Dr. Jeffrey Blacklock, Associate Professor of Curriculum and Learning in the Gordon T. & Ellen West College of Education, received Midwestern State University’s Faculty Award during the Dec. 21 virtual commencement ceremony. The honor is given by MSU Texas faculty to a full-time faculty member for teaching excellence and service to the University.

Blacklock will retire in Spring 2021 after 35 years of teaching and administration in the P-12 and university settings. This fall, Blacklock was the speaker for the Last Lecture, part of a series begun at MSU Texas in 2017. The lecture, titled “Your Most Excellent Endeavor.”

Blacklock received his Ed.D. in Educational Administration from the University of North Texas in Denton, and M.Ed. in Elementary Education and B.S. in Biology from Midwestern State University. He began his teaching career in 1986 at Alamo Elementary School in the Wichita Falls Independent School District. After other teaching positions in the WFISD, he came to MSU Texas in 2006. His research interests include professional learning communities, teacher and college education, and educational leadership. Blacklock has presented at local, state, national, and international meetings.

This year’s finalists were Dr. Mike Patterson, Dillard College of Business Administration; Dr. Steve Garrison, Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities & Social Sciences; Dr. Matthew Luttrell, Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts; Dr. Jonathan Price, McCoy College of Science, Mathematics & Engineering; and Dr. Robin Lockhart, Robert D & Carol Gunn College of Health Sciences & Human Services.

The first recipient of the Faculty Award was Arthur F. Beyer in 1977.The winner is selected by the faculty at large and kept secret until commencement. Dr. David Carlston, Chair of the Faculty Senate, presented the award on behalf of the faculty.