Established by Robert H. Kroepsch, a 1933 graduate of Bates who received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the college in 1971, the Kroepsch Award is given to a member of the Bates faculty nominated by peers and students for outstanding teaching. In nominating Dodd for the prize, one student wrote: “She opened up my eyes to new concepts in education that I would have never anticipated; she wanted me to be sure that I was striving for excellence and not perfection, that I was learning for the intrinsic benefits and not for the extrinsic reward of high marks.”

According to Jill N. Reich, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Bates, Dodd’s “talent and expertise as an educator are legion.” A former Maine public school teacher and principal, Dodd joined the Bates faculty in 1984, where she supervises student teachers and teaches courses such as “Gender Issues in Education” and “Redesigning the American High School.” She and nine of her Bates students co-authored “The Challenge of Changing Schools,” an essay featured in the winter 2000 Journal of Maine Education.

A Maine native, Dodd is the author of “A Parent’s Guide to Innovative Education” (Noble Press, 1992) Ð named one of the 10 best books for parents by Child Magazine in 1992 Ð and co-author of “Making Our High Schools Better: How Parents and Teachers Can Work Together” (St. Martin’s Press, 1999). A passionate beachcomber, Dodd is the author of two children’s picture books on the subject, “The Story of Sea Glass” (Down East, 1999) and “Footprints and Shadows” (Simon and Schuster, 1992), as well as other books on writing and teaching.

“Teaching is not telling,” Dodd says. “It’s designing the right context in which learning will take place.” An educator for 39 years, Dodd sees the Kroepsch Award as a formal recognition of her teaching. “It’s very moving to get a teaching award for teaching.”

Dodd earned a bachelor’s degree in history and government from the University of Maine, Orono; a master’s degree in English and American studies from California State University, Los Angeles; and a C.A.S. and Ed.D, both from the Universtiy of Maine, Orono.