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Aurora University Honors Kitty Hawk Resident
Tucker, a 1952 Aurora College alum, was among four alumni and a staff member honored in AU’s Institute for Collaboration.
In addition to Tucker, other alumni recognized were Ann Cunningham Sheets of Fort Worth, Texas, a 1977 George Williams College alum who received a Distinguished Alumni Award; Rosemary Fischer Humbles of Live Oak, Fla., a 1966 AC B.A. alumnus, who received the Roger K. Parolini Lifetime Achievement Award; and Linnea A. Windel of St. Charles, Ill., a 1997 AU M.S.N. alumnus, who received the George Peters Community Partnership Award. Maggie Sharrer of Aurora, Ill., executive assistant to AU President Rebecca L. Sherrick, received the AU Spirit Award.
Roger Tucker of Somonauk, Ill., AC ’61 and president of the AU Alumni Association, presided at the awards presentation in the university’s Institute for Collaboration.
Fred Clothey, AC B.A. ’57 and B.T. ’57, presented a $7,000 class gift to AU President Rebecca L. Sherrick. The gift will be used to seed the fund to purchase an organ for Crimi Auditorium.
Elizabeth Parke Tucker received the Distinguished Alumni Award presented by Richard Kearney, AC B.S. ’51.
He said, “Today we honor an individual who has distinguished herself as a devoted educator and counselor. For 40 years, Elizabeth Parke Tucker was an elementary school teacher, guidance counselor and school psychologist who embraced the values and ideals of Aurora University and shared them generously with her community.”
Tucker graduated from Aurora College in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a minor in psychology. She was also a Golden Ivy Leaf Award (dean’s list) recipient.
She received her master’s degree from Youngstown State University in education with an emphasis in guidance and counseling and attended Kent State University in the master’s program in school psychology and went on to complete her doctorate degree in 1990.
A professionally certified and licensed school psychologist in Ohio, Tucker first applied her outstanding skills in the Youngstown City Schools as a kindergarten teacher. She then went to the Western Reserve local schools in Berlin Center, Ohio, and Boardman Local Schools in Boardman, Ohio, where she was a K-12 guidance counselor.
In the Canfield Local Schools, she was a school psychologist and school counselor with a middle school emphasis until she retired in 1992.
Throughout her career, Tucker was involved in creating and organizing innovative programs to further improve the lives of the students she served. She created a pilot program and organized twice monthly career education workshops at Western Reserve High School.
She developed a pilot program and led weekly guidance courses in decision making for eighth-grade girls at Western Reserve Junior High School and developed and supervised tutoring services for seventh through 12th grade students using peer tutor volunteers.
Her devotion to her students also included developing and leading small groups in systematic training for effective parenting and for kindergarten parents with an early childhood emphasis. She also presented workshops for counselors at Youngstown State University in teaching parenting skills.
At Canfield Middle School, Tucker’s work emphasized assessment, diagnostics and intervention for children with learning problems, teacher in-services and consultation, parent in-services and consultation, student counseling and follow through services for students with special needs. She also served as the intervention assistance teams chair.
Tucker’s community involvement included serving as a board member of the Child and Adult Mental Health Association, board member of Planned Parenthood Association of Youngstown for 10 years (while serving as the public relations committee chair and speaker to inner-city groups for Planned Parenthood), and serving on the Junior League of Youngstown for 10 years with two years as the Vice President of Community Relations.
She is a member of the United Methodist Church in Duck, N.C., where she has served for three years on the Pastoral Relations Committee and chaired the church book club.
Tucker Honored—Betty J. Parke Tucker, right, a Kitty Hawk, N.C. resident, received Aurora (Ill.) University's Distinguished Alumni Award at AU’s annual homecoming 50th reunion and awards dinner. Richard Kearney, left, Aurora College B.S. ’51, presented Tucker’s award. She was among four alumni and a staff member honored at AU's annual alumni reunion and awards dinner in the Institute for Collaboration on Oct. 19.