Published on 02/13/15

UGA Extension specialist Michael Rupured named Postsecondary Teacher of the Year

By Cal Powell

The Georgia Association of Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences (GATFCS) has named University of Georgia Extension consumer economics specialist Michael Rupured its 2015 Postsecondary Teacher of the Year.

Rupured was presented the award at the GATFCS annual conference in Savannah earlier this month. He is now eligible for the Georgia Association of Career and Technical Education Postsecondary Teacher of the Year award, which will be announced in July.

Rupured began his career with UGA Extension in 1999 following an eight-year stint at Kentucky State University’s Extension program and two years as a program leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was named assistant to UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences Dean Linda Kirk Fox in 2013.

He serves as liaison between the college and the Georgia Department of Education and coordinates the college’s professional development opportunities for teachers. In this role, Rupured trains family and consumer sciences teachers at the high school level, ensuring they have the latest resources and information to keep their lessons current and engaging.

“Helping teachers is near and dear to me,” Rupured said. “I learned early on that what teachers really want are things they can do in the classroom. They need information but they also need the activities that go along with that information. I think they kept asking me to come back because I gave them lots of activities they could take to their classrooms.”

Rupured is past president and distinguished fellow of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, and received the University of Georgia’s prestigious Walter B. Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach in 2009.

Rupured is now eligible for the Georgia Association of Career and Technical Education Postsecondary Teacher of the Year Award to be announced in July.

“I’ve worked with adult audiences my entire Extension career, and the difference with teachers is that they’re going to take what I give them and use it over and over with however many students they may interact with,” Rupured said. “I think about the multiplier effect and the lives I’m able to reach, however indirectly, and I know in my heart I’m making a difference.”

Cal Powell is the director of communications for the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Authors:

Cal Powell

Experts/Sources:

Michael Rupured

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