This prestigious award recognizes and honors an outstanding administrator who through professional work has demonstrated exemplary support for science education at the school, district, and/or county level. This award honors an administrator whose primary responsibility is outside the area of science instruction.
The award is presented at the NSELA luncheon held at the annual NSELA Leadership Summit. The award is accompanied by a check for $1,000 and a plaque donated by Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
Dr. Diamond has long-term collaboration with Lincoln Public Schools (LPS). Through this partnership, Judy bridges informal and formal science education by bringing cutting edge innovations into the district. She hosts about 160 science teachers at the University of Nebraska State Museum prior to the start of each academic year. Teachers interface with university faculty from across the campus to learn about how they and their students may participate in research, education, and outreach opportunities.Dr. Judy Diamond is an innovative informal science education leader who has impacted thousands of educators and students at the district, state, and national levels. Since 1978, her accomplishments include scientific research, managing grants, numerous publications, university professor, and significant science education outreach to the public, teachers, and students. At a regional and national level, she brought together teams of experts in different areas to develop high quality educational materials for dissemination to science educators. An example is the series WonderWise, funded by NSF and Howard H. Hughes Medical Institute,that was disseminated to over 12 million students and teachers across the nation.
Dr. Diamond’s Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) funded by NIH expands resources to afford teacher time and provide professional learning opportunities to support instructional change. The SEPA project also funded the 2016 Nebraska Vision of Science event that brought national and state science leaders to work with about 250 Nebraska science educators to explore the future of Nebraska science education. The teacher leaders learned new ways of thinking about science education to address new science standards and appropriate pedagogy.
