Texas Exes Honors ‘Teacher of Teachers’ With Massey Award

By Jordan Schraeder in Association, TXEX on September 27, 2013 at 11:53 am | No Comments

When John Massey, LLB ’66, Life Member, created the Elizabeth Shatto Massey Award for Excellence in Teacher Education in 2003, he did so to honor his wife, Libba Massey, BS ’61, Life Member, and her lifelong dedication to public education. Each year since, the Masseys have presented the award to an outstanding “teacher of teachers”—a UT faculty member who is educating the next generation of instructors—and this year’s recipient, Professor Nancy Roser, is no exception.

Last night, members of the UT community gathered in the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center to honor Roser, the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor in Early Childhood Education and a Distinguished Teaching Professor in UT’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction. The night’s distinguished guests and speakers included President Bill Powers, College of Education Dean Manny Justiz, and Texas Exes CEO and Executive Director Leslie Cedar, in addition to many “Massey Fellows”—previous recipients of the prestigious award.

Roser, who joined the UT faculty in 1970, currently teaches language and literary studies courses on the Forty Acres, preparing today’s college students to become tomorrow’s teachers. For her classes like “Children’s Literature” and “The Art of the Picture Book,” Roser has earned nods such as the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Texas Award, the Dean’s Distinguished Scholar Award, and a spot in UT’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers, among others.

As Cedar said at the ceremony: “As you can see, we are not the first organization to honor her, but we absolutely have the right idea.”

Education dean Justiz lauded Roser for her dedication to both her students and her craft.

“It’s a recurring theme that the best teachers never really call it a day at 5,” Justiz said. “They are, most often, people who are always on, always thinking about or engaged in developing better learning experiences for their students. Dr. Roser is certainly no exception in this respect.”

As this year’s Massey Award recipient, Roser will receive a cash prize, plus a discretionary fund to be used throughout the academic year. At the ceremony, it was also announced that four Massey fellows—Jo Worthy, Michael Marder, Dolly Lamdin, and Beth Malcoh—would be receiving $1,000 each to use toward teaching-related expenses. Occasionally, funding permits ongoing support of previous Massey Award recipients, like in this case.

At the end of the night, the crowd stood and sang “The Eyes of Texas” in unison—a powerful moment for all as the group celebrated yet another instance of something starting at UT and changing the world.

From left: John Massey, Libba Massey, Leslie Cedar, Dean Manny Justiz, Nancy L. Roser, President Bill Powers.

Photo by Shauna Mora Photography.

Tags: Elizabeth Shatto Massey Award, John and Libba Massey, Manny Justiz, Nancy Roser, president powers