Professor William Bintz, Ph.D., and one of his former students, Kent State alumna Anne Pavlansky, will receive the 2024 Dr. Cindy Bowman Presenter’s Award at the annual conference of the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA) at the upcoming OCTELA conference, March 1-2 at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio.
"I am so pleased for and proud of Anne for receiving this award," said Bintz. "It speaks very highly of her as a first-year teacher and deservedly so."
Bintz, who teaches in the School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies, and Pavlansky collaborated on a classroom-based, action research project titled, "Using Picturebooks to Support Middle Grades Student Voices by Writing About Themselves: An Action Research Project.”
A native of Cortland, Ohio, and former student athlete, Pavlansky played on Kent State's women's basketball team. "My experience as a student-athlete taught me the importance of work ethic, resilience, leadership, respect, accountability, and responsibility," she said. "Needless to say, Kent State University prepared me immensely for my career as an educator." Pavlansky is currently a first-year English Language Arts teacher at a middle school in the Boardman, Ohio, school district.
She completed her undergraduate work at Kent State University from 2018-2021, graduating with a bachelor of science degree in Middle Childhood Education. In 2023, she received a master’s degree in Reading Specialization from Kent State University.
Over the years Bintz has served as a mentor to Pavlansky. In addition to submitting the proposal to present their research at the upcoming OCTELA conference, he also submitted an article about their action research project for publication to a peer-reviewed journal.
Cindy Bowman was a dedicated educator who began her career as a high school English teacher. In 1991, she became the first recipient of the James N. Britton award for excellence in the classroom. After earning her Ph.D. from Kent State University, she went on to help mold future educators at Ball State University and Florida State University before joining Ashland University as an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction. Cindy was a past president of OCTELA, as well as an active member of National Council of Teachers of English. OCTELA honors Cindy Bowman’s legacy by providing the Cindy Bowman Presenter’s Award, given to an educator who exemplifies the enthusiasm and dedication to education that was part of Dr. Cindy Bowman’s life.