Vol. 20, No. 2 - Spring 2004

Alumni awards

From the Negev Desert to Buffalo, Minn.

Distinguished alumni gather from around Minnesota and the globe for annual awards event

The college Alumni Society presented its spring 2004 awards before a crowd of more than 100 people at the McNamara Alumni Center on April 1. University President Robert Bruininks, former dean of the college, attended to present a University of Minnesota Outstanding Achievement Award on behalf of the University’s Board of Regents to alumnus Ismael Abu-Saad of Israel.

Outstanding Achievement Award

The Outstanding Achievement Award is the highest non-degree honor that can be bestowed on University alumni. Ismael Abu-Saad, honored with the OAA at the spring awards ceremony, grew up in a family of 11 children in the Negev region of Israel. Against great odds, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Ben-Gurion University. When he completed a Ph.D. in educational policy and administration at the college, he became the first Israeli-Bedouin to receive a Ph.D.

He returned to Israel to teach at Ben-Gurion University, where he is one of a small number of Arab-Israelis who have achieved tenure in the higher education system there. Abu-Saad made it his goal to increase the number of students from Bedouin communities, especially Bedouin women.

He established the Center for Bedouin Studies and Development that helps prepare Bedouin students for the university and provides financial aid. In four years the number of Bedouin women studying at the university increased from eight to 120. Recently he established a “Budding Scientists” program for Bedouin high school students who are on a science track. He also created a mentoring program for Bedouin students to help them thrive in the university environment.

This past fall a book he coauthored, The Future of Indigenous Peoples: Strategies for Survival and Development, was published by the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA. Last year, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association highlighted Abu-Saad’s remarkable career by featuring him in one of their public relations campaigns. He was featured in the spring 2001 Link.

William E. Gardner PreK–12 Outstanding Educator Awards

Named for William Gardner, a distinguished emeritus faculty member and dean of the College of Education from 1976–91, this award went to two long-time teachers who have a passion and love for teaching.

Daniel Hertz received both a B.A. and B.S. degree from the University. He has been a math teacher and a counselor in the Minneapolis Public Schools since 1985 and since 2002 he has worked as a counselor at the Wellstone International School in Minneapolis.

Judy Jacobsen received an undergraduate degree from Winona State College and an M.Ed. from the University. She’s been a full-time teacher of grades three, four, and five in the Mounds View School district for 36 years.

Larry Wilson Award

Recipients of this award must be University graduates and be, or have been, active educators in a non-school-based setting.

Joel Barker received a bachelor’s degree in English education and journalism from the college in 1966. He heads his own consulting company, Infinity Limited, which provides training and consultation in strategic exploration, visioning, and leadership of change to long-range planners and top executives of major international companies. Known as the “paradigm man,” he is the author of The Future Edge and is coauthoring, Five Regions of the Future: A Revolutionary Roadmap to the 21st Century.

The Robert H. Beck Faculty Teaching Award

This award is presented to a member of the college’s teaching faculty. John Cogan, professor of educational policy and administration, came to the college in 1969. His areas of expertise include social studies and global environmental education, comparative and international education, and citizenship education.

Excellence in Educational Leadership Award

This award is presented by the University Council for Educational Administration in recognition of excellence in preK–12 administration. Thomas Nelson is superintendent of schools for the Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Public Schools and a past classroom teacher, Minnesota state senator, director of state relations for the University, and Minnesota commissioner of education.

Advanced Study Scholarships

The primary criterion for this scholarship is the belief that the student has the potential for making a significant contribution to education. Hilda Wiley is a doctoral student in the school psychology program. Agnes Kiss is a doctoral student in the educational psychology foundations program.

Larry Wilson Student Scholarships

The recipients of these scholarships have demonstrated an interest in non-school-based education and have exhibited leadership or leadership potential and academic success. Frank Ginther is a Ph.D. student in adult education in the Department of Work, Community, and Family Education. Alison Spenader is pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, in second languages and cultures education.

Initial Teacher Licensure Scholarships

These scholarships recognize academic performance and potential for making a significant contribution to the field of education. Ikhlas Abdelkhalig is enrolled in the early childhood education and early childhood special education M.Ed. program. Candida Gonzalez is enrolled in the second languages and cultures M.Ed. program.