Harding University to Host Annual Arkansas Teachers for National Board Certification Conference

The Arkansas Teachers for National Board Certification will present its 2014 annual conference Feb. 8 at Harding University. The event, titled “Teaching and Reaching-Strengthening Excellence in Education Throughout Arkansas,” will feature Ron Thorpe, CEO and president of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

After graduating from Harvard College, where he majored in classics and earned both his master’s and doctorate degrees at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Thorpe began his educational career in 1974 as a teaching fellow in Latin and Greek at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. He became the dean of faculty and chief academic officer at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Conn., until 1990. In 2011, he was named president and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Thorpe has authored numerous articles and commentaries on education, technology and philanthropy and was the editor of “The First Year as Principal.” He also was the executive producer of “Where We Stand: America’s Schools in the 21st Century,” a national PBS broadcast hosted by Judy Woodruff in September 2008.

The conference will include a number of sessions regarding education, National Board Certification and teaching practices. The ATNBC conference registration includes attendance and all general and break out sessions, continental breakfast, lunch and a shirt. To register, visit the ATNBC website, or for more information contact Dr. Clara Carroll, assistant dean of the Cannon-Clary College of Education and ATNBC liaison at ccarroll@harding.edu.

Harding is the largest private university in Arkansas with 6,295 students. Harding also maintains campuses in Australia, Chile, England, France, Greece, Italy and Zambia. For more information visit www.harding.edu.