Outstanding Alumni Award Recipients

2012

Betty S. Poindexter, co-recipient of the 2012 Teachers College Outstanding Alumni Award, earned her doctorate from Ball State University in 1985. In the 1970s, she received her B.A. in biological science and secondary education from Indiana Central University and M.S. in guidance and counseling and school administration from Butler University.

During her career, she was a teacher, guidance counselor, assistant dean of students, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent, and a university professor. She has recently retired from Indiana University as an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies.

She has assisted countless Indiana school boards in the recruitment and selection of superintendents. Also, she has provided consulting services, which include an eight-year relationship with Cinergy Basics, throughout the United States, as well as the Virgin Islands. Her consulting and community outreach has provided technical assistance to school districts engaged in system reform, which includes curriculum design and delivery, staff development design, building leadership capacity and organizational structures to support reform, building professional learning communities, data-driven decision making, personnel performance evaluation, program evaluation design, community engagement, and consensus building, long-range planning, and school board development.

Poindexter has numerous publications within respected, peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national conferences.

A partial list of her awards include the 2000 Teaching Excellence Recognition Award from Indiana University, 1998 Indiana Governor's Award–Sagamore of the Wabash, 1998 Indiana Department of Education Bellringer Award, 1997 Indiana Superintendent of the Year in Indiana, and 1997 National Superintendent of the Year Finalist.

Adam D. Drummond is a co-recipient of the Teachers College Outstanding Alumni Award for 2012. He earned a degree in elementary education in 2002, an M.A. in student affairs administration in higher education in 2005, as well as an administrative license in 2008, all from Ball State University. He has been employed at Huntington County Community School Corporation since 2002 and has held the positions of classroom teacher, technology integration specialist, teacher trainer, assistant principal, and currently, principal of Lincoln Elementary School.

In his career as an educator, he was involved in the creation of a professional development model for elementary teachers. Drummond, along with the efforts of three colleagues, developed a systemic approach to creating professional development and ongoing education about teaching using brain-based research, literacy, and technology in the classroom.

His lastest role of building principal has given him the opportunity to implement a school-wide theme entitled "Learning and Living the Lincoln Legacy" that has invigorated an entire elementary school.

Drummond worked for Taylor University-Fort Wayne as an adjunct instructor in the education department. He has presented on "Response to Intervention: Leadership" at the state level and has traveled nationally to conferences as a speaker on professional development programs, developing teacher leaders, and gender research, In 2008 he joined a delegation from Huntington University to travel to China to train Chinese teachers how best to teach English.

Among his awards are the 2010 Ball State University Graduate of the Last Decade Award and 2003 Wal-Mart Huntington County Teacher of the Year Award.