Annual Bill Martin Jr Memorial Symposium to feature Floyd Cooper

The department of curriculum and instruction will host award-winning author Floyd Cooper for the 11^th Annual Bill Martin Jr Memorial Symposium. Registration will take place at 7:30 a.m. on the second floor of the Rayburn Student Center. The event will take place on Friday May 1 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and Cooper will speak at the morning keynote session at 9 a.m.

Cooper graduated with a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and worked as an artist for a greeting card company before moving to New York City to start his career as an illustrator in 1984. He has received numerous awards for his work including the Coretta Scott King award for his illustrations in “The Blacker the Berry” and a Coretta Scott King Honor for “Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea” and “I Have Heard of a Land.”

Along with hearing from Cooper, students that attend the symposium have the opportunity to attend three breakout sessions, tour the Bill Martin Jr Library and the Plantarium, visit vendors and book tables and attend a luncheon.

“When our students participate in this regional, professional conference, they not only add to their content knowledge, but also add to their professional capacity to engage in ongoing, life-long learning about teaching and learning,” said Associate Professor Early Childhood Education Dr. Josh Thompson, “I've seen students meet Principals, line up interviews, and eventually get hired, because of participating in our Symposium.”

The annual memorial symposium serves to honor author Bill Martin Jr, who wrote numerous children's books including “Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom,” and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” The Bill Martin Jr Library containing Martin's professional library is located in Sowers Education South.