[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n
Larry Feldman, Ph.D., personifies many roles: dynamic EduGator, dedicated educator, dauntless advocate for education reform, and, most recently, UF distinguished alumnus. Feldman (BA \u201872, MAE \u201873) was chosen for UF\u2019s Distinguished Alumnus Award based on its criteria: honoring those who have excelled in their chosen field or performed outstanding service for the university.<\/span><\/p>\n The popular former principal and retired Miami-Dade County Public School Board chair was presented the award at the university\u2019s Fall 2024 commencement ceremony by Dean Glenn Good<\/a>. The recognition had the alumnus reminiscing about his formative experiences at the UF College of Education.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/alumni\/files\/2024\/12\/GL-plain-300×254-1.jpg” alt=”Larry Feldman” title_text=”Screenshot” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Larry Feldman, Ph.D.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”100px” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”560.8px” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n It was 1969. Feldman hobbled across campus, more concerned with getting to class than protecting his cast from a classic Gainesville rainstorm. His plaster and cotton-wrapped leg had broken during a flag football game at Norman Field, and the inconvenience hindered his walks to class and his work as a waiter at the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority house. A concerned AEPhi sister saw him walking in the rain.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis adorable, kind first-year student, Avis, runs up to me and says, \u2018I recognize you \u2013 you\u2019re our waiter! Would you like to share my umbrella?\u2019\u201d Feldman recalls. \u201cI really don\u2019t care for umbrellas, so I declined and told her I would meet her at the house. I didn\u2019t know any better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He didn\u2019t know he had just met his future wife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He and Avis went on to major in childhood education, piloting a new program at the College of Education structured around humanism \u2013 a learner-centered approach gaining traction at the time over traditional behaviorist models. The program changed the course of Feldman\u2019s life, a sharp turn off the Miami native\u2019s original path.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy best friend was supposed to come to UF with me. He wanted to be a dentist, so I figured I should be a dentist,\u201d Feldman says. \u201cBut he went to Georgia, and I had zero motivation to stand over someone working on their teeth all day. Once I entered Dr. [Arthur] Combs\u2019 program, I knew that education was my life\u2019s calling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Feldman and Avis were married weeks after graduation in 1973, the culmination of her completing her bachelor\u2019s degree and he obtaining his master\u2019s in special education. Upon leaving Gainesville, the newlyweds bought a house in Miami where each would launch decades-long careers in education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last year, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”669.6px” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Feldman prefers guidelines over guardrails.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy parents always gave me guidelines instead of guardrails,\u201d he explains. \u201cGuardrails are barriers to keep things in line \u2013 which is great if you\u2019re a car on a mountain. But students are not cars. Instead, we should provide guidelines so learners can be open to movement, development, and experimentation as we guide them through learning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As an undergrad, his resistance to guardrails compelled him to knock on UF President Stephen O\u2019Connell\u2019s front door one night in 1972. A bureaucratic oversight threatened to disrupt his plans to graduate and enter the school\u2019s special education master\u2019s program, and he wanted to make the president aware.<\/span><\/p>\n Feldman recalls standing with Avis at the doorstep, hoping security would allow him to get a word in before throwing them out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey approached us, I knocked on the door, and as they were ready to grab me, the door opens, and there\u2019s President O\u2019Connell standing in his bathrobe wearing his University of Florida slippers. I explained that I wasn\u2019t there to cause problems \u2013 I was simply a student who wanted to talk about an unreasonable policy at the university preventing me from graduating. He invited Avis and I in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the late hour, O\u2019Connell chatted with the students about his life experiences as a former Florida Supreme Court justice and allowed Feldman to air his grievances. He invited the young man to visit his office in the morning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n O\u2019Connell ultimately instructed staff to resolve the problem, fixing an issue that affected multiple students. Feldman would graduate on time by modifying the guardrails surrounding him.<\/span><\/p>\n Feldman\u2019s avant-garde approach, amplified at UF, profoundly influenced his teaching as he put his education into practice. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs a special education teacher, emphasizing guidelines over guardrails allowed me to focus on my students\u2019 full potential \u2013 what my kids needed from me rather than what I wanted from them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”263px” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/alumni\/files\/2024\/12\/drFeldman-20-300×228-1.jpg” alt=”Larry Feldman” title_text=”drFeldman-20-300×228″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n He carried this philosophy for several decades as an assistant principal, principal, and region director in Florida\u2019s largest school district. He also enhanced his formal education, earning his doctorate in educational leadership and systemic reform from the Union Institute and University in Cincinnati.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With Feldman at the helm, students sent to the office were offered a snack and a listening ear. Grounded in humanist roots, Feldman insisted students shouldn\u2019t be afraid of their teachers and administrators but see them as resources for guidance; schools shouldn\u2019t revolve around memorization and test scores but around igniting a desire to learn and grow toward self-actualization. Learning should be engaging and fun.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”735.8px” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n After five years of study and one trip to the university president\u2019s house, grad student Feldman continued testing the boundaries of a system resistant to change. He\u2019d been called to education through Dr. Combs\u2019 humanist lens as an undergraduate, but his special education master\u2019s program followed behaviorism.<\/span><\/p>\n Finals week presented Feldman with the opportunity to show his resistance to an assessment and approach he saw as insufficient. He turned in his exam without attempting to take it and told his parents on his way home that he\u2019d failed to obtain his master\u2019s degree.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy mom and dad were amazing. They said, \u2018Well what did you learn out of this?\u2019 What I learned was you have two choices when you look in the mirror,\u201d Feldman once recounted to the Miami Palmetto Senior High student newspaper. \u201cEither you\u2019re going to be true to yourself and do what you believe is in the way you were brought up with integrity and honor\u2026 or you\u2019re going to cheat yourself and redefine who you are but not in a positive way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Feldman was surprised that his professor wanted to speak about his decision not to finish the program. With a penchant for pressing at the weak spots of an imperfect establishment, the grad student expressed his frustrations with the exam and negotiated an alternative review of his knowledge, walking away from the exchange with his master\u2019s degree.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He maintained this bold approach while representing District Nine on the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) board. During his 12 years of service, including as vice chair and chair of the board, Feldman implemented dozens of initiatives and helped open innovative new schools that catered to students\u2019 special interests and unique needs.<\/span><\/p>\n With Nicklaus Children\u2019s Hospital, he created partnerships to expand drowning prevention awareness programs and provide free cardiac screenings for students. He secured policies that enhanced athletic concussion prevention programs, implemented anger management programs, and adopted mindfulness practices for district teachers, administrators, and employees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to these vital health initiatives, student safety was a high priority for Feldman. He helped establish school board police officers in each MDCPS middle and high school, institute Sandy Hook Promise\u2019s \u201cSay Something\u201d gun violence prevention program, and codify active shooter lockdown protocols.<\/span><\/p>\n Decades of meaningful work led to countless board memberships, including the Council of the Great City Schools, the Zoo Miami Foundation, the Greater Florida Consortium of School Boards, the Children\u2019s Survival Network, and UF\u2019s Lastinger Center, amongst many others. His recognitions include the 2019 National Urban Educator of the Year Award from the Council of Great City Schools.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”581px” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Now retired after a robust and fulfilling career, Feldman has a unique view of how the University of Florida impacted him. Dr. Combs sparked his passion for education, but his overall life experience \u2013 advice and support from his professors, discussions with his peers, breakthroughs in his studies \u2013 developed him into the person he is today.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNorman Hall was the home where we became ourselves, where we found understanding, acceptance, and gratitude. It was where I came to sit by my professors to speak openly and profoundly, discuss matters of the heart and soul, explore the universe of free-thinking, converse about creative ideas and solutions \u2013 a place where I could share lunch and talk with the greatest minds of philosophical educators dedicated to the essentials of the human condition, the building up of all, and the joys of teaching and learning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n When asked what he plans to do next, Feldman pays homage to his wife, supporting Avis\u2019 endeavors in their retirement as she supported him throughout his career. They continue to celebrate the accomplishments of their two daughters.<\/span><\/p>\n The Feldmans often visit the College of Education and have created the Dr. Larry and Avis Feldman Family Endowment<\/a> to represent their commitment to the university and future education professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/alumni\/files\/2024\/12\/Larry-Feldman-commencement-1-495×400-1.jpg” alt=”Three individuals in academic regalia on a dark stage hold a framed University of Florida Distinguished Alumnus Award for Lawrence S. Feldman.” title_text=”Larry-Feldman-commencement-1-495×400″ _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”80px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]<\/p>\n Feldman receives Distinguished Alumni Award from Dean Glenn Good and Provost Joe Glover<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Feldman was presented with the UF Distinguished Alumnus Award on Saturday Dec. 14, 2024, during the Fall 2024 Master’s, Specialist’s and Bachelor’s Commencement Ceremony. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":12317,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"Dynamic EduGator<\/h2>\n
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Dedicated Educator<\/h2>\n
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Dauntless Advocate<\/h2>\n
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Distinguished Alumnus<\/h2>\n
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UF recognizes dynamic EduGator Larry Feldman with Distinguished Alumni Award<\/h2>