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January
23, 2006
LIVINGSTON,
Ala.—University
of West Alabama alumni Dr. Patricia A. DeMay, Dr.
Jack V. Powell and Scott Tew were inducted into the
Society of the Golden Key at Fall Commencement
ceremonies December 17, 2005. The objective of the
Society of the Golden Key is to honor alumni and
former faculty members who have brought distinction
upon the university by the quality of their lives
and their achievements.
One hundred and sixty
alumni have been inducted into the Society, which
was chartered in 1963 by senior faculty members.
Induction into the society is the highest honor
bestowed upon a UWA graduate.
Patricia A. DeMay
Patricia A. DeMay graduated from Siena Heights
College in Adrian, Mich., in 1956 with a Bachelor of
Arts degree in Latin. She continued her studies at
Siena Heights College, earning a Master of Arts
degree in elementary school administration in 1965.
She went on to the University of Tennessee in
Knoxville, and in 1980 she earned her doctorate in
elementary education.
Dr.
DeMay began teaching in elementary schools in 1949.
Over the next thirty-two years, she continued her
work in elementary education as an administrator and
a library director.
Dr.
DeMay joined the University of West Alabama family
in 1981 as a professor in elementary and early
childhood education. Her major field of interest was
in language arts, primarily reading, writing and
children’s literature.
Dr.
DeMay’s work with children’s literature eventually
led to her writing literature for and about
children. Dr. DeMay submitted her article, “Safety
Practices Depicted in Picture Books” for publication
in 1995 to the Journal of Health Education.
The article voices her concern that authors and
illustrators of children’s picture books have a
responsibility to present material in a way that
will teach children to practice safety in everyday
life activities, such as using a helmet when riding
a bike and using a seatbelt when in a car. At this
time, Dr. DeMay is working on a book, David is My
Name, depicting her grandfather’s experiences as
a child during the Civil War.
Dr.
DeMay participates in many professional
organizations dedicated to exploring current trends
and practices for teaching reading. One of her
greatest experiences occurred in 1992 when she
traveled to Hungary and Russia to participate in the
People to People International exchange with
teachers in Budapest, St. Petersburg, and Moscow.
Dr. DeMay was one of thirty-five participants
selected to present ideas and theories about reading
instruction. She was also selected to attend the 22nd
conference of the International Board of Books for
Young People in 1990. Foremost among her
achievements was becoming a charter member of a
charter chapter of the Alpha Upsilon Honor Society
launched by the International Reading Association in
1986. The Iota Chapter, the ninth in the nation, was
chartered in July 1986 at the UWA (then Livingston
University).
Although Dr. DeMay retired from full-time teaching
in 2000, she stills remains active at the
university. In 2001, a sampling of her quilts went
on exhibit in the University of West Alabama gallery
in Webb Hall. In 2004 and 2005, she spent two
weekends learning quilting techniques in Huntsville,
Ala. In addition, in 2002 Dr. DeMay was assigned to
a committee to review college text books for
Merrill/Prentice Hall publishers.
Dr. Jack V. Powell
A
native of Cuba and Livingston, Ala., Dr. Jack V.
Powell received the Bachelor of Science in Education
from Knoxville College in 1958 and a Masters of
Education from the University of West Alabama (then
Livingston University) in 1969. He received his
Doctor of Philosophy from The Florida State
University in 1972.
Dr.
Powell began teaching in 1958 at Carver Central
Attendance Center in Mississippi’s Covington County
School District. He then taught language arts and
music at Kinterbish High School in Sumter County for
ten years. While working on his master’s degree, Dr.
Powell was an instructor at the University of West
Alabama from 1968 to 1969. His responsibilities
included teaching assistant duties for undergraduate
reading and psychology instruction and the
directorship of the developmental reading
laboratory. He was a temporary instructor at The
Florida State University while working on his
doctorate. In 1972, he became a faculty member of
The University of Georgia, joining the School of
Education. He recently retired (2004) at the rank of
Professor Emeritus, School of Teacher Education,
after 31 years of service to The University of
Georgia.
At
The University of Georgia, Dr. Powell became
internationally known for his teaching, research and
service focusing on the infusion of computer-based
technologies in graduate and undergraduate
instruction. In the College of Education, his
responsibilities have included mentoring faculty and
graduate students on authoring electronic course
materials and the integrating of other technologies
into instruction. He has advised undergraduate
students and directed graduate students’ research
and dissertations. He served as Coordinator of
Computer Activities for Department of Elementary
Education from 1979 to 1983. He has been the Primary
Consultant and Project Director for the State of
Georgia Performance Based Certification Service
Projects and the Associate Director of the Athens
Teacher Corps Project. Dr. Powell has been awarded a
Certificate of Achievement for the InTEch
(Integrating TECHnology) profession development
program from the State Data and Research Center at
Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He was
also a Regents Fellow in Higher Education
Administration at the Institute of Higher Education
at UGA.
Dr.
Powell has published extensively in prestigious
journals such as Computers and Education, Journal
of Education Annual, Journal of Education
Technology, Journal of Technology and Teacher
Education, Journal of Experimental Education and
the Journal of Computer-Based Instruction. He
served as an associate editor for Information
Technology in Childhood Educations Annual and
was Coordinator and Senior Editor for the online
coursepack development project in elementary teacher
education for The UGA-Bell U Howell Information and
Learning Corporation.
He
has been recognized as an outstanding teacher and
education leader with numerous awards including an
Outstanding Teaching Award at the University of
Georgia in 2001, an Outstanding Service Award by the
National Association for Teacher Educators in 1986
and a Warren G. Findley Research Award in Education
(Phi Delta Kappa, The University of Georgia) in
1984.
Dr.
Powell is a member of the Board of Deacons at
Ebenezer Baptist Church, West, and former Chairman
of the Board of Trustees. He is also a life member
of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Dr. Powell’s wife,
Pearl, is currently Department Head of Social
Science at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Ga.
Their son, Jack II, resides in Tampa, Fla.
Scott Tew
Born
and raised on a small family farm in Millry, Ala.,
Scott Tew developed from a young age a strong
connection with the earth and the living creatures
that possess it. When he arrived at Livingston
University in 1985, this affinity for the land
prompted him to major in biology and environmental
sciences and to stay on for a master’s degree in
biology, which he earned in 1991.
After completing his graduate work, Tew began
working in Mobile for the Ciba-Geigy Corporation,
which has remained the center of his professional
life. He first managed a number of research projects
focusing on the assessment of environmental risk;
later, he served as a liaison to Federal agencies on
technical issues related to Ciba-Geigy’s
responsibilities at a number of major Superfund
sites. He continued to hone his skills in
communication by representing Ciba-Geigy to the
community at large.
In
1997, he put his expertise to use in his new role as
Global Corporate Communications Manager for Ciba
Specialty Chemicals of Basel, Switzerland. At that
time, Ciba Specialty Chemicals had just been
created, and Tew was responsible for creating a
public profile for the new corporation. In his new
role, he worked with a large team of corporate
communications professionals in developing plans,
tools and strategies to help define the
corporation’s public image.
Earlier this year, Tew was named Ciba’s Head of
Public Affairs in North America. As such, he serves
as a corporate advocate with state and federal
governments, including those of Canada and Mexico.
He is also responsible for managing communications
in crisis situations and developing corporate
outreach to the community. In his new position, Tew
strives to identify and develop initiatives that
emphasize the shared interests of the public and
private sectors.
Tew
serves on a number of boards of directors, including
those of the Mobile Symphony, the Junior League of
South Alabama, the Washington County Business
Alliance, the Gulf Coast Exploreum. He is also
president of the Board of Directors for the Mobile
Arts Council. In all of these endeavors, he relies
heavily on his ability to build consensus in order
to achieve common goals.
Despite having traveled widely and lived in distant
places, Tew retains a deep affection for Alabama’s
distinctive history, landscape and people. He
currently resides in New York and on the Eastern
Shore of Mobile Bay, with his wife, Cindy, who
teaches first grade, and his two daughters, Dylan
and Katherine, and his newborn son, Isaac. |
