Dr. Doris Guay
Dr. Doris M. Guay, Professor Emeritus of Art Education is the recipient of the 2010 Beverly Levett Gerber Special Needs Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Guay has brought attention to students with special needs in the art room through her teaching, writing, and research since 1982.
Dr. Guay’s commitment to teaching is legendary. At Kent State University, she designed and taught courses in Art Education theory and practice and conducted research on approaches to art for students with disabilities. Colleagues describe her passion for teaching, dedication to her students, and her ability to convey the impact art makes on students’ lives. Juliann B. Dorff, a former student and later a Kent State colleague, describes Dr. Guay’s “tireless efforts to update the art education curriculum to address the needs of all children, to publish best practices suggestions for teaching students with special needs, and to expand the Field Experience class to high school and middle school settings that include students with special needs.” Another former student and colleague, Dr. Linda Hoeptner, describes Dr. Guay as “a positive role model and tireless advocate who insisted that all students be treated with dignity and respect. Doris was, and continues to be, nothing short of an inspiration and guiding beacon, not only to me, but also to hundreds of students that have gone through our program successfully and are now in classrooms of their own.”
Dr. Doris Guay is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters about art instruction for all students. Her extensive research, writings, and presentations inform pre-service teachers and classroom teachers across the country. She is co-editor of Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs in Art, published by NAEA in 2006 and her chapter, “Special Needs Students in the Art Room: A Journey,” continues to inspire. Upon reading this chapter, one art professor stated that, “There is enough material in that one chapter to discuss throughout the whole semester.” Guay’s chapter, “Clarifying Roles for Paraeducators in the Art Room” was collaboratively written with Dr. Kent Gerlach, a Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and National Education Association (NEA) national leader about paraeducators. Their chapter is both instructive and ground-breaking. Dr. Guay’s research and writing continues through her chapter, “Collaboration, Constraints, and Considerations: The Paraeducator and Students on the Autism Spectrum,” in NAEA’s new publication Understanding Students with Autism through Art.
Dr. Guay has presented at state, local, and national workshops, conferences, and conventions. She was the Ohio Department of Education’s first consultant in the Arts for the Handicapped and consulted in school districts, designed and implemented workshops and conferences, wrote State curriculum documents, and conducted research. Dr. Guay also secured and administrated Ohio’s grants for Imagination Celebrations, served as a Board Educator, arts team leader, principal, and arts supervisor in the Arts Impact program of Columbus, Ohio Public Schools. Dr. Guay now consults and conducts teacher workshops in art curriculum design, preschool arts for learning, and teaching students with disabilities. Her passion for teaching continues.
Dr. Guay’s commitment to teaching is legendary. At Kent State University, she designed and taught courses in Art Education theory and practice and conducted research on approaches to art for students with disabilities. Colleagues describe her passion for teaching, dedication to her students, and her ability to convey the impact art makes on students’ lives. Juliann B. Dorff, a former student and later a Kent State colleague, describes Dr. Guay’s “tireless efforts to update the art education curriculum to address the needs of all children, to publish best practices suggestions for teaching students with special needs, and to expand the Field Experience class to high school and middle school settings that include students with special needs.” Another former student and colleague, Dr. Linda Hoeptner, describes Dr. Guay as “a positive role model and tireless advocate who insisted that all students be treated with dignity and respect. Doris was, and continues to be, nothing short of an inspiration and guiding beacon, not only to me, but also to hundreds of students that have gone through our program successfully and are now in classrooms of their own.”
Dr. Doris Guay is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters about art instruction for all students. Her extensive research, writings, and presentations inform pre-service teachers and classroom teachers across the country. She is co-editor of Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs in Art, published by NAEA in 2006 and her chapter, “Special Needs Students in the Art Room: A Journey,” continues to inspire. Upon reading this chapter, one art professor stated that, “There is enough material in that one chapter to discuss throughout the whole semester.” Guay’s chapter, “Clarifying Roles for Paraeducators in the Art Room” was collaboratively written with Dr. Kent Gerlach, a Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and National Education Association (NEA) national leader about paraeducators. Their chapter is both instructive and ground-breaking. Dr. Guay’s research and writing continues through her chapter, “Collaboration, Constraints, and Considerations: The Paraeducator and Students on the Autism Spectrum,” in NAEA’s new publication Understanding Students with Autism through Art.
Dr. Guay has presented at state, local, and national workshops, conferences, and conventions. She was the Ohio Department of Education’s first consultant in the Arts for the Handicapped and consulted in school districts, designed and implemented workshops and conferences, wrote State curriculum documents, and conducted research. Dr. Guay also secured and administrated Ohio’s grants for Imagination Celebrations, served as a Board Educator, arts team leader, principal, and arts supervisor in the Arts Impact program of Columbus, Ohio Public Schools. Dr. Guay now consults and conducts teacher workshops in art curriculum design, preschool arts for learning, and teaching students with disabilities. Her passion for teaching continues.