John E. & Nell Ann Inman Penick
John Penick began his teaching career as a high school biology teacher and, later, head of the science department at Miami Jackson High School, an inner city school in south Florida. After earning his Ph.D. in Science Education In 1973, he went on to teach at Loyola University, University of Iowa, and North Carolina State University, where he was professor and head of the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education for more than 10 years. He also taught for short periods of time in Portugal, Israel, Venezuela, New Zealand, and Indonesia.
John received numerous awards during his career, including: Association for Science Teacher Education Best Paper (1978), Outstanding Science Educator of the Year (1987) Outstanding Mentor (1997); National Science Teachers Association Ohaus Award for Innovations in College Science Teaching (1981 & 1986), Distinguished Service Award (2012), Robert H. Carlton Award (2013); The Florida State University Distinguished Educator Award (1987 & 2015); The University of Iowa Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award (1992); Epsilon Pi Tau Distinguisher Service Citation (2008); Honorary Membership, National Association of Biology Teachers (2004); and the NCSU College of education Orthogonal Medal (2012). John was a senior Fulbright Fellow in Portugal and Israel (1986) and chaired the first Soviet-American Science Education conference in Moscow in 1991.
He served on the board of directors of the International Council of Associations for Science Education for 18 years and served two terms each as treasurer and secretary of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents. He has been President of the National Association of Biology Teachers, the Association for Science Teacher Education, and the National Science Teachers Association.
A prolific writer, John was associate editor of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Editor of the Focus on Excellence Series from NSTA, and has served on the editorial review boards of six journals. He has published over 200 articles in 30 different journals as well as 40 books and monographs. He also makes presentations to educational groups around the world, and for 12 years hosted the Iowa PBS radio show, Iowa Connections, broadcasting interviews with experts from various science disciplines.
John’s work has focused on science teacher education and the role of the teacher in the classroom, communicating how to teach science most effectively. John Penick retired from NC State in 2009 and became vice president of Sangari do Brasil, a large science publishing company in Sao Paulo Brazil.
Nell Ann Inman Penick began her career as an English teacher, also at Miami Jackson High School, where she taught a variety of courses. Later, she completed a Master’s degree in school counseling and a Ph.D. in Counseling and Human Development at the University of Iowa, receiving the College of Education’s Marital and Family Therapy Research Award and the National Career Development Association’s Graduate Student Research Award for the quality of her dissertation.
After five years working for various counseling agencies in Iowa, Nell opened a private therapy practice, specializing in couples and families. Nell was a practicing psychotherapist for 18 years in Iowa and North Carolina. A Clinical Member of the Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Nell was active in helping to secure licensure legislation for her colleagues in Iowa. She received the IAMFT Distinguished Service Award for that dedication and effort.
Participating in a number of professional organizations, she served as treasurer and member of the board of directors of the Iowa Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, as chair of the Iowa Annual Conference, as a member of the editorial board of The Family Journal, and as newsletter editor in both Iowa and North Carolina. A strong advocate for continuing education, she was certified as a Clinical Hypnotist and in Eye Movement Desensitization and Repositioning (EMDR), was a group leader in PAIIRS, an extensively documented program for working with couples, and licensed in both Iowa and North Carolina as a Marriage and Family Therapist and as a Professional Counselor.
John and Nell live in Miami and Big Pine Key Florida and have two children, Lucas (a specialized tutor) and Megan (a securities attorney). They have three adorable and intelligent granddaughters.
Impact
Recognizing the financial obstacles facing students in science education as they conduct their doctoral research, the John & Nell Penick Fellowship in Science Education offers seed funding, allowing for studies to be more complete, extensive, and successful studies than has been the norm. Such studies are more likely to identify significant results, results that are essential for advancing the particular field of study.
The donors wish to encourage students, especially women, who aspire to the professoriate and to stimulate higher quality research on the part of doctoral students. Higher quality should enhance their chances of publishing in a major journal and obtaining more competitive positions as beginning professors, raising the status of both the student and North Carolina State University.
Initially providing for a one-time grant of $1,500 to an individual student, it was hoped the principal would grow to the point that the award could be larger or more recipients might be selected. The endowment began with a $25,000 gift in 2005, followed by additional contributions by the donors and significant growth of the corpus. The donors’ estate plan includes a bequest to this fund in the amount of $25,000, ensuring that the original goal of $75,000 will be reached at some point.