Professor, Retired Superintendent Earns 2009 Distinguished Service Award

The New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCSS) will honor veteran school leader Stephen Uebbing, an associate professor in educational leadership at the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education, with the 2009 Distinguished Service Award, the Council's highest honor. Uebbing will receive the award at the Council's Annual Banquet Invitation on Sunday, October 4 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Rochester, N.Y.

The Distinguished Service Award, established in 1967, is given yearly to a retired school superintendent who has exhibited an exemplary commitment to public education. Uebbing is being recognized by NYSCSS for his work in both education and the community.

"Steve combined thoughtfulness and passion in his advocacy for schoolchildren," explains Thomas Rogers, executive director of NYSCSS. "This came through over and over again in the Council's meetings with senior state officials and in our own internal discussions to resolve the positions that we decided to take on issues."

William Johnson, chair of the Council's awards committee, says that Uebbing's leadership brought all the right attention to the role of the superintendent and administration by always connecting the dots to improving the lives of children. "Although currently one step removed from the superintendency, he is no less committed to developing a new generation of leaders committed to students and student achievement," adds Johnson.

Uebbing served as superintendent in the Canandaigua City School District from 1988 to 2006 and was named New York State Superintendent of the Year in 1999. During his time in Canandaigua, the School District consistently received state and national recognition, including a national Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award for Canandaigua Academy.

He began his career in education with 10 years as a social studies teacher, coach, and advisor to student clubs in the Letchworth Central School before serving six years as high school principal and then superintendent of the Fort Plain Central School. He teaches courses in educational leadership, with a focus on K-12 school leadership and educational decision making, at the Warner School.

Uebbing has been a NYSCSS member for more than 20 years. He was a member of the Council's House of Delegates and Executive Committee, and served as an active participant in the Commissioner's Advisory Council. He continues to serve on the state level as a member of the NYS Professional Standards and Practices Board advising the Regents and the Commissioner of Education on all matters relating to teaching in New York State. Uebbing has been active in his own community as well, serving as project chairperson for the Canandaigua Churches in Action medical clinic, which provides access to health care for uninsured and underinsured members of the Canandaigua Community. In addition, Uebbing does extensive work supporting local schools and districts in the areas of strategic planning and leadership development.

The NYSCSS is a professional and advocacy organization with over a century of service to school superintendents in New York State. The Council provides its more than 800 members with numerous professional development opportunities, publications and personal services, while advocating for public education and the superintendency.

About the Warner School of Education
Founded in 1958, the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education offers master's and doctoral degree programs in teaching and curriculum, school leadership, higher education, counseling, human development, and educational policy. The Warner School of Education offers a new accelerated option for its Ed.D. programs that allows eligible students to earn a doctorate in education in as few as three years part time while holding a professional job in the same field. The Warner School of Education is recognized both regionally and nationally for its tradition of preparing practitioners and researchers to become leaders and agents of change in schools, universities, and community agencies; generating and disseminating research; and actively participating in education reform.