In 1963, the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation initiated the Jennings Scholar Lecture Program to honor outstanding classroom teachers in line with one of the Foundation's major objectives of improving the quality of elementary and secondary education in Ohio. It has become the longest running and one of the most gratifying projects the Foundation has sponsored. Over 24,000 Ohio teachers have become Jennings Scholars.

For this program, the state is divided into six areas, with two lecture series each year. This year's lectures (2007-2008) are held at Capital University and The University of Dayton. Next year's will be held at Cuyahoga Community College and Kent State University and the following year at Bowling Green State University and Ohio University.

In each area, the program recognizes about 300 outstanding teachers. They are invited to a series of six lectures by major personalities of widely different backgrounds. At the conclusion of the program, the teachers receive a bound volume of the lectures and a silver dish as an emblematic award.

There is considerable evidence of teacher interest and appreciation based on the fact that the majority of teachers who attended all of the lectures continue to return for the Alumni program.

We are pleased that the most significant outcome of the lecture series is the effect that the lectures have on the lives of the teachers and how this experience has been shared with their hundreds of thousands of students throughout Ohio.

Below are the dates and speakers for the 2007-2008 Lecture Series:

Capital University September 15, 2007   Julian Earls October 13, 2007   Jim Mahoney November 3, 2007   Stephen Douglas February 9, 2008   Sharon Draper March 15, 2008   Dandi Daley Mackall April 12, 2008   Cea Cohen Elliot

University of Dayton September 15, 2007   Jim Mahoney October 13, 2007   Stephen Douglas November 10, 2007   Cea Cohen Elliot February 16, 2008   Ray Guarendi March 15, 2008   Sharon Draper April 19, 2008   Harvey Alston