Bergeron First to Receive Woodside Award for Community Outreach

March 14, 2005

MESA, Ariz. — Whether she is implementing teaching preparation programs or initiating a literacy program, Arizona State University Education Professor Bette Bergeron is embedded in the community.<separator></separator>For more than five years since she has been at the Polytechnic campus, she has worked with schools to develop teacher preparation programs, math and science instructional activities, and literacy tutoring. She even chaired a fund-raising event to support and facilitate these community-based initiatives.<separator></separator>For all her work, she will be recognized with the Woodside Community Embededness Award at a luncheon in her honor on March 17. The new award recognizes faculty who have demonstrated commitment and excellence to embededness in the communities where they work.<separator></separator>According to Migs Woodside, ASU community advocate and the woman who helped establish the community award, it recognizes faculty on another level other than academic and encourages continued community outreach and services. The endowment that helped create this award was a response of residents living in the North Scottsdale community who were overwhelmed with the caliber of the ASU faculty and its research.<separator></separator>"The award is another way to let faculty know that they are appreciated, their efforts are value added, and that their research and outreach efforts have an impact on communities," says Migs Woodside.<separator></separator>Bergeron (pictured above, left, with 2005 Show Your Love award recipient Kathleen Wiebke) chairs the Education program at the Polytechnic campus and instills in her staff and students the importance of community service and outreach. Bergeron, along with faculty and students have provided support to Pinal County teachers by developing effective strategies for teaching English language learners; established Project eXcellence, a Saturday and summer program designed for at risk children in minority and urban communities, which infuses technology, math and science, and literacy content into the curriculum; and developed literacy programs with Head Start and other schools in the area.<separator></separator>For Bergeron winning the award reflects the commitment made by the Education department at the Polytechnic campus to community outreach and service.<separator></separator>"Making a difference in the community in which we work is a hallmark of our programs and the service and research of our faculty," says Bergeron. "It is an honor to be recognized for community service, and particularly an honor to be the first recipient of this award."<separator></separator>She will receive a $1,000 award, which can be used toward professional development, research, graduate assistance and/or work in the community.<separator></separator>Bergeron says she will use the money to support a graduate student to assist Assistant Professor and Project eXcellence Director Janel Taylor-White in the development and implementation of curriculum for the Project eXcellence summer school program held at the Williams Campus Community School. The summer program targets at-risk students in grades K-12 from the Roosevelt, Mesa and Queen Creek districts.<separator></separator>"Education is a service profession, embedded in the communities that we serve," says Bergeron. "To be honored for community service demonstrates that East Education is emerging as a leader in outreach and service to the profession."<separator></separator>For more information on the award, faculty members are encouraged to contact their deans or the Office of the Provost at the Tempe campus.<separator></separator>Visit the <a href="http://poly.asu.edu/news/2005/03/14/facultyRecognition2005.html">Faculty Recognition page</a> for information on additional faculty accolades.