This award is for a AzCEC member who has contributed significantly to the education of exceptional individuals through direct student contact in instruction or a training process. The awardee can apply for the International CEC "Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year" Award. Click on the hyperlink for this award for additional information and criteria.
The award honors Dr. Samuel A. Kirk who is internationally recognized for his accomplishments in the field of special education, while sometimes being referred to as the “Father of Special Education”. In 1963, Dr. Kirk was the first to use and define the term “learning disability”. In 1964, President John F. Kennedy appointed him the first director of the Division of Handicapped Children and Youth under the U.S. Office of Education, now the U.S. Department of Education. His commitment to students with learning disabilities led to the first ever Institute for Research on Exceptional Children in the 1960's. Dr. Kirk taught as a professor of special education at the University of Arizona from 1968 to 1985 and was also a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois.
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