Three educators joined the Governor Louie B. Nunn Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame Friday afternoon at the Gary Ransdell Auditorium.
The late Lois Chandler, Julie Cowan and Jennifer Miller Fritsch had their plaques displayed in the Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame after the induction ceremony.
The three recipients also received their own plaques to honor and remember their achievements. Kentucky Sen. Mike Wilson, Rep. Kevin Jackson and WKU President Timothy Caboni gave remarks at the induction ceremony.
“Each year, we gather on this special occasion to celebrate what I believe is the most important and life-changing profession: one that calls for passionate, devoted individuals who invest their time, their energy and their heart into education,” Caboni said in his opening remarks.
The Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame was established in 2000 through a donation from former Kentucky Governor Nunn, according to the WKU Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame webpage. The Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame recognizes Kentuckians who have made significant contributions to the lives of children and youth in Preschool through 12th grade school settings.
WKU was selected as the home of the Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame because of its history in teacher education from when the university began as a Normal School in 1906, said Corinne Murphy, Dean of the WKU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.
“Part of the reason we are home to the Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame is because teacher preparation is partial to who we are,” Murphy said. “So, it was part of our founding and it is something that we continue to do to this day.”
Murphy said WKU is “very proud” to host the Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame. She said they even incorporate information about the inductees into early education classes so that students can see themselves in those who have been inducted.
Murphy said she has presented the award at the annual Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame induction ceremony since 2018.
The first inductee was Chandler, who spent 56 years as a “beloved” language arts teacher. Chandler was from LaCenter in Ballard County, Kentucky.
Murphy said Chandler’s lifelong dedication to education earned her the title of Kentucky Colonel from former Kentucky Governor Wallace Wilkinson. The Kentucky House of Representatives also honored her memory with a formal declaration of sympathy when she died at 92-years-old in 2020.
Chandler’s son, Larry Chandler, accepted the award on his mother’s behalf at the ceremony.
Cowan, the next inductee, is a Kindergarten teacher at Adair County Primary School. She has taught for 33 years.
Murphy said a colleague who nominated Cowan said she is “always thinking from the child’s perspective,” and she goes “above and beyond” to make children feel cared for and connected.
Murphy said in her speech that Cowan is known for her innovative “Kindergarten Bucket List,” where she makes students’ dreams come true. This included ideas from “Taco Tuesday” and “Clay Day” to ice cream parties and community projects.
Cowan told the press she created the “Kindergarten Bucket List” because so much is already scripted in the classroom by the State Department or local school district.
“Even if you provide choices for them, they still don’t get to dictate a lot of what goes on in the classroom,” Cowan said.
She said the students got to use the last 20 days of school to pick things they wanted to do, as long as it wasn’t dangerous or too expensive.
Cowan said one example was when her students wanted a “Bring Your Fish to School Day.” Cowan said students could bring goldfish crackers, their real fish, their stuffed fish or any other kind of fish they had.
“They have real ideas,” Cowan said. “We mistake them for not knowing what’s going on when they really do. They have ideas just as we do as grown ups.”
Cowan said she hasn’t retired from teaching yet because it “never felt like it was a job,” and she said it’ll be hard to give up.
The final inductee was Fritsch, a Glasgow Middle School art teacher who has spent more than two decades “nurturing creativity and confidence” in her art students.
Murphy said Fritsch also founded the Visiting Artists Program at GMS, which connects students with professional artists. Additionally, her leadership of the National Junior Art Honor Society has provided hundreds of students with opportunities for service and creative engagement.
Fritsch said getting nominated was “humbling” because she gets to go to work everyday just doing what she loves. She said having students in art classes allows them to see themselves in a different way, regardless how good of an artist they are.
Fritsch said her classroom is very calm and usually has low lighting and soft music. She said she does this to make her classroom a “stress-free zone,” where students can express themselves without being compared to anyone else.
Fritsch said even the students who don’t consider themselves great artists can still come into the room, explore, calm down and get ready to start the day. Fritsch said art can also be a “rescue” for some students, since it’s a way for them to express themselves.
Fritsch said she feels good when students realize her classroom is a safe place. She said those students are putting confidence in themselves and in her class.
Fritsch said she pushes her students to realize how many amazing things they can create with art, even if it’s just painting on paper towels with leftover coffee.
“We all have different viewpoints, we all have different outlets, we all have different ways to express,” Fritsch said. Murphey said nominations for 2026 will open in January, and more information can be found on WKU’s website.
