West Virginia Universitys six newest inductees into its College of Human Resources and Education Hall of Fame have traveled down different avenues in their collective journey to inspire learning.
Theyve worked with prison inmates and children and adults shackled with physical and emotional disabilities. Theyve delivered the dollars that bring learning opportunities to rural communities across the country.
And theyve created and overseen programs that teach and inspire Americas future educators.
This years inductees are special education administrator Beverly J. Bieniek, independent contractor Donald R. Cotten, disabilities advocate Barbara T. Judy, former HR&E Dean William G. Monahan, reading specialist Beth Musser and former Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Kathleen Hawk Sawyer. Bieniek will also receive HR&Es Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2005.
WVU will welcome the second class of inductees in a 3 p.m. ceremony on Friday, April 1, in the fourth-floor lobby of Allen Hall, the home of the college that turns out teachers in an acclaimed five-year degree program.
We are so very proud of this distinguished group,HR&E Dean Anne Nardi said.Theyre �€~true teacherswho have forged amazing relationships with students of all ages, from all walks of life. Theyre the very embodiment of the profession.
Brief biographies of the inductees:
Beverly J. Bieniek
Bieniek has been described as both adoerand asolver.
She combines a teachers heartbeat with a solid expertise of local, state and federal laws and policiesa mindset that has served her well in her career.
Bieniek has taught special education and worked as a consultant at public schools in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and for the Kentucky Department of Education. She is currently director of Special Education and Pupil Personnel Services for Uniontown, Pa.s Laurel Highlands School District.
She is a 1976 WVU elementary education graduate, and in 1980 earned a masters degree from her alma mater in special education of the severely mentally and physically handicapped.
In 1977, her first year as a classroom teacher, she was named West Virginia Teacher of the Year by the West Virginia Association for Retarded Citizens and the National Teacher of the Year by the National Association for Retarded Citizens.
Donald R. Cotten
Cotten received his bachelors and masters degrees in biology from the University of Southern Mississippi and in 1976 earned a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from WVU .
The public schoolteacher-turned university professor held several teaching and administrative posts at the University of Mississippi, where his work with lawmakers netted $60 million in educational projects for the state.
A former associate vice chancellor for research and technology transfer at Arkansas State University, Cotten presently assists universities and private companies across the nation as an independent contractor.
Barbara Judy
Judy is known nationally for her commitment to a segment of the population that is often shunted off to one side.
Judy has been designated an officialPatriot from West Virginiaby the U.S. Presidents Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and also holds a spot in the National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities.
For 15 years, she was a member of the U.S. Department of Labors Presidential Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
At WVU , she was instrumental in the formation of the Universitys renowned Job Accommodation Network, a free consulting service that helps companies across the country and the globe retool their workplaces to accommodate employees with disabilities.
Judy received a registered nursing degree from the Temple University Hospital School of Nursing in 1955 and earned both a bachelors degree in psychology and a masters degree in counseling and guidance from WVU in 1978.
She has taught classes in special education, counseling psychology and rehabilitation counseling at WVU and served as the Universitys director of Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance.
Judy was also West Virginias director of ADA Compliance, chair of the Governors Olmstead Task Force and a member of the Governors Committee for Persons with Disabilities.
William G. Monahan
Monahan left a lasting mark on WVU s College of Human Resources and Education. During his 10 years as dean, he established the HR&E Alumni Association and initiated the discussions that led to the formation of the colleges acclaimed teacher education preparation program.
He also renewed ties with the West Virginia Department of Education and developed the cooperative doctoral program in Education Leadership Studies with Marshall University.
Monahan also formalized the colleges promotion and tenure process.
He received his bachelors degree in geography and history from Western Kentucky University in 1951 and earned a masters degree in the same field four years later from George Peabody College, now part of Vanderbilt University.
In 1960 he was awarded a doctorate in education administration and general communication arts from Michigan State University.
His 50-year career spans public school classrooms and college lecture halls. He is also known internationally as an educational consultant and author of several books and scholarly articles.
Beth Musser
Musser is known widely as West Virginias premier reading specialist.
She established the West Liberty State College Reading Program and its innovative Visiting Author Program, which puts childrens authors in professional development schools and college classes.
Musser currently serves as dean of the West Liberty State College School of Education and has been the driving force behind her colleges professional development school partnership in Ohio County. That program continues to pick up more member schoolsand a national reputation.
She holds degrees from Lycoming College and WVU and earned a doctorate in language communication and child development from the University of Pittsburgh. She has been a public schoolteacher in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Musser has been the recipient of the WLSC Exemplary Professor Award and the Reading Associations Distinguished Teacher Educator Award. She also earned theThanks to Teacher Awardfrom Pittsburgh television station KDKA .
Kathleen Hawk Sawyer
Sawyer was the only woman ever to serve as director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a post she held for 11 years before retiring in 2003.
She began her career locally with Bureau of Prisons in 1976, when the then-WVU doctoral student signed on with the Federal Correctional Institute in Morgantown.
From there she moved on as senior instructor for the Bureau of PrisonsStaff Training Academy in Glynco, Ga., where her numerous awards and national recognition led to her promotion as director of the federal prison system.
Those awards include the Edmond Randolph Award for outstanding service in the U.S. Justice Department and the Distinguished Executive Award from President Clinton , the highest award given to senior administrators in the federal government.
She also holds the Surgeon Generals Medallion for contributions to the Office of the Surgeon General, the Public Health Service and the nations health.
She was inducted into the WVU Alumni Associations Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 1995.
She received her bachelors degree in psychology from Wheeling Jesuit College and earned masters and doctoral degrees in counseling and rehabilitation from HR&E in 1973 and 1978, respectively.
Former West Virginia Gov. Gaston Caperton headed last years inaugural class of inductees.