HURST, Texas -- EDSF, the international, non-profit organization dedicated to the document management and graphic communications marketplace, today announced the recipients of its 2009 Excellence in Education awards, which include the Educator of the Year and the Innovation in Education awards.

EDSF's Excellence in Education award winners demonstrate high educational merit, creativity and innovation as they prepare individuals for careers in the document management and graphic communications marketplace.

The 2009 award winners will be honored at the EDSF Industry Leaders' Reception tomorrow during the AIIM International Exposition & Conference and the ON DEMAND Conference & Exposition, in Philadelphia, Pa. EDSF is located in Booth No. 54 on the Expo floor.

The 2009 Educator of the Year Award winners include:
2009 Educator of the Year – Higher Education:
Dr. Penny Bennett, Associate Professor, Graphic Communication
California Polytechnic State University
Sponsored by Franchise Services

Dr. Penny Bennett has been an instrumental teacher at California Polytechnic State University since 2000. Her teaching and research specialties are in digital printing and prepress and packaging. Dr. Bennett is a recognized author having published a book through GATFP, titled "The Handbook for Digital Printing and Variable Data Printing."  Dr. Bennett is well known for using multimedia approaches that appeal to students of all learning styles and for bringing real-life experiences and case studies to the classroom.

2009 Educator of the Year – Secondary Education:
Shirley Byrd, Instructor
Printing Technology
William D. Ford Career – Technical Center
Sponsored by Canon

Shirley Byrd has created a premier program that showcases one of the finest graphics labs in Michigan. In addition to her passion in the classroom, she has served as a SkillsUSA Advisor and is involved at the state and national levels. She also opens her doors to assist in training other graphic instructors and their students, to help them prepare for regional and state competitions. Byrd strongly believes in involving students in community service and, through a local Chamber of Commerce program, provides local businesses with painted storefront windows during the holiday season.

The 2009 Innovation in Education Award winners include:
2009 Innovation in Secondary Education:
Thomas Raco, Professor
Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Sponsored by EFI

A critical need has long existed for accessible and up-to-date graphic communications information and career experiences for deaf students in secondary schools. Most career information Web sites tend to exclude the needs of the deaf population, in terms of language as well as career maturity levels. As a result, many deaf students who select this field enter postsecondary programs uninformed about the demands of the field and under-prepared to succeed in their college programs. Graphcomm4deaf is an interactive career information vehicle that describes the field of graphic communications, in terms of job categories, functions, work environments and educational opportunities. Important components of the site include career testing and planning, and access to trained counselors and deaf graphic communications professionals.

2009 Innovation in Higher Education:
Linda Grilz, Instructor
Pittsburg State University
Sponsored by InfoPrint Solutions Company

Pittsburg State University has a long tradition of teaching printing; in fact, they will celebrate 100 years of printing education in 2010. The program concentrates on covering the basics of graphic instruction, however, an area that was missing was digital output methods, including variable data printing. Grilz offered to teach a course on the subject in January 2008. When the course began, she had no VDP software, no mailing software and no output device. She began by presenting the basics of digital print methods, describing the unique opportunities that print providers have to marketing VDP to customers. She attended a VDP boot camp in February 2008 and came back inspired. Through gracious donations provided by print vendors, she now has the tools to offer a live production environment.

2009 Innovation in Continuing Education:
Training Package Pathways
Robert Black, Director
RMIT University
Sponsored by Xerox

RMIT's International Centre of Graphic Technology (ICGT) is recognized as having one of the most advanced training facilities in the world. Certainly, document production systems demand that operators be highly skilled, so RMIT provides customized programs that balance vocational skills development, new technologies and the constantly changing needs of industry. As such, RMIT has access to the most sophisticated technology available through alliances with leading provides such as Heidelberg Australia, Fuji Xerox, Hewlett-Packard, EFI, AGFA and Kodak, just to name a few.

To learn more about EDSF or its Excellence in Education Awards program, visit www.edsf.org. Contact Brenda Kai, EDSF executive director, at 817-849-1145 or via e-mail at [email protected].