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AU education professor awarded top honor in field

Dr. Cynthia Reed

Dr. Cynthia Reed, director of the Auburn University College of Education's Truman Pierce Institute and an associate professor in the College's Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology, was recently presented with the University Council for Educational Administration's (UCEA) Jack A. Culbertson Award, one of the top awards in the field of educational administration.

She received the award for "significant contributions by a junior professor to the advancement of educational administration" during the professional organization's annual national convention in Portland, Oregon. Reed is the first faculty member from Auburn University to ever receive this award throughout its 22-year history.

The UCEA is an association of higher education institutions committed to advancing the preparation and practice of educational leaders for the benefit of schools and children. The Jack A. Culbertson Award was established in 1982 in honor of UCEA's first full-time executive director, who retired in 1981 after serving 22 years in this position.

The criteria used in selecting the outstanding junior professor for this award include innovativeness, originality, potential impact, relation to UCEA goals and degree of effort required to produce the contribution.

Reed was nominated for her "work in impacting leadership and leadership development, the building of individual and community capacity through her involvement with the West Alabama Learning Coalition (WALC), and her work on evaluation and assessment related to this effort," as stated in her nomination packet.

The WALC is a network of partnerships among preK-12 schools, community and technical colleges, colleges and universities, social service agencies, business leaders and other civic leaders focused on connecting educational excellence with economic and community development in rural Alabama.

"I was honored and humbled to receive this award. Our work in West Alabama continually challenges me to re-conceptualize what it means to be a leader," Reed said. "We must find ways to re-connect schools and communities, to serve as boundary spanners, to fully embrace our democratic responsibilities and to actively model what it means to be an engaged citizen."

The coalition was established in 1997 and a major focus of this endeavor has been the creation of collaborative leadership teams centered on addressing local and regional needs.

"The coalition is built around the concept that schools cannot be separated from their context, nor can communities be separated from their schools. With this concept in mind, the coalition seeks to connect economic and community development with educational improvement," Reed said. "The program stresses preparing partnership members to serve as advocates for education and community development within their communities and preparing them to impact legislative policy."

Another element of this coalition that Reed was recognized for is her ability to connect teaching, research and outreach. She successfully engages her leadership students in investigating the policy needs in West Alabama and therefore assists the leaders in these communities to both improve practice and impact policy.

Some of the primary benefits of the coalition include sharing expertise, resources and ideas with partners and other coalition members; offering opportunities for professional development for practicing teachers, administrators and college faculty; expanding teacher education opportunities and student teacher placements; and creating new programs to improve learning opportunities for students and adults.

"This is exciting and difficult work. There are certainly many personal and professional costs involved, but the rewards are endless. I have been blessed with many opportunities throughout my life — and the opportunity to do important work that makes a difference in peoples' lives is truly a blessing," Reed said.

Last Updated: Jun 16, 2011