MARILYN WEISER SELECTED AS FIRST WARREN KRESS OUTSTANDING GEOGRAPHY TEACHER AWARD RECIPIENT
May 15, 2004—The North Dakota Geographic Alliance is pleased to announce the selection of Marilyn Weiser as the first Warren Kress Outstanding Geography Teacher Award recipient. The Award was established with contributions from the Kress family and North Dakota Geographic Alliance members to honor the life and professional career of Dr. Warren Kress, who served many years as North Dakota State University Professor of Geography. Dr. Kress died on August 23, 2001.
Warren Kress taught at the University of Minnesota and later at Saint Cloud State University before going to North Dakota State University in 1957. He remained on the NDSU faculty until his retirement in 1991. At NDSU he attained the rank of professor, and was made professor emeritus on his retirement. He received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of Minnesota in 1962. Also at NDSU, Dr. Kress was active in many areas of teaching and advising, and was a founding member of the College of University Studies. Following his retirement Dr. Kress remained active in his professional organizations. He was honored in 1999 as a 50-year member of the Association of American Geographers and as a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Minnesota Geography Department, one of the largest geography departments in the nation. He was active in the North Dakota Geographic Alliance, and while his health permitted he made an effort to regularly attend Alliance meetings and institutes. He also was a founding member of the Council of Latin American Geographers.
Marilyn Weiser, the 2004 Warren Kress Outstanding Geography Teacher Award recipient, teaches sixth grade at Minot’s Jim Hill Middle School. Previous to that assignment she taught fourth grade at Minot’s Jefferson Elementary School. She is a member of the North Dakota Geographic Alliance Board and has been an Alliance leader throughout much of the Alliance’s history. She is the author of four North Dakota Geographic Alliance Magazine articles.
Among her many other geography education accomplishments, Marilyn Weiser is a graduate of the National Geographic Society 1994 (Geographic Alliance) Instructional Leadership Institute and served as co-writer and co-director of five successful Dwight D. Eisenhower grant projects that provided North Dakota teachers with two-week programs focusing on Geography, Mathematics and Science standards, leadership training, integration and assessment. In 2000 she worked on the North Dakota Social Studies Performance Levels writing team and served as facilitator for the K-5 subcommittee. She was a 2001-2002 member of the North Dakota State Standards Awareness Team, the 2001-2002 Minot Teacher of the Year, and a 2001-2002 North Dakota Teacher of the Year finalist. In addition to her North Dakota Geographic Alliance participation she is an active member of several other professional organizations including the National Council of Geographic Education. She regularly attends National Council of Geographic Education national meetings and presents workshops and presentations at those meetings. She is an active member of the North Dakota Science Teachers Association and the National, North Dakota, and Minot Education Associations. She has made frequent presentations to university social studies methods classes in an effort to promote geography awareness.
In an essay describing her philosophy of education she wrote, “I believe that creating a motivating and positive environment for learning is the most important job that a teacher has. Most essential to this atmosphere is compassion. Then comes content knowledge, effective delivery of subject matter and providing a variety of resources to learn and explore. All of this will empower students to realize their potential and interpret their place in the real world. From this we can expect productive citizens.”
Photo shows Marilyn Weiser and Kress Award Committee Chair Paul Meartz, with NDGA Director Eric Clausen in background.