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About the Award
The purpose of this award is to recognize individuals whose research, development and/or service has made a substantial and lasting contribution to teacher education in Ohio. Institutions of higher education that prepare teachers in Ohio have a long, rich history of collaboration. In order for everyone to reap the benefits, individuals must step forward and provide vision and hard work to move study or projects to fruition. Dr. Smith was the unanimous choice of the committee as the first person to be given this new award, according to Bonnie Beach, OACTE president and director of teacher education at Ohio Dominican University.

"I am honored and humbled to be given this award by the colleagues with whom I have served our profession and our state,” commented Smith. “I have been mentored and advanced by people whose knowledge about teacher education and ability to solve problems and resolve issues by inviting the right people to the table sometimes included me. At MVNU, Dr. Clifford Anderson; at the Ohio Department of Education, Dr. Robert Hite; at The Ohio State University, Dr. William Loadman; and in the private college organization, Dr. Patricia Long, are just a few of the many giants upon whose shoulders I have been invited to stand. At this point in my career, I am excited by those just beginning to make contributions to the field of teacher education and hope to encourage and support them as others have done for me.”

Dr. Sonja Smith
Smith earned her bachelor’s degree from Olivet Nazarene University, her master’s from Bowling Green State University and her Ph.D. in teacher education from The Ohio State University. Currently serving as co-chair of the NCATE preparation team, she has served as a professor of education at MVNU since 1996 with previous positions at the University as director of teacher of education, division chair for teacher education and physical education, education department head, coordinator of graduate studies in education, coordinator of student teaching.

Outside of MVNU, Smith has been coordinator of gifted programs in Knox County Schools and taught in public classrooms for nine years. She served as the director of the Teacher Quality Partnership for Ohio from 2002 to 2007, working with teacher educators across Ohio in innovative ways to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of college and university teacher preparation programs and how this affects student achievement. No other state is undertaking such a long-term, comprehensive study.

Smith has presented teacher education research at multiple state and national conferences and served on state-level committees, such as the Teacher Education Report Card Task Force and the Value-Added Task Force for the Ohio Department of Education. She was previously awarded the Thomas C. Holy Award in Higher Education from OSU.

"We’re privileged to have someone with Sonja’s expertise and trail-blazing spirit teaching and mentoring the teachers of tomorrow here at MVNU,” said Dr. Daniel J. Martin, MVNU president. “Her work in bringing others together to promote, evaluate and strengthen teacher education programs throughout the state has been ground breaking. I look forward to seeing her work continue to shape teacher education long into the future.”

MVNU
For information about MVNU’s undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs, or call (740) 392-6868, ext. 3402.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students and working adults. U.S. News & World Report ranks MVNU as a Best in the Midwest (Bachelor’s) institution for the third year in a row. With a 401-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and nine satellite Adult and Graduate Studies campuses throughout the state, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education to more than 2,600 students from 23 states and five countries/U.S. territories.