Two NDSU faculty members were among state employees recognized with a 2018 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service.
Ann Clapper, associate professor of practice in the School of Education, and Thomas Hall, retired associate professor in the School of Education, received the Sodbuster Award for Excellence in Growth Mindset. They were honored for their positive impact on state government and the lives of North Dakota citizens.
Clapper and Hall are program coordinators for the NDSU Educational Leadership program. They were acknowledged for their efforts to create and implement the Teacher Leader Academy, which gives teachers a way to earn master’s degrees in their school or district using coursework and projects.
“To have NDSU’s Teacher Leader Academy model honored by our governor was a high point in my career, and I especially liked the fact that we were awarded the Sodbuster Award,” Clapper said. “Because the academy model is unique and still quite new, there have been many opportunities for us to practice a growth mindset. We’ve been lucky to have school leaders who were willing to take a chance on us and implement an academy in their districts so they’re sodbusters too, as they laid the groundwork for other districts to follow.”
Margaret Fitzgerald, dean of human development and education, said, “Ann and Tom’s work is truly inspiring. They build better teachers, school administrators and higher education faculty to make sure North Dakota is successful in the future. It’s wonderful to have their work recognized at the state level.”
Nine individuals and one team were honored during a State Team Member Recognition Week luncheon on Sept. 13 at the state capitol in Bismarck, North Dakota.
“We’re continually impressed with our team members’ willingness to embrace challenges as opportunities and step forward to lead at every level as we pursue our purpose –to empower people, improve lives and inspire success,” Burgum said. “Their dedication shined through in every nomination, and we are extremely grateful to these individuals and teams for their exceptional service and sincere commitment to our great state and its citizens.”
About 300 nominations were submitted this year.
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