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Virginia B. Smith Innovative Leadership Award Recipient for 2010
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning are pleased to announce the winner of the 2010 Virginia B. Smith Innovative Leadership Award, Julie M. Phelps.
The Virginia B. Smith Innovative Leadership Award in Higher Education recognizes individuals whose leadership in higher education has resulted in better ways to educate people to participate in and improve an open and inclusive democratic society. Winners have demonstrated innovative leadership qualities, yet are at a stage in their careers when they will still make significant contributions in the future. The award is meant to encourage and support those seeking sustained improvements in higher education.
The award is named for and honors Virginia B. Smith, who has promoted innovative strategies to improve opportunity and excellence in higher education throughout her career as a college president, educator, foundation director, and public-policy scholar. For information on the award, go to www.highereducation.org.
A national leader among the project directors in Achieving the Dream (a multiyear national initiative to help more community college students succeed), Julie Phelps is a professor of mathematics at Valencia Community College who teaches and has studied and refined three types of pedagogical strategies: supplemental instruction, paired courses, and a student success course. She has developed and used data to inform decisions about closing student performance gaps in gateway courses (pre-algebra, beginning algebra, intermediate algebra, college algebra, US government, and composition). Among her other accolades Julie has received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Award of Excellence in Teaching and Learning and Valencia's Rheta Beaver Teaching Award.
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