April 15, 2005
Purdue's College of Education honors first dean at anniversary bash
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – As Purdue University's College of Education celebrates its 15th year, faculty and staff showed they haven't forgotten one of the people who helped make it all possible when they presented the Lifetime Achievement Award in education on Friday (April 15) to former dean Robert B. Kane.
"Dr. Kane was the driving force in establishing a school of education at Purdue, and for that we are all indebted to him," said George Hynd, dean of the College of Education. "We want to thank him with this award and also acknowledge the great work he did while he was dean."
Kane came to Purdue in 1960 and had a joint appointment with the Department of Mathematics. He co-authored numerous textbooks on teaching mathematics and served as chair of the mathematics section.
In 1975 he became head of the Department of Education. The School of Education was inaugurated in 1989, an offshoot along with the School of Liberal Arts after the School of Humanities, Social Science and Education was split into two entities. Kane became the first dean and served in that role until 1991.
Former Purdue President Steven C. Beering named the first distinguished professor in the School of Education the Robert B. Kane Distinguished Professor of Education. Kane also was named to Purdue's Book of Great Teachers, which honors outstanding teaching faculty who have demonstrated sustained excellence in the classroom. The book, a bronze and walnut wall display in the west foyer of Purdue Memorial Union, was first unveiled in 1999.
Kane retired in 1992 and lives in West Lafayette with his wife, Barbara, also an educator. Three of their four children are Purdue graduates. The Kanes established the Dean's Doctoral Scholarship in 2004 and recently gave a gift of $50,000 to fund doctoral student scholarships.
Barbara was a first-grade teacher and instructor for homebound special-education students. The couple has co-authored books to teach others how to enjoy their passion for traveling the world on passenger-carrying freighters.
Purdue honored Kane at the College of Education's 15th anniversary dinner. The college also had an alumni breakfast from 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday (April 16) outside the east entrance of the Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education.
The College of Education was recently named one of the top schools of education by U.S.News and World Report, ranking No. 49 out of nearly 200 schools that responded to the survey. As of fall semester, there were 994 undergraduates and 569 graduate students enrolled in the college.
Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu
Source: George Hynd, (765) 494-2336, ghynd@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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