Mary Lynn Crow Scholarship Endowment
Do you remember that special teacher?
The one who inspired you; who motivated you to succeed; the one who believed in you. Chances are there was more than one who made a difference in your life.
They were our heroes, our friends, our cheerleaders, and our supporters. No matter what career or life path you have chosen, a teacher contributed not just the skills, but also the foundations of who we have become.
Dr. Mary Lynn Crow has been at The University of Texas at Arlington since 1969. She has taught thousands of students who have gone on to become school teachers, counselors, principals, and superintendents. Some have themselves become college professors and administrators, even teacher educators. Before coming to UTA, she also taught thousands of pre-schoolers on Romper Room, the internationally acclaimed children’s television kindergarten. Many of those Do-Bees grew up and attended the public schools in Fort Worth, Tyler, and Hurst where she was a teacher and guidance counselor, and many Do-Bees have also attended UTA. She says almost every year some student approaches her with a photograph taken with Miss Mary Lynn when the child was on Romper Room many years ago. The Fort Worth Star Telegram, the local television stations and The Shorthorn (UTA’s student newspaper) regularly run feature articles focusing on “Where is Miss Mary Lynn now?” And the answer is, of course, she is still at UTA.
Dr. Crow has been part of UTA’s Education unit since arriving here. It was originally called the Department of Education and was in the College of Liberal Arts. Then it became the Center for Professional Teacher Education, then the School of Education and now the College of Education. Today, she is a full professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction within the College of Education. During the years when it was the Center for Professional Teacher Education, Dr. Crow served as Interim Director of the Center for several years.
Dr. Crow has taught Child and Adolescent Psychology, Methods of Teaching, Educational Psychology, Advanced Instructional Strategies, Gifted and Talented Students, Creativity and more. Many of her courses have included a psychological component, as she is also a licensed Psychologist who has a private practice with children and families.
Highlights of her UTA career include serving many years as Director of the Faculty Development Resource Center. The first Center of its kind in Texas and one of the first 5 in the United States, her center was designed to help university professors become better classroom teachers. During those years, she held seminars for and individually consulted with professors to assist them instructionally. Even though the Center no longer exists, Dr. Crow still teaches courses and holds seminars for other Colleges at UTA on improving classroom instruction.
Mary Lynn Crow is unique at UTA for the honors she has won over the years for her teaching ability. In her third year here, she was the first professor on campus to be awarded the AMOCO Outstanding Teacher Award (now called the Chancellor’s Outstanding Teacher Award). A few years later, she won the Piper Professorship of Texas, a state-level award given for her work in making university classrooms more effective places for students to learn. In 2004, she was inducted into UTA’s prestigious Academy of Distinguished Teachers for her long record of excellence in instruction and her commitment to teaching and to students.
In recognition of her significant contributions to UTA and the field of education, Associate Vice President and Dean of the College of Education, Jeanne Marcum Gerlach, awarded the Mary Lynn Crow Scholarship in Dr. Crow’s honor at the 2004 Academic Excellence Celebration. It was at this time that the College of Education approached Dr. Crow for permission to initiate an endowment in her honor. She accepted and Dr. Mary Lynn Crow and her husband, Dr. Charlie Farmer, agreed to not only match every dollar donated to the endowment up to $5,000, but to also leave a significant portion of their estate to enhance the scholarship and leave a lasting legacy.
A gift, regardless of the amount, to the Mary Lynn Crow Scholarship Fund will make a difference to lives of current and future students and create a permanent vehicle by which to honor Dr. Crow. Endowment gifts can be made in honor or memory of a loved one, and may be given in many forms such as cash, stock, life insurance, or real estate. In any case, the gift will be designated for the Mary Lynn Crow Scholarship Endowment and the Endowment’s interest income will be used for the purpose awarding the scholarship in perpetuity.
For more information please contact the Office of Advancement. Investments may be sent to: The University of Texas at Arlington, College of Education, Box 19227, Arlington, Texas 76019.