Brock Education Professor Coral Mitchell was recently recognized for her immense contributions to the study of educational administration and leadership in Canada.

Mitchell received the prestigious 2017 Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Association for the Study of Educational Administration (CASEA) at its recent annual meeting in Toronto.

The award, received May 30, caps a 22-year Brock career for Mitchell, who retires on July 31.

Mitchell’s impressive record of service and academic achievements more than meets the award’s extensive criteria. This includes research, publications and teaching; mentoring graduate students, preparing curriculum and teaching materials; active involvement in other educational leadership organizations; and active service related to educational administration.

Mitchell called it meaningful to be honoured by her Canadian counterparts.

“The context to my career — really my mission and specialty in everything that I have done — has been to encourage and support Canadian-built scholarship and practice,” she says. “Canada is unique and Canadian educators have a lot to offer. It’s important we tell Canada’s story.”

With retirement nearing, Mitchell has spent time recently looking back at what she describes as an “absolutely fabulous career.

“From the moment when I first came to Brock, I have received all kinds of support and encouragement,” she says. “I’ve always had the freedom to build my career in a way that was right for me and was right for the students, programs and Faculty that I was serving. I have had opportunities that I never dreamed possible, and I feel very honoured.”

Faculty and staff in the Faculty of Education praise Mitchell as an exemplary colleague.

“Coral was my first Departmental Chair, and I am deeply appreciative to her for her mentorship and leadership,” says Associate Professor Ann-Marie DiBiase. “Her work and dedication to teaching and service will never be forgotten, and will remain imprinted in our Faculty and University for years to come.”

Mitchell’s administrative roles included service as the Chair of the Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education and the Graduate Program Director for the Master of Education International Students Program at Brock University, and the Vice-President, Program Chair, and President of CASEA.  She has also served on numerous Department, Faculty, BUFA, and University committees, including a five-year stint on the Academic Review Committee, for which she was one of the inaugural members.

“The award is a wonderful and fitting recognition of the magnitude of Coral’s lifetime achievements and her leadership in the field of education,” says David Siegel, Interim Dean, Faculty of Education.

The weeks leading to Mitchell’s retirement have been filled with tributes.  She felt particularly privileged to be given the opportunity to address the Faculty of Education graduating class during Brock’s recent Spring Convocation ceremonies.

In her remarks, she shared the life-changing lessons that have guided her success and she described the most memorable aspects of her University experience as those that came from activities that were personally meaningful.

“The university opens many potential doors of service to its graduates but it cannot determine how and where you will invest your talents or expend your energy,” she said. “Only you can determine the meaning in the pathways you might follow and only you can determine the purposes that you find meaningful enough to serve.”

She ended her remarks with a parting wish for the graduating students.

“My life of service has been devoted to you and the students who preceded you at Brock University. You are the legacy of which I am most proud,” she said. “May you have the good fortune to build a career, a life and a legacy that is meaningful and as satisfying as mine has been.”

Mitchell is retiring to her home province of Saskatchewan.

“I will miss teaching and I will miss the students and my colleagues tremendously. I expect to stay busy and stay engaged and I look forward to seeing where life takes me next.”