Burton Gorman was born in 1907 in Mitchell, Indiana. His father, William, was a railroad station master, and his mother, Minnie, was a schoolteacher. Mr. Gorman attended Indiana University, where he met Rebecca Evelyn Tolle of Lebanon. They were introduced by her brother, who, with Burton, were members of the Acacia Fraternity. Burton and Rebecca married in 1931 after Burton graduated, and they became a team. Joseph Gorman fondly recalls that his father would write out his work in longhand and Rebecca would type his notes.

While completing his master's degree, also from Indiana University, Mr. Gorman began what would be a 57 year career in education. His first position was as a high school history teacher and band director, at Bardstown High School in Kentucky. Upon completion of his master's degree in 1936, he became the superintendent of schools in Rising Sun, Indiana.

From there he moved to Lawrenceburg for a position as high school principal. Another move to Connersville for positions as director of counseling, then principal, and then superintendent of schools. His last school position before initiating his doctoral program of studies was as principal at Manual High School in Indianapolis.

Upon completion of his Ph.D. from George Peabody College, now Vanderbilt University, Prof. Gorman joined the faculty at DePauw University, and then Kent State University, where he was Head of the Secondary Education Department and Professor of Educational Administration. During the summers he was a visiting professor at Butler University, Indiana University, University of Vermont, and the University of North Carolina. Following his retirement from full-time teaching in 1972, he joined the faculty of Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, as a part-time professor. Professor Gorman passed away in 1999.

Joseph says of his father that he never stopped trying to improve the educational process. He talked about the more than 200 workshops for teachers that his father gave around the country and the dozens of awards he received for his articles, speeches and other contributions. Among his honors was a Distinguished Alumnus Award from George Peabody College. His books include Education for learning to live together, published in 1969, and Secondary Education: the high school American needs, published in 1971. He wrote extensively about the teaching/learning process in schools, with articles appearing in Educational Leadership, Peabody Journal of Education, and the journal of Phi Delta Kappa.

In the early 80's, Prof. Gorman established teaching awards at Indiana University and Kent State University. In helping to develop the IU award for Professor Gorman, Professor Lee Ehman fondly recalls that Professor Gorman wanted to reward teachers who are risk takers, people whose innovative and imaginative ideas are foremost. Professor Gorman wanted teaching to be broadly construed, so as to include conceptualization, instruction across settings, individual work with students, and evaluation. The first Burton Gorman Teaching Award was presented in 1983.

Professor and Mrs. Gorman instilled a passion for education in their own sons, too. Drs. Benjamin Gorman and Dr. John Gorman were university professors. Dr. Joseph Gorman is a corporate executive in the Cleveland, Ohio, area, and has been a champion for education in his own right. In a 1997 hearing before the Subcommittee on Trade of the US House Committee on Ways and Means, Dr. Gorman addressed the need for all Americans to get the education and learn the skills they need in order to be as competitive as individual citizens as we are now as a nation. And, recently, he established the Rebecca Tolle and Burton W. Gorman Chair for Leadership in Education at his alma mater, Kent State University.

What a wonderful story about a family... and studying and working with families of children with special needs is at the heart of my teaching and research.

Dr. Joseph Gorman is very, very proud of his parents. He described his father as a passionate and highly effective teacher whose principal goal was to engender in all of his students a lifetime love for learning.

Nominations for the Burton W. Gorman Teaching Award may be made by students or faculty and are limited to the School of Education faculty. Any Indiana University School of Education faculty member who teaches either a graduate or undergraduate course in methods or techniques is eligible for nomination. The committee shall award the Burton W. Gorman Teaching Award to the nominee who has done the single most creative, inventive and daring piece of teaching in a given academic year, including the summer session.

Before the formal separation from the Core Campus in 2018, the award was shared and rotated between the IU Indianapolis and IUB Schools. The award is now given annually on both campuses. We encourage you to nominate an IU Indianapolis School of Education faculty member you believe is deserving of this award.

Nominations must be submitted to Ashley Clemons (aclemons@iu.edu) on or before April 1st and should be in the form of a letter of nomination that provides a rationale for recognition as “the single most creative, inventive and daring piece of teaching” in the 2024-25 academic year (including summer 2024). Preparation of nominations may involve the nominee and self-nominations will be accepted.

This award is open to all School of Education Adjunct Instructors regardless of their area of teaching. Previous winners, however, are not eligible for the award.

Adjunct Instructors who are selected will receive a cash award of $500. The review of Adjunct nomination materials and the decision regarding recipients of the awards, will be undertaken by the Faculty Development Committee.

Nominee Materials for the Outstanding Adjunct Instructor Award 

1. A statement composed by the nominee that includes a discussion of how their educational philosophy is implemented in practice and a critical self-analysis of their teaching during the previous year 
2. Copies of student evaluations from the previous year
3. A copy of the syllabus from each course taught during the previous year
4. One letter of nomination from the department chair
5. A teaching Vita which lists all teaching activities and publications in the previous year

Do not include any additional material as it will not be considered. Each file should be converted to PDF format and appropriately named.

Candidates should contact Ashley Clemons (aclemons@iu.edu) to receive a link into which all submission materials should be uploaded.

The Faculty Development Committee will determine the recipient.