Obituary of Shirley Robards

Shirley Jean (Needs) Robards, 70, died Monday, April 27, 2009. Born February 11, 1939 in Marietta, Ohio the daughter of Lloyd and Imojean (Ballard) Needs. Dr. Robards received her B.A. in Elementary Education from Kentucky Wesleyan College; her M.A. from Western Kentucky University in Administration and Sociology; and her Ed.D. from Indiana University in Elementary Reading, Diagnostic Reading and Language Arts. She was an elementary and middle school teacher for 8 years in Kentucky and Indiana prior to coming to the School of Education at the University of Tulsa in 1972. During Dr. Robards tenure at TU she was Program Coordinator in Elementary Education (1972-1990), Assistant Professor (72-75), Associate Professor (75 to present), acting Program Coordinator, Early Childhood Education (80-81), chair, Division of Professional Teacher Education (75-81), Coordinator of Field Experiences, College of Education (83-85), chair, Department of Professional Education (83-85), Coordinator of Field Services, College of Education (85-present), Principal Investigator TU GEAR UP project I (99-05) and Principal Investigator TU GEAR UP Project II ('05-'11). While at TU, Dr. Robards was faculty sponsor, Tulsa Student Education Association ('74-'07), chair of Undergraduate Committee on Admission and Retention to Teacher Education ('76-'06). Presidential appointee and chair, University Appeals Committee ('77-'86), chair and member of the Council on Academic Affairs ('81-'83), Coordinator State Regents Scholarship Program, member University Teacher Education Council ('72-'04), chair, Faculty Development Committee ('97-'00), chair, Admission and retention Committee ('99-'07). Dr. Robards is past international vice president, national president and Oklahoma regional director of Phi Delta Kappa; past national president of Association Teacher Educators (ATE); past national vice-president of Kappa Delta Pi; past president of OK Association of Teacher Educators (OATE), Delta Kappa Gamma; distinguished member Oklahoma Teacher Educators; National Council Teachers of Mathematics; International Reading Association; Tulsa and Oklahoma Reading Council; Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Educator. Dr. Robards was co-director of an Educational Seminar in the USSR in 1990 and was recipient of 70 National Leaders in Teacher Education, ATE in 1990. She was listed in Who's Who of American Women ('83, '97 &amp; '98), Who's Who in the World ('95 &amp;'97), Who's Who in American Education ('96, '03 &amp;'07), Dictionary of International Biography ('76-'77, '80-'81 &amp;'98), Who's Who in Oklahoma ('75) and Leaders in Education ('74). Dr. Robards was a judge for the Outstanding Teacher Panel with Tulsa World and Facett Enterprises ('84), member of the Executive Board, Tulsa Reading Council ('03-'05), Chair, Oklahoma Selection Committee Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year ('06-'07), member of Southland Civitan Club. Dr. Robards was the first elected chair, Oklahoma Cooperative for Clinical Experiences in Teacher Education, consortium, Tulsa Public Schools ('76,'77,'82 &amp;'83) and was a consultant for the Tulsa Public School Staff Development Council ('85-'86). She served as the School of Education's link to many public and private schools in the Tulsa area placing hundreds of TU students as teachers in K-12 schools. GEAR UP was her passion over the past decade, as she proposed and received federal grants in excess of $2 million dollars in an effort to increase college enrollment of Tulsa middle and high school students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. She wrote the curricula, trained the teachers, and became personally involved in escorting the students on field trips across the country to expose them to technical fields in an effort toward college preparation. She married Frank Henry Robards on June 25, 1959 in Poole, Kentucky. They were members of Boston Avenue United Methodist Church. Survivors: Husband, Frank; her daughter, Linda Bull and her husband Darrell of Tulsa; her Grandchildren: Madeline and Mitchell Bull; her Sisters: Janet Brunsen of Louisville, KY and Beverly Omer of Nashville, TN; her Brothers: Wayne Needs of Owensboro, KY and Ken Needs of Kansas City, KS. The Family will receive friends from 6-8 on Thursday at the Ninde Brookside Funeral Home. Funeral service will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 1st in the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Shirley Robards Memorial Fund, The University of Tulsa Office of Institutional Advancement, 800 S. Tucker DR, Tulsa, OK 74104-9700. &nbsp; Simply click here: <a href="http://www.epartnersingiving.com/shirleyjeanneedsrobardsNinde" target="http://www.epartnersingiving.com/shirleyjeanneedsrobardsNinde ">http://www.epartnersingiving.com/shirleyjeanneedsrobardsNinde </a>Brookside&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 918.742.5556 <p></p>