Dr. Jan Ziegler, VP for Development at BRTC, recently received the Arkansas Council for the Social Studies (ACSS) 2012 “Friend of the Year” award for her role in “Strengthening Social Studies Education in the State of Arkansas,” as is the motto of ACSS. The award was announced at the ACSS luncheon held November 8 in Little Rock during the Arkansas Curriculum Conference.
According to the ACSS website, the “Friend of the Year” award is given annually to a deserving individual based on contributions to the field of social studies education in the state of Arkansas. The document nominating Ziegler for the award states: “Through her many years in education, both at the college and secondary levels, Jan has been instrumental in developing programs and activities that promote the education and preservation of Arkansas’s history and advanced social studies education in Arkansas.”
For example, in her role as coordinator of Project REACH (Researching Early Arkansas Cultural Heritage), Ziegler continuously works to provide educational opportunities for the community, for BRTC faculty and staff, and for teachers and students of area schools, with the primary goal being to connect learning to historic preservation.
Ziegler has also had a significant role in developing a friendship and partnership between BRTC and the Eddie Mae Herron Center museum in Pocahontas, which serves to identify, preserve and display African American history in Randolph County. The partnership has led to numerous and ongoing collaborative efforts to promote education of the region’s African American history.
In addition to her VP position, Ziegler teaches German Language and Holocaust Studies as an adjunct instructor through BRTC and Williams Baptist College. Her love of writing has led to numerous published works, including a book The Schooling of Japanese American Children at Relocation Centers During World War II: Miss Mable Jamison and Her Teaching of Art at Rohwer, Arkansas that was awarded the Adele Mellon Prize.
“This recognition of Dr. Ziegler’s accomplishments in the area of social studies education in Arkansas is well-deserved,” said BRTC President Dr. Wayne Hatcher. “She continuously gives unselfishly of herself to BRTC, her community, and to the state of Arkansas for the purpose of education.”