Maloch Wins Massey Award, University’s Top Honor for Teachers of Teachers - September 13, 2011

Dr. Beth Maloch, an associate professor in the College of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction and Fellow of the Charles H. Spence Centennial Associate Professorship in Education, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Elizabeth Shatto Massey Award for Excellence in Teacher Education. The Massey Award recognizes a “teacher of teachers,” one who inspires and prepares future elementary and secondary school teachers. Dr. Maloch will be honored with the $12,000 award at a ceremony to be held in the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center on Thursday, September 22.

“Dr. Maloch is a faculty member who is profoundly committed to teaching as a profession and the instruction of our future and current teachers in particular,” said Dr. Manuel J. Justiz, dean of The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education. “She’s been honored by her colleagues and students for her exceptional preparation of future teachers and for her scholarship – rarely have I seen a faculty member accrue so many prestigious teaching awards so rapidly.”

Maloch joined the College of Education faculty in 2000.  She teaches undergraduate courses in teaching methods, including Reading Methods, Reading Assessment and Development and Language Arts Methods, and graduate courses in literacy teaching and research methodology. She’s also graduate advisor for Language and Literacy Studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and is the Graduate Studies Committee chair for the department.

While teaching and supervising undergraduate and graduate students, she conducts research related to classroom talk and discussion, as well as literacy teacher education and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Literacy Research Association. Her committee involvement has allowed her to have a key role in revising core undergraduate curriculum for both university-wide and College of Education purposes.
In addition to the Massey Award, Dr. Maloch has received numerous accolades since coming to The University of Texas at Austin. This year she was named to the University’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers, a recognition that only five percent of tenured faculty receive. In past years, she received the UT System’s Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in recognition of extraordinary classroom performance and innovation, two Dean’s Faculty Integration Awards to support her creative use of technology, and the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the College of Education’s highest teaching honor.
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Dr. Maloch earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Ouachita Baptist University and a master’s degree and doctorate in language and literacy studies from Vanderbilt University.
A committee of University of Texas representatives and alumni who are active in public education selected Dr. Maloch as this year’s Massey Award recipient. Student evaluations and the recommendations of peers, students and program directors were used to assess the candidates from the university’s seven teacher preparation programs.

Named for Elizabeth “Libba” Shatto Massey, the award was created in 2003 by UT alumnus John H. Massey to honor his wife’s lifelong dedication to public education. Libba received her degree in education in 1961 from The University of Texas at Austin and pursued a career in teaching. She remains committed to education and connected to UT through her service on The College of Education Advisory Council and on the Executive Committee of the Chancellor’s Council for The University of Texas System. She also served as the chair of the University Development Board from 2009-10 and 2010-11, and is a vice-chair for The Campaign for Texas, the current capital campaign for UT Austin, launched in September 2006. She is a former member of the Texas Exes Board of Directors and a recipient of Texas Exes Distinguished Alumnus Award, the highest award given by the association.

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

(Adapted from Texas Exes news release.)