TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A pair of Tuscaloosa residents and an advocate for women’s collegiate athletics are among the 2018 inductees of The University of Alabama College of Education’s Hall of Fame.
Dr. Barbara Rountree, founder of Capitol School in Tuscaloosa and creator of the Children’s Hands-On Museum; Sandra Ray, who served the Alabama State Board of Education for 14 years; and Dr. Jane B. Moore, the first woman to serve on the Auburn University Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, will be honored at a ceremony Saturday, Feb. 17, in Tuscaloosa.
Founded in 2012 by the College of Education board of advisors of The University of Alabama, the Educator Hall of Fame honors the accomplishments of distinguished leaders in the field of education or dedicated supporters of education. Each inductee will be memorialized with a plaque in Bibb Graves Hall on the UA campus.
“The College’s Hall of Fame inductees have acted in a variety of roles to bring advancements to the teaching and learning endeavor,” said Dr. Peter Hlebowitsh, dean of the UA College of Education. “Whether in the capacity of administrator, classroom teacher, community supporter or researcher, our Hall of Fame honorees have all left an astonishing mark of achievement in their wake. They have truly made the world a better place. And there is really no better legacy for an educator than this.”
Dr. Barbara Starnes Rountree
Rountree, originally from Guntersville, joined the UA College of Education faculty in 1977. She served in a number of leadership roles before retiring with 25 years of service from the University as co-chair of the Multiple Ability Program.
Rountree helped create and operate “Something Special,” a Tuscaloosa-area summer camp at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, for over 20 years. More than 5,000 children participated in the camp during that span. She also founded “Space Scientists,” a summer program for elementary students, that later served as the prototype for NASA’s Space Camp.
In 1985, Rountree worked with the community and teachers to create the Children’s Hands-On Museum. She served as director of the museum for two years before returning to teaching full-time in the College of Education.
“After Dean Roth sent me to the Smithsonian and the Children’s Museum of Boston, I came home and tried to find volunteers across the city,” Rountree said. “We began making prototypes. I spent a lot of time talking to city clubs, trying to raise money, meeting with people, trying to get different groups to sponsor exhibits. We had a lot of help from the Alabama Museum of Natural History and College of Education to launch CHOM.”
In 1993, Rountree founded Capitol School, currently an international school, in Tuscaloosa, where she has continued many of the camp programs she created while at UA.
Dr. Jane Moore
Moore graduated from Dozier High School in 1953 and received her Doctor of Education in physical education from UA in 1969.
Moore was a recipient in 2016 of The Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by the Auburn Alumni Association, for her contributions to education at Auburn and her advocacy of intercollegiate athletics at the school. Moore was the first woman to serve on the Auburn University Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics and has served on multiple athletics committees for men’s and women’s sports over the last 40-plus years.
In 2003, the field of the Auburn Softball Complex was named the “Jane B. Moore Field” to honor her long-time service to Auburn athletics.
Moore established the Kindergarten Motor Development Program in conjunction with the Auburn College of Education and Auburn City School System. This venture was a one-of-a-kind testing and remediation program for young children who were participating in their early motor skills and provided practical experience for Auburn University students enrolled in her classes.
“The College of Education notification of my induction into the Alabama Educator Hall of Fame prompted me to reflect on my doctoral studies in The College of Education,” Moore said. “There is no way to express in a few words the value of those years in the development of my career as an educator. This recognition by The University of Alabama and the College of Education is very meaningful to me and very deeply appreciated.”
Sandra H. Ray
Ray is a native of Tuscaloosa County and earned a bachelor’s degree in education from UA in 1967.
Ray is a former elected member and president of the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education. In 1995, she was elected to serve on the Alabama State Board of Education to represent District 7, which included Tuscaloosa, and served for 14 years.
During her tenure on the Alabama State Board of Education, Alabama public schools have benefitted from the creation and implementation of the Alabama Reading Initiative and the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative, among other programs.
Ray has served on the UA President’s Community Advisory Council and the UA Teacher Education Council and is a founding member, past president, and current member of the UA College of Education Board of Advisors.
She was one of the first two women to become directors of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and later served as vice president.