October 31, 2001
‘Teacher of the Year’ to receive graduate credits as part of award
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Ralph Maltese will receive as part of his award 12 graduate credits for use at any of the 14 State System of Higher Education universities. The State System and the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) are underwriting the credits.
Maltese is an English and cinema teacher at Abington Senior High School in Montgomery County. He is the 58th teacher from Pennsylvania to be recognized as part of the National State Teacher of the Year competition. Thirty-nine of the winners are graduates of State System universities.
Gov. Mark Schweiker presented the 2002 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year award to Maltese Wednesday, calling him “the best of the best.” Maltese, who was selected from among 12 regional finalists for the award, will represent Pennsylvania in the National Teacher of the Year competition next spring in Washington, D.C.
The National Teacher of the Year program recognizes and honors teachers as role models and for exceptional accomplishments in the classroom.
The TIAA-CREF Fellowship Award was established this year “to help star teachers develop professionally,” according to Stephen Pavlak, assistant vice chancellor for teacher education and executive director of the State System’s Pennsylvania Academy for the Profession of Teaching and Learning.
With more than 98,600 students, the State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. More than 360,000 System alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.
The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The System also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Kittanning, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the University Center for Southwest Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The regional centers are part of the Educational Resources Group, which is responsible for coordinating statewide programming.
TIAA-CREF is a leading financial services organization with approximately $300 billion in assets under management. In addition to being the premier pension system for more than 2.2 million people employed in education and research at approximately 10,000 U.S. institutions, TIAA-CREF offers mutual funds, annuities, IRAs, insurance and trust services to the general public, and is the leading manager of state-sponsored college savings programs. Information on TIAA-CREF may be found at https://www.tiaa.org/public/about-tiaa/news-press/news