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Greg VanVleet; Carol Van De Walle; Tracy Trimpe; Maurice Kellogg; Kent Buckrop
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Havana Teacher Recognized for Excellence in Science Teaching

May 21, 2008

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MACOMB, IL -- Tracy Trimpe, a science teacher at Havana (IL) Junior High School, has been named the recipient of the 2008 Western Illinois University Maurice G. Kellogg Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.

Trimpe has taught junior high science for 17 years at Havana. She is the founder and sponsor for the Havana Junior High Science Club, Scholastic Bowl coach, coordinator for the Havana Nature Center and the annual Havana Junior High Health Fair every fall. She has also served as coach of the Havana Junior High Science Olympiad team. She is the founder and host of The Science Spot website (sciencespot.net/index.html), an online resource for middle school teachers and students.

"I believe that students learn best by doing, and I feel it is my responsibility to guide the students in their learning rather than just instruct them," Trimpe said.

Trimpe graduated from Lewistown High School and earned her bachelor's degrees in math and science education from Illinois College in Jacksonville. She is presently working on her master's degree from Western. She is a member of National Science Teachers Association, Illinois Science Teachers Association, Illinois Alpha Delta Kappa, and the Emiquon Audubon Society in Havana and Mason counties. She has been recognized as a 1998 and 2003 state finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, a 1999 State of Illinois Teacher of the Year finalist and the 2000 Mason County Conservation Teacher of the Year.

According to Don Powers, director of the Maurice G. Kellogg Science Education Center at Western, this is the sixth year that the award for excellence in science teaching was presented as part of the science education conference at Western. The award is named for Kellogg who is known throughout Illinois and nationally as a leader in science education. He was a faculty member in science education and biological sciences until his retirement from Western in 1990. Kellogg remains active in consulting in science education and service activities through his church and in the Macomb community.

Kellogg is one of the founders of the Illinois Science Teachers Association and served as one of the first presidents of that organization. He has been recognized as Environmental Educator of the Year for Illinois, among numerous other awards. It is in recognition of his outstanding record in teaching, scholarly work, and service in science education that the award for excellence in science teaching was created.

Past recipients of the Maurice G. Kellogg Award for Excellence in Science Teaching include Kent Buckrop (Moline, 2007); Steve Hoffman (Pekin, 2006); Greg Van Vleet (Macomb, 2005); Carol Van De Walle (Alwood, 2004); and Liz Burton (Good Hope, 2003).

Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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