OXFORD, Miss. — The University of Mississippi School of Education recently honored 10 individuals for their significant contributions to the field of education during its annual awards ceremony in May.
Six individuals were inducted into the education school’s fifth class of the Alumni Hall of Fame, joining 20 previous inductees. Four alumni were also honored with Practitioner of Distinction Awards in recognition of exemplary service to education, joining eight previously recognized honorees.
“We believe there is no more important area of service in our state and nation than as an educator,” said UM School of Education Dean David Rock. “Our six Hall of Fame
inductees and four Practitioners of Distinction are distinguished educators who have impacted thousands of lives and have made our state and nation better. They are role models for our current students to follow.”
The 2019 Hall of Fame inductees include Janice Barton of Hernando; Mike Edmonds of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Terre Blanton Harris of Ridgeland; Fannye Love of Bartlett, Tennessee; and the late Ralph Walton of Orlando, Florida. Richard Boyd of Rocky River, Ohio, received the Outstanding Educational Service Award and was also recognized at the ceremony as part of the Hall of Fame induction.
The 2019 Practitioners of Distinction include Jamil Northcutt, vice president of player engagement for the Major Soccer League in West Orange, New Jersey; Adam Pugh, the superintendent of Lafayette County School District in Oxford; Wanda Quon, principal of Pecan Park Elementary School in Jackson; and Angela Victory, a teacher at New Albany Elementary School in New Albany.
The Hall of Fame inductees and Practitioners of Distinction honorees were selected by the School of Education Alumni Advisory Board through nominations made by the SOE community that were sent in earlier this year.
Barton, the former chief academic officer of elementary schools in Desoto County Schools, received her master’s degree in counseling in 1978 and a doctorate in educational leadership in 2000 from UM. Legally deaf since early adulthood, she led Oak Grove Central Elementary School in Hernando, Mississippi, from an academically failing school to a top-rated school for which she was named a 2009 Mississippi National Distinguished Principal. Currently, Barton is the principal of Tunica Academy.
“My time in the doctoral program at Ole Miss taught me how important collaboration is,” Barton said. “No one person is smart enough to do anything alone. Together, we can do everything.”
Edmonds, who has served as the vice president for student life and the dean of students at Colorado College for the past 28 years, earned both his master’s and doctorate in higher education from Ole Miss in 1985 and 1990, respectively. With more than 34 years of experience in higher education, he held various roles at Ole Miss including assistant dean of students before progressing to his role at Colorado College.
“What we do in education is not transactional,” Edmonds said. “What we do is relationship-based. The opportunity to work with wonderful, bright, developing students is absolutely an amazing reward that cannot be quantified.”
Harris, who served as the preschool director of Christ United Methodist Church in Ridgeland for the past 16 years, earned her bachelor’s degree from UM in 1976.
She has committed more than 42 years of service at the elementary and pre-school levels. Beginning as an elementary teacher in the Jackson Public Schools, she recently published her first children’s book, “Doodle the Deer: Problem at the Paint Store.”
“This honor was a surprise for me,” Harris said. “I’ve been teaching little children for 42 years. I have a deep love for the School of Education, so I’m completely honored.”
Love, who most recently served as the director of regional campus programs at UM, received her master’s degree in education from Ole Miss in 1970. Her past roles have included associate dean of the School of Education and chair of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. She also became the first tenured African American professor at the School of Education in 1999. With more than 54 years of service to education, Love’s roles have led her to five states across the South and Midwest. Throughout her career, she has been highly successful in gaining educational grants that have led her to travel around the world.
“Ole Miss is a special place, especially the School of Education,” Love said. “I would like to thank the leadership of the school, specifically Dean Rock, for keeping up with new technology and programs. The school has grown so much over the years.”
Walton, who died in 2018 at the age of 81, was inducted posthumously by special provisions. He earned his doctorate of education from Ole Miss in 1981. Walton planned on attending law school at the University of Georgia in 1959, but had a change of heart by his experience as a student teacher that eventually progressed into a full-time career. He served as a high school science teacher and school leader for 51 years mostly in Georgia and Florida. He was named a STAR teacher of the year three different times. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he remained a high school chemistry teacher for nine years until his retirement in 2010. He served as a principal at five different schools ranging from the elementary and high school levels throughout his career.
“He was so passionate about being an educator,” said Deedra Walton, Ralph Walton’s daughter. “He loved doing it. He was a perpetual student. He was always reading and learning and full of humor. He loved his students and they loved him.”
Boyd, who has more than 57 years to educational service, received the Outstanding Educational Service Award, which is a special recognition allowing UM to honor non-alumni who have dedicated themselves to education. After 33 years serving of progressing roles in Ohio schools that included teacher, coach, principal and superintendent, he was hired as Mississippi’s first appointed state superintendent of education in 1984. He assumed this role following the adoption of the Mississippi Education Reform Act of 1982. After his role of the as state superintendent of education, he spent 10 years on the Ole Miss campus as a visiting professor of educational leadership and director of programs for the Barksdale Reading Institute.
“My advice to upcoming education graduates is to go place where they believe they can really be helpful to students,” Boyd said. “Most graduates shy away from that because there are so many graduates who are afraid to step outside of their comfort zones. I admire graduates who will that that despite their own backgrounds.”
The Practitioner of Distinction Award was created to recognize current practitioners in teaching, leadership, counseling and higher education. Each recipient has demonstrated exemplary and measurable impact within the profession.
Northcutt, a practitioner of distinction, received both his master’s and doctorate from the School of Education in 2004 and 2013, respectively. Early in his career, he worked as the Kansas City Chiefs’ player development coordinator, where he won a National Football League award for having the top player development program. He served in roles in player development for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns as
well as the assistant athletics director for internal operations at Ole Miss. He worked for the National Collegiate Athletic Association as the assistant director of enforcement for football and the National Football League as the director of football administration.
“I had the full gamut of experiences at Ole Miss as a student, educator and professional” Northcutt said. “With all of those experiences together, I got a great formula that made me who I am. What I’ve learned at the university has stuck with me throughout the years.”
Pugh, currently in his 27th year of service, earned his doctorate from UM in 2009.
Prior to holding his current position as the superintendent of the Lafayette County School District, he served as the superintendent of the Pontotoc City School District. Prior to that position, he served as principal of Lafayette County High School.
“I’m not trying to minimize what I learned in school here, but I think the people I met along the way were more important than what I learned,” Pugh said. “I always have someone I can call when I run into bumps in the road in education and use as a resource.”
Quon received her bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss in 1974. As principal of inner-city Pecan Park Elementary School in Jackson, she led her school from a D- rating to a B-rating in recent years. She also has worked to encourage health and fitness in her students by leading a fundraiser with 200 volunteers who built a playground in one day and partnering with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation to build a walking track on campus. Because of her health and fitness efforts, Quon’s school was the first Jackson Public School to be visited by Former First Lady Michelle Obama. Pecan Park Elementary School students were later invited to attend the White House Easter Egg Roll.
“Ole Miss challenged me,” Quon said. “It made me step out of my comfort zone. When you’re challenged like that you see your strengths and also your limitations. I learned how to cope with my limitations, which prepared me for the future.”
Victory received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ole Miss in 2000 and 2002. She is a fifth-grade teacher at New Albany Elementary School with more than 18 years of service. After earning her National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification through the World Class Teaching Program, she became a mentor for WCTP to help others achieve certification. She also serves as a teacher consultant for the UM Writing Project.
“The School of Education has always been a place for me to come back to in order to grow professionally,” Victory said. “For me, the school has not only been a place to gain a diploma from, but it’s also a place I can always come back to better myself and my profession.”
For more information about the UM School of Education alumni awards or to nominate an alumnus, go to education.olemiss.edu.
By Kathleen Murphy
