the college's teacher education faculty, will be honored October 9th at a dedication ceremony. Catawba's new Academy for Teaching will be dedicated in honor of Dr. Shirley Peeler Ritchie of Salisbury, while student teaching scholars admitted to the Academy this fall will be recognized as Martha Kirkland West Teaching Scholars in West's honor, the first group of such students who will be so designated.

By Jennifer Moxley, Salisbury Post. Two decades after the space shuttle Challenger explosion, teachers selected across the country for the space program will reunite and watch a fellow educator embark on a space mission. Christa McAuliffe was selected over 114 other finalists in 1985 to be the first teacher in space. But the Challenger was never able to complete its mission. Now, another teacher will make the journey.

School officials named new principals for Knollwood Elementary and Southeast Middle Schools Tuesday, filling the last two principal vacancies in the system. Louis Edward "Skip" Kraft will move up to take Jamie Durant's place at Southeast Middle. He earned his bachelor's degree in special education and adaptive physical education in 1983. Kraft also finished his master's degree in school administration in 2006 at UNC-Charlotte.

When NASA launches the Shuttle on August 7th, it will carry teacher Barbara Morgan into space, 21 years after the Challenger disaster and the death of teacher Christa McAuliffe and her six fellow astronauts. McAuliffe was the finalist selected from 110 Teacher in Space Project candidates to make that ill-fated flight on Jan. 28, 1986; Barbara Morgan was McAuliffe's backup.

Jack Ward, a 1951 graduate of Catawba College from Mocksville, is hopeful that a new scholarship established in his name at the institution will give other young people that same opportunity to attend Catawba and be mentored by someone like legendary football Coach Gordon Kirkland. Preference for the Jack Ward Endowed Scholarship will be given to a student from Davie County or Thomasville High School with an interest in majoring in education with aspirations to work in school administration.

Catawba College's Vice President for External Relations and Chairman Emeritus of the State Board of Education Phillip Kirk is a member of a new Blue Ribbon Charter School Commission convened by the State Board of Education.

Catawba College will offer two new academic majors this fall, both targeting students with an interest in environmental issues. Students can opt to pursue an interdisciplinary major in Sustainable Business and Community Development or a major in Environmental Education. The faculty approved both majors this spring.

Betsy Rich of Salisbury is paying tribute to the kind, loving and resilient spirits of her late husband and son through a new scholarship she has established at Catawba College. The Maynard L. and Paul L. Rich First Family Scholarship will be awarded to a student who demonstrates financial need, who feels called to the helping professions (education, psychology, religion/philosophy and pre-med), and who demonstrates a caring spirit and a sense of high moral values.

Catawba College is creating new Academy for Teaching which will be named in honor of former teacher education faculty member and College trustee Shirley Peeler Ritchie of Salisbury. College trustees learned of a donor gift to underwrite the start-up of the Academy and new Teaching Scholarships offered through it and also approved plans for the academy and its naming at their February meeting.

CULLOWHEE, NC - Development Foundation of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching will honor Phillip J. Kirk Jr., one of North Carolina's best-known advocates for education, during a reception to be held from 5 until 7 p.m. Thursday (March 22) at Catawba College in Salisbury.

Catawba College is offering high school seniors interested in teaching an opportunity to apply for some of the largest teaching scholarships currently being offered by a N.C. college or university. Ten of the $13,000 scholarships, which include an additional $2,000 for eligible N.C. residents, are being offered for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Dr. Rhonda Truitt, assistant professor of teacher education at Catawba College, has been awarded a Learning to Teach, Learning to Serve subgrant in the amount of $20,000 by the Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education for the project year 2006-07.

Fourteen Catawba College students were honored in a pinning ceremony October 10 in Tom Smith Auditorium for their admission to the Teacher Education Program. The ceremony was sponsored by the Student North Carolina Association of Educators' (SNCAE).

North Carolina's Teacher of the Year for 2006-2007 Diana Beasley, a high school biology teacher from Hickory High School, is the keynote speaker for a September 26th Teacher Education Day slated at Catawba College. Jointly sponsored by Catawba's Admissions and Teacher Education Departments and the Rowan-Salisbury Schools, this is the fourth year of the event.

The recipients of several endowed professorships were announced Thursday, August 31 during Catawba College's Opening Convocation for the 2006-2007 academic year. Dr. Michael J. Baranski, a professor of biology, received the Bashore Distinguished Professorship in Environmental Science. This professorship must be awarded to a faculty member in environmental science who is a high achiever as a scholar and teacher with outstanding qualifications and enthusiasm for his work and the students who are e

On June 1, Catawba College's Lifelong Learning Program became the School of Evening and Graduate Studies and Dr. Edith Bolick '70 became its Dean. Along with its new title, the School has a new degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Education (B.A.E.) degree with a major in Birth-Kindergarten (B-K) Education.

Catawba College's Theta Phi Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi education honor society inducted new members in a ceremony held in the Tom Smith Auditorium on the campus April 6, 2006.

Catawba faculty members participating in the initiative include team leader, Dr. Cynthia Osterhus, assistant professor of teacher education; Dr. James Stringfield, chair and professor of teacher education; Dr. John Zerger, chair and professor of mathematics; and Dr. Paul Baker, professor of mathematics.

Dr. Cyndi Osterhus, an assistant professor of teacher education at Catawba College, recently attended the N.C. Teacher of the Year Reunion, sponsored by the N.C. Association of Educators. She was one of 35 N.C. teachers to have been selected to receive the honor since its establishment in 1970. Osterhus was the 1987 N.C. Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Cynthia Osterhus, an assistant professor of teacher education at Catawba College, recently made a presentation to the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) Conference in Greensboro. Her presentation was entitled, “Integrating Technology into Mathematics Methods Courses.”

Twenty-five Catawba College students were honored in a pinning ceremony to mark their admission to the Teacher Education Program held Tuesday, October 11 in Tom Smith Auditorium. The ceremony was sponsored by the Student North Carolina Association of Educators (SNCAE) and the Rowan-Salisbury Teacher of the Year for 2005-06, Mr. Terry Sippel, was the guest speaker.

Catawba College’s Teacher Education Program has received the highest possible rank on the 2004-2005 Institution of Higher Education Performance Report and is judged by the North Carolina State Board of Education as having “met expectations.” Additionally, Catawba’s first-year teachers (the 2003-2004 cohort of student teachers) had a 100 percent pass rate on the PRAXIS II, placing the program in the first quartile of teacher education programs in the state.

Twenty Catawba College students participated in a Students of North Carolina Association of Educators’ (SNCAE) Pinning Ceremony October 12 in Tom Smith Auditorium. Rowan-Salisbury Teacher of the Year for 2004-05, Teresa Crawley, was the guest speaker for the event.

Dr. Cynthia Osterhus, an assistant professor of teacher education at Catawba College, has been selected to participate in a planning meeting to design a national project on the effective use of the Internet in the pre- service training of K-12 teachers. The meeting, organized by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), will be held December 2-3 at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.