2002 Walter Barnard Hill Awards for Distinguished Achievement in University Public Service & Outreach

Mary E. Stakes

During her twenty-four years with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Mary Stakes has compiled a distinguished record of public service and outreach achievements. She has earned a national reputation for her work in civic education, technical assistance, the publication of instructional materials, and continuing education programs.

Stakes is the leader and visionary behind the Institute’s Civic Education Program, which develops educational materials and provides continuing education for Georgia’s students, educators, citizens, and members of the General Assembly. She served on the Georgia Department of Education’s social studies curriculum revision team in 1998 and was the story and content consultant for an eighteen-part video series produced for Georgia Public Television and the Georgia Department of Education. The series received the Wilbur Schramm Award for Best Distance Learning Program in the United States in 1997.

Stakes has made multiple contributions to civic education in Georgia through her technical assistance to the Georgia General Assembly. In 2000, she developed a plan for the General Assembly’s celebration of 250 years of representative government. She has written several publications that have become standard reference tools used by the General Assembly, including Georgia Retirement Systems: How They Compare and the Handbook for Georgia Legislators. She is also a leader in the Georgia Council for the Social Studies, a professional organization for social studies educators. Stakes has been the editor of the council’s newsletter since 1989 and became the secretary on the council’s Board of Trustees in 1998. She recently received the 2001 Georgia Outstanding Educator Award from the council. The award is considered to be one of the most prestigious recognitions a university or public school social studies educator can receive in Georgia.

Stakes was a major force in the Vinson Institute’s decision to produce a new textbook for the eight grade Georgia Studies course in 1988. She served as coauthor of the volume, which was adopted by ninety-two public school districts, and directed its revision and expansion in 1991. She has also developed supplemental materials to support the volume, including a textbook Web site for teachers and students and a CD-ROM version of the teacher’s manual.
Stakes is widely acclaimed for her success in designing and directing continuing education programs. She recruits teachers, coordinates the agenda, presents sessions, and manages all aspects of the annual three-day Don Mendonsa Local Government Seminar, a staff development course teachers that features city and county officials as the principal instructional staff. She has made over forty presentations to textbook adoption committees and trained over 350 educators in school system adopting Institute textbooks. In addition, she ahs presented over fifty-five workshops and programs to educators on topics auch as Georgia state and local government, the U.S. Constitution, representative government, voter education, using the newspaper in the classroom, and events in Georgia history.