[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 172 (Thursday, November 19, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H13325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                CONGRATULATING PROFESSOR ELLEN MORELAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Ms. Ellen 
Moreland, a senior instructor in mathematics at Angelo State University 
on her recognition as the 2009 Texas Professor of the Year. While some 
folks may be surprised that a professor from ASU is being honored, it 
is no surprise to her students who see her devotion to her craft every 
single day.
  The Professor of the Year Awards are awarded annually to those 
professors who have ``extraordinary dedication to undergraduate 
teaching, which is demonstrated by excellence in the following areas: 
an impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; a scholarly 
approach to teaching and learning; a contribution to undergraduate 
education in the institution, community and the profession; and support 
from colleagues and current and former undergraduate students.
  They could not have found a more fitting honoree than Ellen Moreland. 
Professor Moreland has carved out an invaluable role as an educator of 
educators. Among her classes, she teaches the capstone course at ASU, 
which is a broad survey of everything that graduating math majors have 
learned in their 4 years. It is designed for future mathematics 
teachers to take before they take the State certification exam. The 
test is difficult, but Professor Moreland's students all seem to do 
well on it. In fact, over the last decade, every single student who has 
taken her capstone course has passed the certification exam on the 
first try. This 100 percent success rate is unmatched anywhere in 
Texas. And it is not a stretch to say that her impact will be felt by 
generations of students all over Texas.
  Unfortunately, Professor Moreland could not be in Washington this 
week to receive her award. It is getting to be about time for finals, 
and she thought it was too important of a time for her to be away from 
her students. Instead, the 2009 Texas Professor of the Year is exactly 
where we would expect her to be, instructing her students and preparing 
another generation of American educators.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my deep honor to represent all of the people of 
District 11 of Texas, but it is always a great pleasure to be able to 
single out some of them for their extraordinary accomplishments. On 
behalf of the people of my congressional district, especially the math 
students, I want to thank Professor Moreland for her dedication to 
teaching and her generosity with her time. They could not have selected 
a better educator to be the 2009 Texas Professor of the Year, Ms. Ellen 
Moreland.

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