Dr. Paul Resta and Dr. Nancy Roser Garner College’s Top Honor for Faculty

In a departure from tradition, two College of Education faculty members have been named winners of the 2006 Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Award. Dr. Paul E. Resta and Dr. Nancy Roser, both faculty members in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, were presented the awards in an honorary ceremony held by the dean on Aug. 14.

The Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Award, which was established in 1992, is the most prestigious honor that the college bestows on a faculty member. Honorees are selected by a college-wide committee and chosen based on superior teaching, research and service to the university, college and community. Along with a commemorative plaque, each honoree receives a check for $5000.

“It seems like the determination of a winner becomes more difficult each year,” said Dr. Manuel J. Justiz, dean of the College of Education. “This year the decision was unanimous that we honor both Dr. Resta and Dr. Roser for careers that have been nothing short of exceptional. The two honorees have devoted the larger portion of their adult lives to helping learners succeed and have made an indelible mark on the field of education. Both are extremely well-respected in professional circles, are education leaders on a national scale and are brilliant mentors for our young faculty who are just beginning their careers. They are treasured here in our college and are significant contributors to the college’s status and success.”

Dr. Paul E. Resta, who joined The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education in 1991, holds the Ruth Knight Millikan Centennial Professorship in Instructional Technology and is director of the college’s Learning Technology Center. In addition to teaching graduate instructional technology courses, Resta is engaged in studies of computer-supported collaborative learning, the use of telecommunications and multimedia technologies to enhance learning opportunities for students in isolated rural areas and the design of Web-based learning environments.

As well as being author of numerous books, book chapters and journal articles, Resta currently serves as chair of the Association for Teacher Educators National Commission on Technology and the Future of Teacher Education and as chair of the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Working Group on E-Learning for Teacher Development. He is a member of the Microsoft Partners in Learning National Advisory Group, in addition to being a member of the U. S. Department of Education advisory council for the Preparing Teachers to Use Technology Program, advisory board of the International Children’s Art Foundation and Board of Governors of the Online Academy, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

 The Texas State Senate recently presented a Texas flag – which was flown over the Texas State Capital - to Resta in appreciation of his work in education. Resta also has received two of the most distinguished national awards for quality of instructional design and development of Web-based learning environments: the U.S. Distance Learning Association Award for Outstanding Achievements in Higher Education and the University Continuing Education Association National Distance Learning Course Award.

Dr. Nancy Roser, who has been a member of the College of Education for the past 36 years, is the Priscilla Pond Flawn Professor of Early Childhood Education and a professor of language and literacy studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. A former classroom teacher, Roser now teaches undergraduate elementary reading and language arts, as well as graduate courses in teaching the language arts and children’s  literature.

Roser’s research interests include close inspection of children's book conversations in classrooms, and she currently is engaged in a classroom-based investigation of how children learn to read and write varying text genres across grades.

Roser is co-editor of “Book Talk and Beyond” and “What a Character! Character Study as a Guide to Literary Meaning Making” with Miriam Martinez and of “Adventuring with Books” with Julie Jensen, as well as author of many chapters and articles related to the teaching reading and the language arts. In addition, she is a section editor for the new Handbook of Research in Teaching the Visual and Communicative Arts and is working on a book, targeted at parents, that explains what to expect from schools when it comes to literacy instruction.

A recent recipient of the Piper Professor Award for outstanding Texas university teachers, Roser also has been honored with an Outstanding Teacher Educator in Texas Award, Texas Excellence Teaching Award, Indiana University School of Education Distinguished Alumni Award, Lifetime Service Award from the Texas Council of Teachers of English and has been inducted in the International Reading Association Hall of Fame.

She is a member of the International Reading Association’s Commission On Young Children and a member of the board of the Children’s Literature Assembly, which is an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English.  Roser has served the Texas Memorial Museum as co-director of its education committee, is a member of the Texas Book Festival’s Children’s Services Committee and, along with Dr. Joan Shiring, has received two UTOPIA grants for education outreach.

—Kay Randall, University Communications, 512-232-3910