Blog Entry
Gladys R. Shaw Professional Development Award Announced
November 21, 2008 by s-haigler, under Announcements.
The executive board of the Texas chapter of the College Reading and Learning Association [TxCRLA] was pleased to announce the establishment of the Gladys R. Shaw Professional Development Award at the recent CASP 2008 Conference held in Corpus Christi, Texas. This annual award is available to current TxCRLA members to use toward travel expenses and other costs associated with any professional development conference, workshop or other training activity related to their fields. The first award winner will be announced at the 2009 CASP Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Gladys R. Shaw
The award is named in honor of Gladys R. Shaw, Director of the Student Support Services Program at the University of Texas at El Paso. Mrs. Shaw is a champion in the field of developmental education and traces her passion back to her own personal experience. “I was a first-generation-college, low-income farm girl myself who earned a scholarship that went with the valedictorian designation for my high school graduating class.” However, she married her husband while she was still a high school senior and at a time when both honors were denied because of the marriage. She eventually did earn a B.A degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Business and Education, earning her certification for public accountant after only one sitting for the exam. Two years later, she earned her M.A. (with honors) in business and education. Mrs. Shaw has worked in both commerce and education, “especially Developmental Education, but have always been driven back to DE-probably partially due to that high school experience, but also one can really see the difference one makes,” she adds. ”When I look at my resume, and reflect on the wonderful honors that have come my way, I have to say (as my daddy always told me) we get out of any experiences exponential rewards for the passion and effort we invest. Of those rewards, which I do treasure greatly, the most important are still the students who succeed and the friends I have made along the way.”
Besides her prized students, Mrs. Shaw has been recognized for many other awards, including her 2004 induction as a Fellow of the American Council of Developmental Education Associations and her recent nomination to the El Paso Women’s Hall of Fame. She has held offices in and served on numerous committees of NADE and CRLA as well as several other academic organizations. She was the treasurer of both NADE (1991-1995) and CRLA (1986-1988). She served as the TADE President from 1991-1992 and its treasurer from 1988-1991. She has authored and co-authored numerous books, chapters, journal articles, and other publications, most of which were for developmental education. Mrs. Shaw sums up her past and ongoing career with, “You know the old saying, ’success breeds success?’”
For more information on the eligibility requirements and application procedure for the Gladys R. Shaw Professional Development Award, go to the “Awards” page.
