Faculty Awards

Merryfield wins two awards

Merry M. Merryfield (Ed T&L) has won two awards from her national organization, The National Council of the Social Studies, at their annual conference in Atlanta. The Distinguished Scholar of Global Education Award is given by the International Assembly of NCSS to recognize those who have made seminal contributions in research, writing, and leadership in the field of global education. Winners are selected by a committee of international scholars. The NCSS Award for Global Understanding given in honor of James M. Becker recognizes a social studies educator (or a team of educators) who has made outstanding contributions in helping American social studies students increase their understanding of the world. It is based on criteria that include infusing current scholarship on globalization and global issues, cross-cultural experiences, global interconnectedness, and primary sources into P-12 learning about the world.

Dixson one of three Ohio State faculty to be honored at Fire and Focus Scholarship Luncheon

The Office of Senior Vice President for Outreach and Engagement Joyce Beatty will host the annual Fire and Focus Scholarship Luncheon from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday (10/14) at the Hyatt on Capitol Square. The event will honor three Ohio State faculty who personify the ideals of teaching, research, and service: (Teaching): Adrienne Dixson, assistant professor, School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Ecology; (Research): Subha V. Raman, assistant professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Informatics; and (Service): Golden Jackson, associate professor and former director, Service-Learning Initiative

Edmiston joins ranks of EHE faculty honored for teaching skills

Given his professional interest in drama as an educational tool, it should come as no surprise that Brian Edmiston's impact on those he teaches is nothing short of dramatic. Edmiston, associate professor of teaching and learning in the College of Education and Human Ecology, has worked to shape elementary school teachers, both in the university setting and in elementary schools internationally. Ohio State recognized his influence by awarding him a prestigious Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching this spring. Students of every age -- from six years old to seasoned classroom teachers -- praise him for his knowledge and his equally profound interpersonal skill. "Dr. Edmiston is one of a kind," said an elementary school teacher in whose classroom Edmiston had worked. "His way of teaching and positive influence have helped me to change my views of teaching and learning both in the school walls and out." And it's not just Edmiston's students who express this level of appreciation for his expertise. He is a frequent speaker and presenter at international conferences and was instrumental in securing the recent partnership between the Royal Shakespeare Company and Ohio State that will bring the plays of Shakespeare to new life in central Ohio. He is the author of two widely read and referenced books. He joins 53 education and human ecology colleagues who have received the university's highest honors for faculty teaching since 1969. "Dr. Edmiston has a unique and hands-on way of instructing," noted one of his graduate students. "He also seems to care very much about his students and has the most compassion for his profession that I have seen among all the instructors I have had at Ohio State." Edmiston is a college alumnus, having received a Ph.D. in education in 1991. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Bristol in England and master's from the University of Newcastle in England.

Kappa Delta Pi/AERA Division K 2009 Early Career Research Award

This award, made to a researcher in the first stages of the research career, recognizes a significant program of research on important problems in the areas of teaching or teacher education. This year's recipient is Dr. Adrienne Dixson. She received the award on April 14, 2009 at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Diego, CA. Dr. Dixson is an Associate Faculty member in the Department of African American and African Studies and the Department of Women's Studies and is an Affiliated Faculty member in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs and the Kirwan Institute for Race and Ethnicity. Dr. Dixson received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been at the Columbus campus since 2004. She teaches courses on Critical Race Theory and education and urban education. Dr. Dixson's research focuses on race and racial and gender identities in urban schooling contexts. Theoretically, she situates her scholarship within Critical Race Theory, Black Feminist theories and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. In 2008, she received a Small Grant from the Kirwan Institute on Race and Ethnicity to conduct research on school reform in post-Katrina New Orleans. She also received funding from the P-12 Project for her research on urban middle school students' perceptions of middle school. Her most recent publications include "In Search of Our Mother's Gardens: Black Women Teachers and Professional Socialization," (with Jeannine E. Dingus) Teachers College Record (2008); "Tyranny of the Majority: Re-enfranchisement of African American Teacher Educators Teaching for Democracy" (with Jeannine E. Dingus), International Studies in Qualitative Research Journal (Nov. 2007); as well as her co-edited book with Celia K. Rousseau Anderson (University of Memphis), Critical Race Theory in Education: All God's Children Got a Song (2006, RoutledgeFalmer Press). CRT in Education received the 2006 Critics Choice Award from the American Educational Studies Association.

International reading group selects Lehman for top award

Barbara Lehman, an award-winning professor of children's and adolescent literature, Teaching and Learning, Mansfield, has received another top honor: the 2009 Arbuthnot Award. The award from the International Reading Association recognizes her as an outstanding professor of children's and young adults' literature. Lehman received her doctorate at the University of Virginia and has been at the Mansfield campus since 1986. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on children's literature and literacy education. Her research is in child-centered literary criticism, international children's literature and literature-based practices in elementary and middle school classrooms. She has co-edited Teaching with Children's Books: Paths to Literature-based Instruction, co-authored Global Perspectives in Children's Literature, and was co-editor of Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature. She received the Excellence in Scholarship award (1995) and the Ohioana James P. Barry award for Editorial Excellence (2000). She will receive the Arbuthnot Award at the Book and Author luncheon at the International Reading Association convention in Minneapolis on May 7. Lehman follows in the footsteps of four previous college faculty members. They are Janet Hickman, 2002; Rudine Sims Bishop, 1996; Bernice E. Cullinan, 1989; and the late Charlotte Huck, 1988.