Former dean Nelms to receive Distinguished Service Award
Former UF College of Education Dean Ben Nelms will receive the Distinguished Service Award from The National Council of Teachers of English at its upcoming 2005 conference.
Nelms was nominated for the honor by several of his former doctoral students and colleagues in the College of Education, including Barbara Pace, associate professor in the School of Teaching and Learning, and Rose Diane “Mickie” Miller, associate director of the UF Alliance.
“Throughout his long and illustrious career, Ben has served as an example of an engaged scholar who has focused both on the theory and on the practical aspects of teaching secondary English language arts,” Pace wrote in nominating Nelms. “While he has published hundreds of articles focused on classrooms and the role of reader-response theory in teaching literature, he has never lost sight of the vitality of classroom life or of the way that teachers’ voices can make, and should make, a contribution to the profession.”
Nelms joined the UF education faculty in 1990 as professor of curriculum and instruction after already serving decades teaching English education in Missouri and Iowa. At UF, Nelms held positions as graduate coordinator in the School of Teaching and Learning in the 1997-98 school year and director from 1998 to 2000. He also was editor of two major NCTE publications: English Journal and English Education.
In 2000, Nelms signed on to a two-year term as interim dean of the College, leading the faculty and staff during a rough period of budget woes and a statewide reorganization. Nelms’ tenure as dean also was marked by his vision of a university-high school partnership linking the College of Education with underresourced schools across the state. Nelms launched the UF Alliance in 2000, opening up professional development and educational opportunities for teachers and students alike.
“The UF Alliance provides five four-year scholarships to students from each of the partner schools. Not only have these students been academically successful, but they have become campus leaders as well. Many of these students, as well as their teachers and administrators, credit their success to the vision Dr. Nelms had for excellence in teaching and learning,” Miller wrote in her nomination of Nelms.
In 2002, Nelms left the Dean’s Office and took the director’s chair of the UF Alliance. He retired earlier this year.
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals who have exhibited valuable service to the profession, scholarly or academic merit, distinctive use of the language and excellence in teaching. NCTE will honor Nelms at the board of directors meeting of the organization’s annual convention in Pittsburgh on Nov. 18.
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Writer
Joy Rodgers, jrodgers@coe.ufl.edu, (352) 392-0726, ext. 274
