College of Education Jack Miller Award winners announced for 2020-21
The Jack Miller Faculty Awards are given annually to recognize Georgia Southern University College of Education (COE) faculty for demonstrated excellence in the areas of teaching, service and/or scholarship. Awards can be given in each area along with an additional Educator of the Year Award, which recognizes scholarship in all three of the considered areas.
For the 2020-2021 academic year, four COE faculty members received Jack Miller Awards including Amanda Glaze-Crampes, Ph.D.; Lacey Huffling, Ph.D.; Fayth Parks, Ph.D.; and Pamela Wells, Ph.D.
Recipient of the Jack Miller Award for Scholarship and Creative Activity was presented to Amanda Glaze-Crampes, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education. Glaze-Crampes is known for her research on the intersection of faith and evolution, specifically in the Southeastern United States. Since joining Georgia Southern in 2016, Glaze-Crampes has presented at 14 national and international conferences as well as six public events, including invitations from the Smithsonian Institute’s Broader Impacts Committee, the Darwin Week Committee at University of Tyler Texas, and the University of Alabama’s Museum of Natural History. In 2017, Glaze-Crampes co-edited a book addressing the depth of evolution education that is taking place in the south, regardless of the existing controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution. The book, Evolution Education in the American South, included chapters and research from each of the editors as well as outside researchers from the South.
In 2018, she received the Evolution Education Award from the National Association of Biology Teachers, and recently, Glaze-Crampes was named a fellowship recipient from Sinai & Synapses, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. An alumnae of the University Alabama and Jacksonville State University, Glaze-Crampes served as a high school science teacher prior to joining higher education.
Associate Professor in the Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education Lacey Huffling, Ph.D., is the 2020-21 Jack Miller Educator of the Year. Huffling has been a faculty member in the College for five years and teaches middle and secondary science methodology. Huffling is currently in the second year of a three-year grant funded program for teacher science development in which she serves as the principal investigator. The $764,000 grant program, Our2Swamp, equips middle and high school teachers to monitor local watershed conditions and examine impacts on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico through the Okefenokee Swamp. Huffling is currently serving on three graduate thesis committees and conducts research and professional presentations alongside Georgia Southern students. Huffling’s passion for working with regional teachers can be seen in her dedication to teacher development. She is the co-founder of EdCamp at Georgia Southern and has assisted in coordinating the event since its inception in 2016. She also served as the Homegrown Teacher Initiative liaison for Effingham County and continues to partner with Effingham County schools on various projects as well as serves on their Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) Advisory Committee.
The Jack Miller Award for Service was awarded to Professor of Counselor Education Fayth Parks, Ph.D. A licensed psychologist and a practicing counselor for 23 years, Parks has been a member of the College of Education at Georgia Southern for over 18 years. She is the Founding Chair of the Rural HIV Research and Training Conference, which is now in its eighth year. Parks is an active researcher and speaker on cultural health disparities, examining how diverse groups interpret mental health, healing and illness recovery and developing coping strategies that can facilitate personal strengths, positive emotions and behavior change.
Parks volunteers as a member of the Georgia Department of Public Health Infectious Disease Division to assist with the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes project in sharing information and conducting virtual clinics with healthcare providers. Parks serves on the Advisory Council for the Southeast AIDS Education and Training Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is also a member of the organizing committee for TEDx Savannah and is a Georgia Southern University Faculty Senator. She is also a grant reviewer for ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action Southern Initiative, as well as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Formerly, Parks was the chair of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Psychology and AIDS. For her efforts, Parks has been recognized as the Jefferson Silver Cup Service Award recipient by the American Psychological Association (2017) as well as the African American Professors Program Service Award by the University of South Carolina (2002).
Pamela Wells, Ph.D., associate professor of counselor education, was named the recipient of the Jack Miller Award for Teaching. A member of the College for six years, Wells holds active professional certifications as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), and an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS). Wells teaches graduate courses on modeling and techniques of counseling, short term strategies, and assessment diagnosis and intervention. During her tenure, Wells has served on 14 graduate student directed research committees. In 2016, Wells created the Peer Supervisor program which places second-year counselor education graduate students in co-supervising, co-teaching and mentoring roles. This program allows outstanding second-year students to apply to be paired with a faculty member teaching the counseling skills course and allow them to learn how to become qualified clinical supervisors.
Wells is also a practicing counselor with Brave Tomorrow Counseling and Consulting, where she specializes in adult experiential healing methods for anxiety, depression and self esteem. She is known for her mindfulness practices within the classroom and College, where she offers mental and physical practices to the faculty, staff and student body. During the Spring 2020 semester, Wells provided “Mindful Moments,” an audio exercise of mindfulness for the College and beyond.
About Jack Miller
Jack Miller was the former Dean of the College of Education at Georgia Southern. He endowed the Jack Miller Faculty Awards in 1994 after leaving to accept the position of Dean of the College of Education at Florida State University. Miller retired in 2016 from his position as the President of Central Connecticut State University. Miller passed away in April 2018, leaving behind a legacy as a passionate and dedicated leader in higher education across the nation.
For more information about the Jack Miller Awards or to view past recipients, visit https://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/awards/
Posted in Faculty Highlights