NSU Fischler Graduate Honored for Innovative Contribution to Education

Joe Underwood, Ed.D., a 2006 graduate of the Educational Leadership program at the Fischler School of Education and Human Services, is one of two Florida finalists to be recognized by the cable industry’s education foundation for creating and implementing innovative ways to educate students and for making a substantial contribution to learning in his community.

Underwood, a media teacher at North Miami Senior High School, is the only South Florida finalist in the 2007 Cable’s Leaders in Learning Awards, the cable industry’s education foundation. He is one of only 43 finalists in the nation to be recognized in the General Excellence award category.

Underwood has been recognized for creating a project for his television production students that involves editing more than 25 hours of footage from the Galapagos Islands that will produce the educational series, Gus Galapa’s Galapagos Adventure. Underwood filmed the Galapagos Islands during his educational visit and created the character Gus Galapa, who will open and close each segment of the series. The series will inform others about the islands’ inhabitants, their unique environment and the environmental issues they face.

Finalists will be eligible for a national Cable’s Leaders in Learning Award that includes $3,000 and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC to attend an awards ceremony at the Library of Congress in June.