Two College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) alumni were honored Oct. 22 during the annual Professor for a Day event.

Jen Kouba MS ’08, and Bee Vang ’96, MSE ’99, were recognized for making significant contributions to their profession at a luncheon at Pollock Alumni House. COEHS Dean Yeo, Interim Provost Al Hartman, Chancellor Richard H. Wells and UW Oshkosh Foundation President Art Rathjen spoke at the reception.

As honorary professors for a day, Kouba and Vang reached out to University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students currently enrolled in programs related to their fields.

Jen Kouba is a first-grade teacher at Clay Lamberton Elementary school in Berlin, Wis. She graduated from Ripon College with a double major in elementary education and politics and government. She is in her eighth year of teaching, having spent three years as a third-grade teacher before moving to first grade.

Kouba completed her master’s degree in educational leadership from UW Oshkosh in May. She has attended workshops and training in six-trait writing, ROFAH (Reading on First and Home), the four blocks literacy model, differentiated instruction and teaching children with hearing impairments. She serves as co-president of the PTO at Clay Lamberton and will present the results of a Teaching Tolerance grant at the National Association of Multicultural Education in New Orleans in November.

Bee Vang graduated with honors from UW Oshkosh’s teacher preparation program in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a minor in mathematics. She also earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction in 1999.

Vang began her teaching career in the Oshkosh Area School District in 1996. She has taught English as a second language (ESL) at North High School, South Park Middle School, Roosevelt Elementary and Jefferson Elementary. She has taught grades three, four and five at Jefferson. She has mentored four student teachers and about a dozen clinical students from UW Oshkosh.

Each semester, Vang volunteers as a guest speaker about Hmong history and culture and makes recommendations for working with Hmong students and their families for pre-service teachers. She has provided valuable insights into how Hmong culture is changing as well as the issues Hmong children, youth and families are facing today. Vang has influenced hundreds of future teachers through her presentations. She continues to contribute to the University’s teacher preparation program through her work with student teachers, clinicians and students.

The Professor for a Day activities, started in 1973, are sponsored annually by COEHS and supported through the EDUCARE Trust Fund and the UW Oshkosh Foundation.

Janice Stark, advancement officer for the College of Education and Human Services, submitted this story.