Alumni Awards 2021

The College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University is proud to present the 2021 Hall of Fame and Alumni Award recipients chosen by the EHE Alumni Society.

Award winner's remarks

[Music]

Speaker 1:
I am Don Pope Davis dean of the College of  Education  and Human Ecology at the Ohio State University we collaborate with the  college's  alumni society to recognize outstanding  alums  who have distinguished themselves  through their contributions  to their fields and to the college.

The competition for these awards is  significant  and those who are chosen are truly  remarkable  in what they have achieved and  contributed.  This year we are recognizing  nine individuals through four award  categories:  career achievement, new leaders,  meritorious service, and hall of fame.

It is my honor and privilege to describe  these categories  for you and their significance the  career achievement award  honors the college's alumni who have  proven records of career accomplishments.  They have made outstanding contributions  to their profession  or made a difference in the lives of  others through outstanding professional  contributions.

The emphasis is on teaching mentoring  or other ways in which they have shared  their skills and talent  with others in their profession.  The new leader award is granted to  alumni aged 36 or younger  at the time of their nomination  for significant professional  accomplishments  or service to the college and society  recipients show promise of significant  future accomplishments.

The meritorious service award is  presented to alumni  for dedicated service to the college and  the university recipients  must have supported the college and  university  by making considerable commitment in  terms of their time  effort and service assisting through  creative innovative input  or making significant financial  contributions.

And finally the hall of fame award.

[Music]

Speaker 1: 
Induction into the college's hall of  fame  is the highest honor we bestow  those chosen must have made significant  contributions  to education and human ecology  as role models for all others in their  fields.

 They have distinguished themselves  nationally  or internationally by making a positive  contribution to  society and bringing extraordinary  credit  to ehe and the university  they must be former college faculty  members  administrators or graduates from  education  or human ecology programs.

I would like to extend my heartfelt  congratulations  to the nine 2021 award winners  

[Music]

You have truly distinguished yourselves.

We are grateful for your service to the  college  and your chosen fields and we are all  proud  to call you our alumni. Thank you.

Speaker 1:
Hello, I'm Charlie Keenan president of  the Ohio State University  College of Education and Human Ecology  alumni society.  

On behalf of our alumni board i'd like  to congratulate all of our 2021 award  winners being honored through this  virtual recognition.

We now have over 100 000 alumni of our  college  and to be recognized as the best of the  best out of so many amazing graduates is  quite a distinction.  

the awardees being recognized at this  event all exhibit the qualities we have  come to expect of our grads  dedication passion pride and inspiration.

Just to name a few congratulations to  our award recipients and their families.  

We are all proud of you for your  accomplishments and in the way that you  represent us  all through this recognition go bucks.

Hall of Fame

James J. Buffer Jr.

Professor Emeritus of Technology Education (posthumous)

Speaker 1: 
Thank you for the opportunity to accept  the alumni hall of fame  award from the college of education and  human  oncology at the ohio state university on  behalf of my husband Dr James Buffer. 

This is truly a well-deserved honor that  is being bestowed upon him in his memory  and if i have heard correctly the first  person to receive  this wonderful award posthumously  writing and accepting speech is not as  easy as it sounds  especially when the receiver is no  longer living.

When he's your husband of 57 years  and when he had three families one in  Upper Arlington, Ohio  one at the ohio state university and one  in Chicago Illinois where he established his roots in education.  

On the other hand it becomes easier when  the person accepting the award  is privy to what has been written about  him by his closest  Ohio State colleagues who might be  called his fourth  sub-family as those who witnessed his  work in education weekly  in the classroom the lab the library.

Or wherever his work took him  of the many things jim was proud of one  accomplishment  that stood out was making technology  education  accessible to a new generation including  students with special needs.

Jim was most proud of his four children  shared his love  of higher education all who became  college graduates  including three osu alumni two from the  college of education  and i'm proud to say that i am also a  graduate of the college of education  with two degrees  master's and phd if any and everything  said about him over the years.

The most telling was when several  students whom he taught and nurtured placed an ad  in the lantern  the student newspaper at ohio state  which declared dr jim buffer the  professor who gave a damn  thank you again for this wonderful honor.

Jim Buffer had an illustrious career at four universities, serving longest at Ohio State for 22 years starting in 1967. Always innovative, he developed several graduate degree programs, including a neurosciences program and research lab that involved faculty in medicine, engineering and education. They pioneered the study of brain development to understand how we learn.

In the College of Education, Buffer developed the Office for Research and Development Services, with an outreach program to provide training and development services to the private sector. They worked with major manufacturing corporations, universities, and banking, financial and sales operations throughout the United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia.

These relationships allowed him to involve graduate students in outreach and research endeavors as well as provided the opportunity for him to travel internationally to work with clients. His expertise, recognized worldwide, resulted in his serving on the boards of banks and corporations and lecturing at universities globally.

A key project was Buffer’s creation of an Industrial Arts Curriculum funded by $2 million from the government, business, labor unions and more. The curriculum introduced middle school students to the world of construction and manufacturing by teaching the processes of large-scale construction and mass production industries. The four-year evaluation involved 20,000 students and their teachers in 13 states.

He and colleagues published the curriculum commercially and managed workshops at 45 institutions to prepare teachers to use the system. The curriculum guided the revision of the college’s technology teacher education program, and other universities followed suit.

Buffer also served as president of the Council for Technology Teacher Education and the National Council for Industrial and Technology Teacher Education. Thanks to him and other faculty, his program at Ohio State was ranked No. 1 nationwide for many years by U.S. News and World Report.

Mac Stewart

'73 PhD, Education: Special Services

Speaker 1:
I am grateful  to the College of Education and Human  Ecology  for this recognition an event like this  one  is a time for reflection and i'm truly  thankful  to the many people over the years  who have had an impact on my life  beginning with the one-room school in rural Georgia.

To my professors and fellow students in  the college of education here at Ohio State I am also grateful. To my family  my sons and their families  and especially my wife for being my rock  over the years in our effort to improve  the lives of people by rethinking how we can motivate  and deliver knowledge to those we served  in  educational institutions. 

During my youth it was widely believed  that education had become the primary  instrument  of social and economic mobility  and a college degree was considered the  passport to the good life i recognized  that was essential to bring parity to  the college going rate  for the underserved.

Consequently i became committed to trying to make  positive changes  in this area.

This effort was straightly enhanced by  congress  passing the national defense education  act  in response to Russia's launch  of Sputnik and the academic  support programs of the great societies  legislation. 

These actions  provided financial aid for access  and supportive services program for  retention  while I have several points of pride  from being on campus several years i  feel compelled to highlight  the Todd bBll center where there are  more than  500 african males with a 3.0 or higher  grade point average on campus each  semester.

Ohio State was also a national leader  in developing and executing the  university's diversity  action plans. 

I have come to realize that the work in  this area  is like a race at a track meet.  It is not a sprint but a relay. One generation can go only so far before  passing the baton to the next generation. Hoping that they will continue to address these important  issues for there is still much work  to be done during my career.

I have attempted to make this world a  little more of hope  a little less of fear and a better place  by my having traveled here I thank you. I'm honored i'm happy  and i'm humbled.

By the time he had completed his PhD, Mac Stewart had made such a strong impression at Ohio State, he was named a residence hall director. He next became dean of University College, an entity dedicated to bringing educationally vulnerable students in need of remedial coursework up to speed.

In 2001, what is now the Office of Diversity and Inclusion tapped Stewart as interim vice provost, then named him vice provost for minority affairs. He quickly moved to secure more scholarship opportunities for students of color studying abroad, which is still one of the hallmarks of the office.

Stewart also was a key administrator in creating the Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male, viewed as the premiere center of its kind by K-12 and postsecondary leaders. During the same time, he created the World Service Program, education abroad that helped hundreds of Buckeyes learn by experiencing other cultures.

Stewart freely gave his time to professional organizations and leading journals. For decades, he was engaged with the nationally recognized, peer-reviewed journal Negro Educational Review. He served at various times as editorial board member, editor-in-chief and president.

He also was a founding member and board member for the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and a vice chair of the board of trustees for the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help.

Throughout his career, Stewart gave special attention to historically, underrepresented, minority students, serving as a friend, mentor, and informal counselor for countless students of color. He devoted his professional life to improving the delivery of educational services for students of color and the socioeconomically disadvantaged in postsecondary institutions.

“Dr. Mac A. Steward is one of the living giants of diversity, equity and inclusion work at The Ohio State University,” wrote his nominator. “He was a man ahead of his time, as the programs and initiatives he championed to bring greater diversity, equity and inclusion to Ohio State now represent some of the cornerstone initiatives of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.”

Long before it was fashionable, Stewart recognized that inclusion has merit, and diversity brings us strength.

William Pickard

'71 PhD, Education

Speaker 1: 
First  allow me to thank the dean and the  leadership  of the Ohio State college of education and human ecology.

My journey here started in 1969  and i'm oftentimes reminded of George  bBrnard  Shaw's statement life  is not about finding yourself  life is not about finding yourself  life is about creating yourself  and i can say very proudly that it was  here  during those great years of 1969 to 1971  that Ohio State University school of education   permitted me to help create myself  or recreate myself because i had come  out of the civil rights movement  for challenging years.

So thank you again  i am forever indebted and thank you very  very much.

William Pickard has widely influenced a range of fields with his well-rounded education, innovative business ventures and a deeply ingrained belief in helping the less fortunate. With a career that spans more than 60 years and reflects success on many levels, he pays forward by supporting young entrepreneurs though career and internship opportunities.

“I’m a visionary who believes in the potential of anyone with a positive attitude and a great idea,” he wrote in his bestseller book, Millionaire Moves: Seven Proven Principles of Entrepreneurship.

After earning his PhD in education from Ohio State, Pickard began his major investments with ownership of a McDonald’s restaurant, making him one of the first Black McDonald’s owners in the country. He parlayed that success into an array of prosperous companies, including co-ownership of a handful of Black newspapers and a co-partnership role in the MGM Grand Casino in Detroit.

He served on numerous boards of directors for organizations such as the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce and the National Urban League.

The crown jewel of Pickard’s business success is Global Automotive Alliance, his highly profitable company that has employed more than 3,000 people in the U.S and Canada and was listed in Black Enterprise’s Top 100 List of industrial/service companies. The company made automotive history as the first minority-owned group to supply top-tier plastic parts to the top three American automakers.

Pickard’s legendary career and innovative achievements have been recognized nationally by two U.S. presidents. He was named the first chairman of the African Development Foundation by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, and he was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Trade Policy Negotiation by President George Bush in 1990. A year later, Bush assigned Pickard to a seat on the Federal Home Loan Bank Board - Indianapolis Bank.

A belief in people over profits has inspired Pickard and guided his achievements as a businessman and trusted mentor. He has supported legions of organizations, including giving to higher education and historical and cultural institutions.

At Ohio State, his generous contributions produced the Dr. William F. Pickard Scholars Program, supported the Anthony Todd Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male and more.

Career Achievement

J. Jackson Barnette

’68 MA Higher Education Administration, ’72 PhD Educational Research, Development and Evaluation

Speaker 1:
I'm very happy to accept the College of Education and Human Ecology Alumni Society  Career Achievement Award. 

I want to thank Dr. Gay Su Panell, Professor Emeritus Dr. Catherine Clark  Ike, former president of Rio Grande University, these were two of my first students who went on to get their PhDs and have had outstanding careers in education and they nominated me for this award.  

I also want to thank my wife, Lib, who's been with me through the good times and the not so good  times in my career and sometimes I think there needs to be a warning label given to someone who's  thinking about marrying a professor, something like caution you may be marrying a workaholic.   

I grew up in Troy, Ohio, great small city, excellent schools. I was already recognized as  a future teacher when I was in high school. Here you see a picture of me in my high school yearbook  helping a chemistry student with one of her lessons. 

I loved my time at Ohio State but Ohio State is not just the buildings or the grounds, it's the people and I met some great ones there who really influenced my career and my life. 

When one of the education professors needed to leave fairly quickly, they needed someone to fill in for his class. 

I was asked to teach the Intro Statistics class that he was teaching. 

The more I did this, the more I was becoming hooked on being  a professor.  

Now we have to admit that statistics is clearly not a subject liked by a lot of people.  

I wish that I had a camera every time I was on a plane and somebody would ask me what I did for my  work and I'd say well I teach statistics. 
The expressions on their faces would just  be something to really capture. I'd get a few smiles and maybe a few positive comments but most of the time I'd get an expression of something like a youngster's first taste of a raw lemon.  

I started using Mark Twain quotes in my classes and I found that these reduced anxiety and in this picture with Hal Holbrook who's impersonated Mark Twain for 60 years,  

he writes Jack Barnett, the Mark Twain statistics professor, thank you for all that thinking.  

I've taught at more than 12 universities and the student evaluations have been very positive but you can't please everyone.

 I had one student right in the evaluation I know you worked hard to teach this course but  no one can make liver taste like filet mignon  but the most satisfying evaluation comments would be things like I will be a better teacher after watching how you do it. As a teacher, you can't get a nicer better rewarding compliment than that.  

Again, I want to thank the many who've made this possible, my students and my colleagues  and others who have influenced my life and in particular iId like to thank  the alumni society for awarding this grant. I greatly appreciate it.
 

J. Jackson Barnette has had a prolific career, publishing more than 100 research articles, serving in faculty and administrative roles at 10 major universities over 50 years and teaching in four countries. He currently is a professor of bioinformatics and biostatistics and associate dean of Academic Affairs in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, University of Louisville.

Barnette found a unique fit for his expertise within the field of medicine. In addition to teaching biostatistics, he has taught preventative and behavioral medicine, community and public health and more. He offers outstanding support to students, having chaired or been a member of nearly 200 doctoral committees and 45 master’s committees.

After serving as a fellow in the Academic Leadership Program of the Big Ten Academic Alliance, Barnette began holding senior administrator positions. He also led 11 program accreditation teams and was a member of four more. He has served as the evaluator for many research grants and as trainer for faculty and practitioners.

His many awards include the President’s Prize from the American Evaluation Association and induction into the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH)/Pfizer Public Health Academy of Distinguished Teachers.

In 2006, he was invited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Launch of the Public Health Foundation in India, which created five new schools of public health. Most recently, he was a member of the American Public Health Association Delegation to Cuba.

Laura Lukes

'05 MEd, Mathematics, Science and Technology Education

Speaker 1:
Good evening, everyone. My name is Dr. Laura Lukes and I'm deeply honored to receive the EHE Alumni  Career Achievement Award today. 

Before STEM was a household acronym, there was the groundbreaking MSAT, or integrated math science and technology, teacher preparation program at Ohio State.   

This cohort based MEd experience at Ohio State was transformative for me and continues to inform  my teaching and leadership practices today. 

It gave me a strong foundation in learning theory  and prepared me not only to use evidence-based practices in my own teaching but planted a seed  for the discipline based education research that I would engage in and become known for later in  my career. 

The unique cohort experience of the program also encouraged me to be a resource and a  model for other educators, preparing me to become the STEM education leader, faculty, developer and community builder I am today. 

 That cohort based spirit of collaboration and community building  can be seen throughout my career achievements such as my year as an Einstein fellow at the National Science Foundation directing the Joint Science Education Project Field School Experience  in Greenland or my year serving as the founding president of the Geoscience Education Research  Division of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers or more recently my leadership of the creation of the Multi-institutional Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Collaboratory.  

Again, it is a tremendous honor to be recognized.  

Thank you to the selection committee and Mary  Stepanek for nominating me. 

Thank you to all  

the 2005 MSAT instructors, cohort members and others who've helped shape my career path.  

Thank you and congratulations to the other awardees being recognized!
 

Laura Lukes, affiliate assistant professor and assistant director at the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, George Mason University, surpasses the standards of a devoted educator. She began as a high school teacher in Arizona specializing in earth and space science.

With a grant, she established the Saguaro Rock and Mineral Museum for her students and integrated it into the curriculum. At the same time, she taught geology at two local community colleges.

After five years as a celebrated teacher, Lukes was selected as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Fellow, serving in the Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation. She then was appointed director of the foundation’s Joint Science Education Program, leading a research-focused trip to Greenland and creating partnerships with international institutions and government agencies.

Lukes next earned a PhD in geoscience education at North Carolina State University in only three years. At the same time, she taught at the university, continued to instruct online courses at an Arizona community college and chaired the Geological Society of America’s Education Committee.

Lukes has received numerous awards for her research and teaching. She is an Elected Fellow of the Geological Society of America and received the society’s 1917 Biggs Award for Excellence in Earth Science Teaching.

Today, she continues as a reflective practitioner who designs her own curriculum, integrates assessment to gain feedback and redesigns her teaching to benefit students. She is a champion for education, which includes leading the formation of the multi-institutional Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Collaboratory.

Hans van der Mars

'84 PhD, Physical Education Teacher Education

Speaker 1:
Hello, my name is Hans van de Mars and  I just want to take this opportunity to thank the awards committee for this wonderful honor. 

To receive the Career  Achievement Award at Ohio State University from the College of Education and Human Ecology,  it is truly an honor to be recognized in this way but I first need to thank the  awards committee for bestowing this honor on me.  

In addition, I want to thank the nominators for setting me up for this award. Their names are Tom McKenzie, Jackie Lund and Mike Metzler. 

Each of  them are also Ohio State Buckeye graduates from the same program from which I graduated in 1984.  

The reason this award is so personal to me is because my time at Ohio State  was probably one of the best experiences educationally that I could have ever imagined  and it was a wonderful experience in no small part because of my doctoral mentor Dr. Darrell Centop.    

I'm standing on the shoulders of this giant in our field. He has made such enormous contributions and    he has been a mentor for over 80 doctoral students  and I'm just pleased that I was afforded the    opportunity to be one of those graduates. 

The experiences at Ohio State University's program in the doctoral area of physical education teacher education and sport pedagogy was first  rate. 

The experiences we received prepared us to not just become researchers but also  physical education teacher educators and those are the dual functions that I think are essential if we are to move our field forward. 

Again, my thanks to the awards committee, my nominators.    

This has been a wonderful recognition and I will forever cherish that. Thanks very much.
 

A professor at Arizona State University, Hans van der Mars is a leading expert in sport pedagogy and physical education teacher education. With more than 100 co-authored, refereed publications, 300 plus professional presentations and significant textbooks, he is known for adeptly combining theory and practice, thereby making research usable by practitioners.

One nominator wrote, “I find it impressive that Dr. van der Mars … produced such quantity and quality of research while simultaneously serving as a (Journal of Teaching in Physical Education) co-editor and directing programs at two major universities.” Van der Mars has launched many graduate students’ careers, and his significant research funding has advanced the profession.

Van der Mars is a champion for increasing physical activity for young children. He has testified often before state legislative committees in Arizona and Oregon, when he was faculty with Oregon State University, to promote this subject.

His work led to his 2011-2014 service on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sport and Nutrition Science Board. Since 2016, he also has been a member of the Standing Committee - Education Sector of the National Physical Activity Plan created by the Physical Activity Plan Alliance.

Van der Mars’ outstanding record of excellence for three decade has seen him inducted as a fellow by multiple associations, including the National Academy of Kinesiology and the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education. In 2018, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Society for Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) America.

Christopher L. Washington

'02 PhD, Human Resource Development

Speaker 1:
Hi, I'm Dr. Christopher Washington. 

I want to thank The Ohio State University College  of Education and Human Ecology for the Career Achievement Award. 

In accepting it, I am reminded  of those friends who encouraged me to pursue doctoral studies at a time when I did not see  the potential to do so in myself. 

My journey was supported by my wife, Shannon, my children,  talented collaborators and world-class scholars at Ohio State, mentors like Dr.  Ron Jacobs. 

This educational journey provided me with opportunities to collaborate on scholarship,  to engage in consulting projects and to travel internationally to present at conferences and  events. 

My Ohio State degree continues to catapult me in new directions and across borders. Today, I  get to develop leaders, collaborate with scholars and educators, and to represent my country as an  educational diplomat in nations around the world.  

I want to thank Stacey Dorr for nominating me and thank you to Dean Don Pope-Davis and members of the College of Education Alumni Council.

I will cherish this Career Achievement Award for many years to come.
 

Christopher Washington is provost and executive vice president of Franklin University, where he began as faculty in 1999. He has dedicated his career to helping higher education institutions expand their resources and global partnerships, with emphasis on new technology and initiatives that position them as leaders in driving change.

As chief academic officer at Franklin, he has expanded enrollment by focusing on opportunities for nontraditional students who complete degrees or earn advanced degrees. He also increased the number of academic programs, including authorizing four new doctoral degrees that changed the institution’s status with its accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission.

Washington emphasizes global literacy in the curriculum at Franklin and ensures the campus reflects a positive disposition toward global difference. He supports internationalization through Franklin’s partnerships with universities in Europe, Central America, the Middle East and Asia. He was selected for the Fulbright Specialist Roster and currently is a Fulbright Application Reviewer.

Washington has served in multiple leadership roles. He was a consultant evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission, contributes to Ohio Department of Higher Education committees and has been a leadership facilitator for the Chief Academic Officers Leadership Program of the American Council on Education.

Washington currently is National Board Chair of Global Ties U.S. and has sat on numerous local boards, such as the International Visitors Council. Frequently called upon for interviews by the media, he is a member of the U.S. Speakers Bureau sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and of the Forbes Nonprofit Council.

Meritorious Service

Donna Ball

'77 BS, Elementary Education

Speaker 1:
I am sincerely humbled to be even nominated for this prestigious award from the college.  

The work that I do for the university  and the College of Education and Human  Ecology is truly a labor of love. When I was  elected to the EHE board in 2009, I was in the midst of beating and surviving cancer. I  was completing my superintendent's work at OSU  and I was still working in a job that I loved but the opportunity to assist with the reorganization process of our two colleges and its alumni  bases was something I could not shy away from.

 Little did I know that the next 10 years would be ones that would provide me with friendships and opportunities to give back to the  university that gave so much to me.  Because of my service to the alumni board, I've been able to meet and connect with Buckeye alumni across the country. 
 
Through the Alumni  Association, I've been able to meet and support students throughout campus. This service has made  me appreciate even more what being an alumnus of  The Ohio State University means. 

I'd like to thank  Charlie Keenan for not only nominating me but for his service and leadership to the EHE Alumni  Society. I'd like to thank the EHE board members, both past and present, for connecting and 
representing the alumni of the college.  

I'd like to thank the staff in the EHE office for supporting the work of the society and to Dr. Pope-Davis, I'd like to thank him for 
his leadership during trying times.  

Last but not least, I'd like to thank my husband Larry and my son Michael who are both EHE grads    and Michael's family as well for always 
supporting what I love to do. 

Go Bucks!

Donna Ball is an experienced education administrator who has dedicated 43 years and counting to the field. Her positive attitude and strong belief in challenging students to be their best has impacted thousands of students and hundreds of educators during the course of her career. She retired as a principal in 2012 from Marysville Exempted Village Schools, having begun as a teacher with Westfall (Ohio) Local Schools.

Since then, she was been a project manager for the Ohio Instructional Leadership Academy, a part of the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators that offers principals and teacher leaders leadership skills training to support student achievement. She is also an adjunct professor with Concordia University, Chicago, in their master’s in administrative licensure program.

Today, while continuing to teach with Concordia, she is supervisor of student teachers for the college, sharing her vast experience with future early childhood educators.

In addition to her work directly within the profession, Ball volunteers regularly for Ohio State to support events and enhance opportunities for the college’s students. She served for a decade on the college’s Alumni Society Board of Governors, including a term as president. She has been the college’s representative to the Alumni Association, where she served on the committee to select faculty for the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Ball has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career. In 2021, she received the D. Richard Murray Award from the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators. It honors an educator for outstanding service to benefit administrators and the children they serve.

New Leader

Desiree Vega

'08 MA, '11 PhD, School Psychology

Speaker 1:
Hi, everyone. I am so honored to be  the recipient of the New Leader Award.  This award means so much to me, and I  am very grateful to my doctoral advisor,    Dr. Antoinette Miranda, for nominating me. There  are so many other people doing amazing work so it   is really an honor to have been selected. 

When I  applied for graduate school back in 2005, I was an    undergraduate student born and raised in New York  City and I had no idea where Ohio was even located    but I was really drawn to OSU's school psychology  program because it was one of the few with a Black    faculty member and an explicit focus on social  justice training.

My experiences at OSU did    not disappoint and have really shaped my career  trajectory over the last 10 years. 

Dr. Miranda's    mentorship as well as Dr. James Moore's mentorship  has left a long lasting impact on me and it's framed my research, my teaching, my mentoring  style, my faculty identity and my professional and    personal commitment to advancing social justice  and anti-racism. 

I hope that I can make an impact    on my graduate students and the communities  I work with in the same way that they have.   

Thank you again and I look forward to celebrating in person in the near future. Go Bucks!

Early in her career, Desireé Vega began carving a niche for herself as an expert in the field of bilingual school psychology. Now an associate professor of school psychology at the University of Arizona, she focuses on articulating ways to bolster the resiliency of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in order to advance their academic outcomes.

While at her prior faculty position at Texas State University, Vega was co-principal investigator on a $1.03 million U.S. Department of Education grant to develop a bilingual specialization training program. The project addressed the shortage of bilingual school psychologists by supporting the preparation of 24 students in this specialty area. She currently consults on a $1.3 million grant project focused on keeping interdisciplinary teams evolving.

Vega has received multiple awards, including being inducted as a faculty fellow into the American Association of Hispanic Higher Education and being recognized as an Early Career Scholar by the Society for the Study of School Psychology.

Her work is published in some of the highest impact school psychology journals, and she is the associate editor of the Journal of School Psychology.

At the community level, Vega is engaged in immigration advocacy. For instance, she has volunteered with the organization Keep Tucson Together, where she assisted people preparing asylum applications. She also has worked with the Immigrant Student Resource Center on campus and with clinics renewing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications.

 

2021 honorees

2020 honorees

2019 honorees

2018 honorees