Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Leadership and Higher Education Benjamin E. Strickland (September 15, 1928-) was born in Pitt County, North Carolina. He earned his B.S. degree in business administration at Wake Forest University (1949) and his M.Ed, and Ed.D. degrees (1955 and 1962, respectively) in administration and supervision at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Strickland began his career in education as an eighth-grade teacher for the Martin County schools in the 1949-50 year. He taught seventh grade in the Thomasville city schools from 1950 to 1952 and served in the United States Army from 1952 to 1954. After teaching for a semester in a Guilford County high school, Strickland enrolled at UNC-CH. He then served as an elementary and high school principal in Rockingham County, North Carolina and in Wadesboro, North Carolina. In 1962, Stickland joined the Appalachian State University faculty as assistant professor and college supervisor of student teaching. Two years later, he was promoted to associate professor and accepted the responsibilities of registrar and director of the computer center. By 1967, Strickland had become a full professor and assistant dean of the Graduate School, posts he held until 1974, when he was promoted to associate dean and professor of counselor education and research. In 1977, he gave up the associate dean's post, only to be appointed assistant dean of the College of Learning and Human Development in 1978, and, from June to September 1980 and from 1983 to 1985, Strickland served as acting dean of the college. In the 1982-83 academic year, he was the acting chair of the Department of Library Science, while continuing in the position of assistant dean in the College of Learning and Human Development and professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Research. Strickland became acting dean of the Reich College of Education in 1985 and was appointed dean in 1986. Under Strickland's leadership, the Reich College of Education established a Faculty Development Committee and received a one-million dollar endowment from Ed and Lois Reich, for whom the college is presently named. Curriculum changes enabled students to learn more about developing instructional technology, and the college earned approval to establish an Ed.D. degree program. National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) not only accredited Appalachian State for teacher certification but also recommended that the university serve as a model for other colleges and universities. Strickland has been active in many professional organizations, including the North Carolina Association of Educators, the National Education Association, Phi Delta Kappa, the American Association of School Administrators, the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, and the University of North Carolina Council of Teacher Education. While at Appalachian State, Strickland served on the Summer School Advisory Council, the Graduate Council, the Dean's Council, the NCATE Executive Committee, and the NCATE Steering Committee. He also was a member of the Council of Chairs, the Faculty Senate, the Advisory Budget Committee, and the Readmissions and Academic Discipline Committee. Recognition of Strickland's contributions to education has come from Who's Who in American Education, Kappa Delta Pi, the Appalachian Faculty Senate, the Governor's Commission for the Study of the Public School System of North Carolina, and the University of North Carolina General Administration. Strickland received the Governors' Award for Education Excellence in 1988 and was named in the 1989-90 academic year, in Who's Who in American Education. His publications include: • "Graduate Study-Policy and Procedure." Appalachian Journal (1976)."A Manual of Policies and Procedures for Graduate School." Appalachian Journal (1974, 1976). • "Teacher Morale...Its Present State." North Carolina Education 38.14 (January 1962): 34-35. Strickland served as a professional consultant for such groups as the Caldwell and Avery county schools, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the State Department of Public Instruction. Among his many presentations were "The Role of Social Foundations in Professional Care: One Dean's View," "Faculty Evaluation: Promises and Pitfalls," and "Moral and Spiritual Values in Higher Education-The Great Challenge." A former member of the Lions Clubs of Reidsville, North Carolina and Wadesboro, North Carolina, Strickland still maintains his membership in the Boone Lions Club and has been secretary, vice president, president, zone chair, and state chair of the Scholarship Committee of the North Carolina Association for the Blind. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and has served as president of the Appalachian Shriner Club. A former member of the Boone Chamber of Commerce Education Committee, Strickland also served on the Watauga County Board of Commissioners, as hospital trustee, WAMY executive board member, and social services board member. Strickland is active in the Boone First Baptist Church, where he was a member of the board of deacons for twelve years and chaired the board for three years. Strickland is currently president of the North Carolina Retired School Personnel, with his term extending from 2004 to 2006. This organization has thirteen thousand members in North Carolina and works to protect and enhance health and retirement benefits. Granted emeritus status in March 1992, Strickland is devoting his retirement to traveling, quilting, working for his church, and running. Still interested in education issues, he works with the county literacy program and may get involved in local politics. Dr. Strickland and his wife, Lois (a retired kindergarten teacher), are the parents of five children, and they live in Boone. Sources: Appalachian State University fibs and long association. -Dr. Richard Howe
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