Each year, the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences celebrates and honors professionals who already have established themselves in the field of education and who help students who one day will follow in their footsteps. These Educators are inducted into the Educators Hall of Honor. This wall is located in the front entrance hall of the Claxton Education Building and stands as a proud reminder of their impact and legacy that inspires the next generation of Educators.
This year, we have inducted seven new members including: Alice Bratten, Amos Hatch, Debora Hatch, Walter Mencer, John Peters, Steve Reddick, and Robert Webb. We will be highlighting each one. Today, we would like to introduce you to Dr. Amos Hatch.
Amos has been a professor here at the University of Tennessee within the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education since 1990. He received his Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from the University of Utah in 1972, his Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Florida in 1979, and his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction in 1984 also from the University of Florida. Before becoming a professor in higher education, Amos taught for thirteen years in urban elementary schools in Missouri and Florida. His early teaching experiences were focused on programs for young children while his university teaching programs have been designed to prepare teachers for urban environments.
Amos has also had rewarding teaching opportunities at Ohio State University, Marion, Ohio as well as serving as a visiting professor at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. Throughout his teaching career, Amos has targeted his personal service in areas where he felt he made the most impact which ranged from volunteering in early childhood classrooms to serving on governing boards of national education organizations. He has written at least four books which have been translated into Chinese and Korean and is co-editor of the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education. Amos has earned many recognitions throughout his career and been presented two very prestigious awards directly associated with philanthropic gifts to the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. He was the very first recipient of the Louie and Betty Phillips Faculty Support in Education Award in 2014 and also the first recipient of the Board of Advisor’s Faculty Support Award in 2015.
The faculty members who nominated Amos for this award have often heard him say, “I love being a professor. The idea of creating knowledge and sharing it with others through writing, teaching, and serving is very powerful to me”.