Outstanding Teacher 2008

Listen to Dr. Kelly's podcast on MTSU iTunesU!



Dr. Padgett Kelly
Biology Department

Dr. Kelly was the most influential teacher I encountered as an undergraduate at MTSU. Although I went into his class certain that I wanted to teach, I was unsure of what I wanted to teach. During the semester, I found myself enjoying Dr. Kelly's class, even looking forward to it. He never just lectured, he talked with us, revealed his excitement about his work, and took us on trips where we all had a good time learning new things. Because of Dr. Kelly, I became a middle school science teacher, and today I use much I what I learned about science and about teaching from my experience in his class. Andrea Mathis, former student.

---

Biography

Dr. Padgett Kelly became involved in classroom teaching and environmental education in the early 1970's, and has focused his entire career around helping others understand the importance of and their role in the environment. His talent and hard work has earned him Tennessee Science Teacher of the Year, the Tennessee Educator of the Year, and the Tennessee Environmental Education Association Distinguished Service Awards.

In 1984, Dr. Kelly began the first statewide environmental education program in Tennessee called Project Cents: Conservation Education Nor for Tennessee Students. Through this program, over 22,000 teachers have been trained in science and environmental education. A leader in marine education in Tennessee, he is a founding member of Tennessee Educators of Aquatic and Marine Sciences.

During the past twelve years, Dr. Kelly has taught over 140 Tennessee teachers in a marine education course in the Florida Keys. Dr. Kelly has taken his life size whale program, which features a 68-foot humpback whale, to over 240,000 students in schools all over the state of Tennessee.

Dr. Kelly's teaching effectiveness and leadership continue to earn him honors and bring recognition to both MTSU and the state of Tennessee. In 2001, he earned the National Marine Educators Association Teacher of the Year Award, the only person from a state without an ocean to win this award! In 2006, he was elected a member of the National Marine Educators Board of Directors, to this day the only director ever elected from an inland state.

Dr. Padgett Kelly joined the MTSU faculty in 1991 and serves as Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the MTSU Center for Environmental Education. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in science from MTSU and his Ph.D in Zoology from Mississippi State University.

Dr. Padgett Kelly alongside his beloved 68-foot humpback whale!



return to Outstanding Teachers 2008