Art Educator Awards

Art Educators of Iowa, during their 2011 Fall Conference (Creativity in the City: 21st Century and Beyond) in Des Moines, celebrated the careers of several outstanding art educators at their banquet at the Hotel Savery. 

Dr. Clar Baldus shown with Chair Maggie Parks (left) and President Ronda Sternhagen (right), was named Outstanding Higher Level Art Education Art Educator. Currently, Baldus is the Administrator for Rural Schools, Inventiveness, and Visual Arts Programs at the Belin-Blank Center and the State Coordinator for Invent Iowa, an invention program that serves K-12. She is also dually appointed as Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Education and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Psychological & Quantitative Foundations Division of the College of Education at the University of Iowa. Read more...

Carol Webb (left) was named Middle School Art Educator of the Year. Webb has been the Art teacher at Miller Middle School in Marshalltown for 15 years, and has impressed parents and colleagues while working her way into the hearts of her students. Read more...


Nancy Sojka (center) was named 2011 Art Educator of the Year. Sojka has retired from teaching art at North Winneshiek School, Decorah, but continues to serve art education in the state as a webmaster for IAAE and Art Educators of Iowa and providing communications with arts educators around the state. She was also awarded the Belin-Blank Center's Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan Program in Visual Arts Award of Distinction. Read more...


Becky Sue Johnson (right) of Roosevelt High School received the 2011 Outstanding Secondary Art Educator Award. At Roosevelt she is a member of the Instructional Leadership Team and is the chair of the Fine Arts department. She is on the Art Advisory Committee and the Art Department’s Curriculum Committee for Des Moines Public Schools. She is constantly searching for ways to improve student learning. Read more...

Steve Jobs and Arts Education

"Stay hungry and stay foolish..."
We all owe a huge debt to creative people like Steve Jobs. We mourn his loss as one of our own. The Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs a few years ago has a message about arts education that we all need to hear again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc&feature=player_embedded