 Where are they now?
Dr. Jody Millward Born July 23, 1952, Nanty Glo native Jody Millward
is the daughter of Joseph (deceased) and Emma (Beard) Millward of Nanty Glo. Brothers
and sisters include Howard, Arizona; Janet, Loretto; Anne, Maryland, and Richard,
Tom, and Ellen, all of California.
Dr. Jody Millward
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Jody is a graduate of Blacklick Valley High School,
where she was salutatorian of her 1970 graduating class. A 1974 graduate of Penn
State University with an undergraduate degree in English, she obtained a graduate
degree (1978), and her doctorate (1983) from the University of California, Santa
Barbara. Jody says she worked her way through Penn State. "I
worked as a waitress in a donut shop and as a maid." While a student at Penn State,
she belonged to an honor sorority that performed charitable works that included
going to prisons and volunteering to write letters for the inmates and donating
time at the Ebensburg Center. Jody has been married to Mike Redmon of Redwood City,
California, since July 31, 1992. The Redmons make their home in Santa Barbara,
California, where Jody teaches composition and literature full-time at Santa Barbara
City College. Teaching the underprivileged and minority members has been the focus
of her teaching career. From 1986 to 1991 she taught full-time and was the
operator and supervisor of an English writing center where she trained tutors
who worked one on one with underprivileged students to improve their writing ability.
During this time, she also taught English and literature for one year (1982) at
Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. "It was growing up in Nanty Glo and
working my way through college that led to my commitment to working with minorities
and working-class students," She says. "It's easy to teach the students who have
only themselves to be concerned about. But our students work, take care of children,
parents, siblings, and often encourage their family members to go back to school.
Sometimes there are as many as seven different languages spoken in the classroom
at one time." She proudly explains that many of her former students
have gone on to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers.... "It's just wonderful,
against all odds, they make it!" she says. "I like working with these students,
they have the American dream and belief in education." A dedicated and innovative instructor, she was recently
chosen to be the recipient of the 2002 William Meardy Faculty Member Award, named
in honor of the founding executive director of the Association of Community College
Trustees, William H. Meardy, who championed faculty excellence as the foundation
for success of the community college movement. ACCT says the central purpose of
community colleges is teaching and learning and that achievement of excellence
in that purpose relates directly to the quality of the colleges' faculty members.
Hence, its faculty member award is given to thank all faculty members. The award states: Dr. Jody Millward is dedicated to the community college
mission of inclusion and commitment to underserved students. She views the classroom
her professional center, the inspiration for her professional development....Dr.
Millward understands that many promising students are derailed by forces outside
of the classroom. This led her to develop two innovative programs: Multicultural
English Transfer Program (with Mark Ferrer), winner of California CC's "Exemplary
Program Award" for Academic Achievement and the College Achievement Program, an
interdisciplinary program co-taught with Ignacio Alarcon of mathematics. To address
the digital divide, she led collegues in developing classroom software and served
on @ONE, a consortium of California two-year colleges promoting technology and
teaching. Dr. Millward has served on various state and national committees and
on the California English Council, the national board of College Composition and
Communications, and is currently national chair of the English Two-Year College
Association.
To learn more about the Meardy Award and related subjects,
visit www.acct.org. The Nanty Glo Home Page congratulates Dr. Millward
on her prestigious award and wishes her continued success and happiness in her
teaching career. Jody says she gets home to Nanty Glo every year to
visit family and friends. "I loved growing up here, I liked the people, being
able to play in the streets, having lots of friends...I loved the woods and the
seasons, and I wish economic growth for the area." Anyone wishing to send greetings
can send them to HRoses2@peoplepc.com
for forwarding.
If
you have a suggestion for a subject for Where Are They Now, please write Judy
Rose. | 
