HIGH POINT, N.C., May 12, 2016 – High Point University recently honored retiring faculty Dr. Barbara Leonard and Dr. Martie Bell during the university’s annual Retirement Recognition Luncheon.
Leonard came to HPU in 1988 and served as a professor of education and the associate dean for the School of Education. Leonard’s area of interests are STEM, teacher preparation and teacher leadership. She has published many science units for use by elementary teachers and is a life member of the National Science Teachers Association. She has presented at national, regional and local conferences and has been a trustee for Davidson County Community College for 26 years. She has served as president and board member of the North Carolina Science Teachers Association. She was awarded the Don Bailey College/University Distinguished Service Award for Exceptional Service to Science Education in North Carolina in 2007. Leonard served on a number of faculty committees and was also counselor for Kappa Delta Pi, the International Education Honor Society.
“Dr. Barbara Leonard is the consummate professional,” says Dr. Dennis Carroll, HPU provost. “Her knowledge of best practice in the profession of education, her network of contacts in the region and her commitment to high quality teacher preparation made her an invaluable member of our team. Much of the great success of the School of Education at High Point University is due to Dr. Leonard.”
Bell, associate professor of health and physical education, came to HPU in 1997. Bell’s research interests focus on childhood obesity, the ultimate game curriculum and the perception of women as leaders in sports. She has published numerous articles on the Ultimate Flag Game Curriculum and using teachers as role models for fitness. Her research has been presented at state, national and international conferences including the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), the National Association for Physical Education and Sport (NASPE), and the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NCAAHPERD). Bell was elected and served as the first chair of the Physical Education Advisory Committee for NASPE in 2006. She has served as vice president, president, and past president for the Physical Education Association of NCAAHPERD since 2003 and served as the college representative for the Southern District AAHPERD Physical Education Association.
“Dr. Bell has long been an advocate of high quality health and physical education for all children and young people,” says Carroll. “At a time when critics have been questioning the value of physical education in our schools, Dr. Bell and her students frequently made the case of the important correlation between physical well-being and academic achievement.”