Press Release - 2001 Inductees
June 13, 2001/NTHF - 800-968-3224
CONTACT: Cora Z. Hedstrom, (620) 342-5660
Emmy Award Winner Kurtis to highlight 10th NTHF induction ceremony
EMPORIA, Kan. – Emmy award-winning Chicago journalist and former WIBW broadcaster Bill Kurtis will present the keynote address as part of the 10th anniversary of The National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) and its 2001 Induction Weekend, June 21-24. In a first for the Hall of Fame, two events are scheduled in Topeka as part of the 10th anniversary celebration. A complete schedule of activities for Hall of Fame weekend may be found at www.nthf.org/ceremony.htm.
Emmy-award winning producer and former WIBW newscaster Bill Kurtis will present the keynote address, “Teaching in the 21st Century,” at the 10th induction ceremony, Saturday, June 23 beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Emporia State University’s Webb Lecture Hall. A reception preceding the ceremony at 5:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Colonial Ballroom will feature displays of the previous nine classes. In addition to videos of and testimonials by each inductee, the ceremony include 1999 NTHF Inductee Debra Peppers as emcee, videotaped greetings by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, an invocation by ESU alum and gospel saxophonist Brandon McCray, and music by the 86-member Hall of Fame Honor Choir. Tickets for the event are $15 per person or tables for six ($150) or 12 ($200) may be purchased by calling the Hall of Fame at 341-5660.
Other events open to the public include the Community Band Concert and NTHF Open House beginning at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday evening, the Community Celebration Luncheon at 11:45a.m. in the Memorial Union Colonial Ballroom, and the Roundtable Discussion at 1:30 p.m. in Visser Hall Skillett Atrium on Friday.
The 2001 inductees are: Ronald Foreso, high school social studies, Parsippany High School, Parsippany, N.J.; Dr. Emiel Hamberlin,high school biology/horticulture, DuSable High School, Chicago, Ill.; Mitsuye Hamada Conover, high school history, Bartlesville Public Schools, Bartlesville, Okla.; Ellen Kempler, high school English, MAST Academy, Miami, Fla..; and James Quinlan, high school industrial arts,Vernon Township High Schools, Vernon, N.J.
In an effort to broaden the recognition throughout the state’s educational and legislative communities, Lieutenant Governor Gary Sherrer will host a statewide tribute to the 2001 inductees and the teaching profession beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 22 at the Kansas Historical Museum, 6425 SW 6th Ave. Kansas Commissioner of Education Andy Tompkins also will make remarks. Among the sponsors of the Historical Museum event are the Security Benefit Group of Companies, Southwestern Bell Telephone, and the Kansas Press Association.
Kurtis has been earning the respect of viewers, colleagues and competitors in television journalism for more than 30 years. His career has touched every facet of the most influential medium in our lives. After a nine-year stint at a Chicago CBS affiliate, Kurtis spent three years anchoring the CBS Morning News. Now seen exclusively on the A&E Networks, Kurtis is executive producer and anchor of the Emmy and CableACE Award-winning week-nightly primetime series Investigative Report, the longest-running regularly scheduled series devoting a full-hour to a single contemporary news topic.
Kurtis also is anchor of American Justice, an acclaimed historical documentary series about some of the most fascinating crimes of this century, and creator, anchor, and executive producer of The New Explorers. A native of Independence, Kansas, Kurtis earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas and a Juris Doctor from Washburn University School of Law. Both of Kurtis’ parents graduated from Emporia State University. His mother was a teacher.
The National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) was stylein 1989 as a tribute to our nation=s most important profession-- teaching. The Hall of Fame is committed to drawing the public=s attention to exceptional teachers through a museum, teacher resource center, and a recognition program, which recognizes five of the nation=s most outstanding PreK-12 educators each June. Since inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 50 teachers from 25 states have been enshrined.