Professional Development 

2007 Adelle F. Robertson

Professional Continuing Educator Award

The Adelle F. Robertson Professional Continuing Educator Award recognizes the scholarship, leadership and contributions to the profession of an outstanding continuing professional educator who has entered the field within the past five to 10 years. The Award is dedicated to the memory of Adelle Robertson, whose career in continuing education spanned 30 years. Robertson's leadership within UCEA began early in her career and encompassed numerous positions within the Association. She served as a member of UCEA's Board of Directors from 1979 to 1985 and as President from 1983 to 1984. Robertson set a standard of excellence in her own pursuits and inspired others to seek excellence in theirs.

John F. Beyers

Academic Director of Mathematics and Sciences
University of Maryland University College

An interesting debate could be had among John Beyers' colleagues at the University of Maryland University College over whether he is a more effective teacher or administrator. As a full-time faculty member and the Academic Director of the Mathematics and Statistics program at UMUC, Beyers has provided plenty of evidence to support either argument.

Since joining UMUC in 2004, Beyers has taught courses in the faceto- face, online and independent study formats. His average student evaluation score is 4.6 out of 5.0, and he routinely receives the highest scores within UMUC's mathematics and statistics program.

"John Beyers inspires students to make consistently significant gains in mathematics-an area of study that paralyzes a significant number of continuing education students," says colleague Alyson Muff. "He is an inspiration to his faculty, and his methods and dedication inspire his faculty to seek ways in which we may further our direction as effective educators. He is an example of excellence in the field of continuing education."

As an administrator, Beyers has revitalized and refocused the math and statistics program, aligning it with the unique needs and skills of UMUC's students while maintaining alignment with statewide math education requirements. Under Beyers' direction, the program has taken on a role as a service unit at UMUC, providing support for the general education requirement as well as advanced support for critical majors such as business, computer science, and psychology.

Beyers initiated and implemented the review and revision of the program's learning objectives, course content, minor, certificate, and A.A. degree. He also has streamlined and unified the math placement testing system and criteria. Early in his UMUC tenure, when his research showed the University was losing a large number of developmental math enrollments to community colleges because UMUC was not offering those courses online, Beyers personally authored two online developmental math courses. They were UMUC's first online developmental math courses, and were among the first of their kind nationwide.

"In the short time that John has led UMUC's math and statistics program, he has taken full command of the program, revitalizing and refocusing both the curriculum and faculty," says Christina Sax, Assistant Dean, Social, Behavioral, Natural, and Mathematics Sciences. "These advances are significant and with wide ranging impact."

Prior to joining UMUC, Beyers was Project Director at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth Distance Education Program, and also served as an associate professor. He holds a Ph.D. in mathematics education and an M.A. in mathematics from American University, and a B.S. in mathematics from Towson University.