Marcela van Olphen Honored with the 2009 Irving Wershow Award

TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 21, 2009) – Dr. Marcela van Olphen, Assistant Professor of Foreign Language Education in the Department of Secondary Education, was awarded the 2009 Irving Wershow Award for Excellence in Leadership in the Profession this past weekend. The Wershow Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Florida Foreign Language Association, the state organization.  It is given yearly to a member of the profession who has demonstrated leadership at the regional, state, and/or national level, served as a quality educator, and promoted the teaching and learning of foreign languages, ESOL, and bilingual/bicultural education. Dr. van Olphen was recognized for her contributions locally as well as nationally, where she has served with distinction on committees and made powerful research-driven presentations to peers and K-12 professionals. A native of Argentina, Dr. van Olphen received her M.A. in Spanish Linguistics and her Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education from Purdue University.

The USF College of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and is fully approved by the Florida Department of Education. The USF College of Education is the 7th largest public college of education in the nation. For more information about the USF College of Education, visit: itunes.usf.edu or: www.coedu.usf.edu.

The University of South Florida is one of the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities as designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. USF was awarded more than $360 million in research contracts and grants in FY 2007/2008. The university offers 219 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. The university has a $1.8 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 46,000 students on institutions/campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.

– USF –

[ Back to Top ]