School of Education Alumni Weekend Celebration
2006 Alumni Award Recipients

Alumni Achievement Awards

William J. Erpenbach
(Ph.D. ’74 in counseling and guidance)
William Erpenbach has been a leader in state and national education efforts for nearly 40 years, first as a guidance counselor and administrator in the Madison and Middleton public schools and then as an administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) from 1967 to 1998. At the DPI, he took the lead in establishing statewide elementary-school guidance programs, initiated the school counselor internship program, and helped design Wisconsin’s developmental guidance model, which became the standard for developmental guidance programs nationwide. Since his retirement in 1998, he has served as a consultant on assessment and accountability issues for state education agencies, large school districts, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Beverly M. Gordon
(M.S. ’71, Ph.D. ’79 in curriculum and instruction)
Beverly Gordon’s commitment to promoting a more equitable society permeates her research, teaching, and service. An associate professor in the School of Educational Policy and Leadership at The Ohio State University, she has contributed immeasurably to our understanding of the ways in which the dynamics of race and culture influence education. And her current research on the educational experiences of middle-class, suburban African American families promises valuable insights on an under-explored subject. In addition to her scholarship, Gordon is widely respected for her years of professional service, especially with the American Educational Research Association, serving most recently as vice president of its Division G (Social Context of Education).

Rosalind Newman
(B.S. ’74 in physical education and dance)
“Dance so stunning you can’t quite believe what you’re seeing” (Village Voice), is typical of the reviews given to works by Rosalind Newman, an internationally acclaimed choreographer. In 1975, Newman formed her own dance company, Rosalind Newman and Dancers, which toured throughout the United States and Europe. During a highly productive career that has taken her from Hong Kong to Holland, Newman has created a body of more than 60 works, and has received numerous honors, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. She also has had a major impact on future artists, serving as a teacher and visiting artist at dance centers and universities (including UW-Madison) throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.

Sylvia Rosenfield
(Ph.D. ’67 in educational psychology)
Sylvia Rosenfield’s work is transforming the way school psychology is practiced in American schools. As a scholar who is committed to blending research with practice, she has worked with hundreds and hundreds of practitioners to improve school psychology programs. Her innovative Instructional Consultation Teams intervention program, for example, is used in school districts in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Michigan, and Virginia. Widely recognized as an expert in her field, Rosenfield is in high demand as a consultant and speaker, and in 2000 received the American Psychological Association’s award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training. She is a professor in the Department of Counseling & Personnel Services at the University of Maryland.

Joel Spring
(Ph.D. ’69 in educational policy studies)
Few historians have reached a broader audience of educators and future teachers than Joel Spring, who is known for the depth and breadth of his scholarship on American education. With a rare ability to translate complex issues into understandable, engaging language, Spring has written or co-authored more than 25 books on the politics, philosophy, and history of education and has spoken at numerous national conferences. His popular textbooks, such as American Education, now in its 12th edition, have become classics used in teacher-preparation classrooms across the county. Regarded by his students and peers as a teacher/scholar of the highest caliber, Spring is a professor at Queens College and Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Outstanding Recent Graduate Award

Jay Paredes Scribner
(Ph.D. ’97 in educational administration)
Only nine years after receiving his Ph.D., Jay Paredes Scribner is well on his way to establishing a national reputation in the field of educational administration. In addition to authoring or co-authoring more than 20 articles and two books, he has presented dozens of papers at major educational conferences. Scribner is respected not only for his scholarship, but also for his service to professional organizations, including his role as editor of the Journal of School Leadership. Especially notable is his classroom work – he has received the High Flyer Award for excellence in teaching in nine separate courses from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.

Lois Gadd Nemec Distinguished Elementary Education Alumni Award

Marc Kornblatt
(B.S. ’01 in elementary education)
Marc Kornblatt was hardly a traditional student when he entered the School of Education's elementary education program, having already been a successful journalist, playwright, and children’s book author. While he continues to write, much of Kornblatt’s time these days is devoted to his fifth-grade class at Lincoln Elementary in Madison, WI. Always striving to enhance the learning environment of his diverse classroom, he has initiated a number of projects, such as securing grants to fund multicultural presentations to his students. And his collaborations with UW education professors and other professionals have resulted in new curricula and instructional methods that have benefited students and teachers alike.

Carroll and Robert Heideman Distinguished Secondary Education Alumni Award

Barbara Ann Kemmerer Smith
(B.S. ’65 in mathematics education)
An outstanding mathematics educator, Barbara Smith has taught in the Madison public schools since 1965, most recently at Memorial High School. Smith has garnered many honors over the years, including the Edith May Sliffe Outstanding Teacher in America award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. A powerful advocate for math education, Smith also is committed to enhancing educational opportunities for all students, illustrated by her central role in Memorial’s recent restructuring into “neighborhoods.” Now serving as the school’s Professional Development School coordinator, she has forged bonds between Memorial and the university that have transformed the school’s participation in teacher preparation programs.