Benedda Konvicka, a member of the faculty in the Department of English and Languages at Tarleton State University, was chosen as the 1998 recipient of the Jack and Louise Arthur award for Excellence in Teaching. Tarleton President Dr. Dennis P. McCabe made the presentation during commencement exercises held on campus May 16.

Created in 1989 to honor the Arthurs, longtime community leaders, the award is presented each spring semester to exceptional educators who demonstrate a professionalism in the classroom that inspires the respect and admiration of students and colleagues. A monetary reward accompanies the selection.

Ms. Konvicka is the tenth recipient. She has been a member of the Tarleton faculty since 1983. A native of Mineral Wells, she received her Bachelors from Texas Women’s University and her Masters from Northern Arizona University. She has completed the course work and passed the comprehensive exams for her doctoral degree at the University of Texas at Arlington.

In nominating her for the honor, one of Ms. Konvicka’s students wrote "She loves what she does and enjoys doing it. The one thing I admire best about Ms. Konvicka is her sense of humor and her caring heart. She truly does care about students and their education."

A veteran educator with 20 years experience at the college level, Konvicka says she enjoys learning as well as teaching and she is constantly challenged to make both meaningful for her students. She enthusiastically welcomes today’s new technology and says its important for students to be electronically advantaged.

In addition to her teaching load, Konvicka is Co-Publication Director of Anthology, Tarleton’s student literary journal. She created the "Anthology" website on the World Wide Web and keeps it updated with artwork and literary work done by Tarleton students. She is a member of Tarleton’s Departmental Academic Curriculum Committee, the Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers, College Conference of Teachers of English, Southern Conference of the Modern Language Association, and Texas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TEXTESOL).

"I’m flattered that my students feel I have somehow given something to them, but certainly no more than they have given me over the years," said Ms. Konvicka.

Mary Ann Foreman

5/13/98