Delta State University’s College of Education (COE) announced the establishment of the Janie Allen-Bradley Literacy Endowment at a reception held recently at the Capps Archives Building.
Dr. Janie Allen-Bradley, or Dr. A-B as former students affectionately called the revered retired faculty member, served Delta State for 13 years after decades in literacy instruction both at the P-12 and higher education levels. She continued to serve Delta State post-retirement through her involvement with the Barksdale Reading Institute. Friends, colleagues, family, and alumni wished to recognize Dr. Allen-Bradley’s legacy and fittingly chose to initiate an endowment that would allow pre- and in-service teachers to engage in high-quality literacy education experiences annually as a result of the endowment.
“This endowment is an important recognition of Dr. Allen-Bradley’s substantive contribution to building a high-quality literacy education component in the elementary education degree program in the College,” said Dr. Leslie Griffin, COE Dean. “Janie felt an affinity for her content area – literacy – and her energy and dedication were palpable – students could easily see her heart and soul through her teaching. And teaching children to read requires a passion – it is a highly skilled task that requires dedication and much understanding of the reading process.”
Dr. Allen-Bradley’s specialties in literacy education are children’s literature and phonics. She is credited with the publication of AlphaBuddies, an illustrated chart that assists teachers in introducing letter sound associations to learners. This publication was distributed in schools statewide several years ago and is still in use today.
In speaking of Dr. Allen-Bradley at the reception, Dr. Butch Caston, Dean Emeritus of the COE, referenced the value system that characterized her work. The intent of the endowment is to provide a means for continuing to convey this value for literacy education.
For more information about the Janie Allen-Bradley Literacy Endowment contact the Delta State Foundation at 662-846-4704, foundation@deltastate.edu.
