Principal Christopher Garran was honored as one of the Alumni Award winners by the University of Maryland College of Education.


He will be recognized as an Outstanding New Professional at a special ceremony scheduled for Nov. 19 at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, located at the College Park campus. The award is presented to those with outstanding achievements in the field of education within the first 10 years of their career.

“First I thought, ‘Oh, it implies I’m young,’ but the university actually went out of their way to say it has nothing to do with your age and how many years I taught,” said Garran. “It’s great of them to recognize an alumnus every year.”

Eleven others will be recognized at the ceremony along with Garran, who include principals and teachers from across the state, as well as authors, motivational speakers and academic scholars.

Garran was nominated by Dr. Francine Hultgren, Acting Chair and Professor in the Department of Education Policy and Leadership in the College of Education, where Garran was awarded a Ph.D. in 2004. A committee of professors and deans chose Garran from other nominees.

“His credentials and accomplishments make him a very worthy recipient of the award for Outstanding New Professional,” said Pat Constantino, the Director of Alumni Relations at University of Maryland College Park.

Since becoming principal in the October of 2004, Garran has made noteworthy implementations, such as the Minority Scholars Program and the Access2College program, as well as providing an opportunity for seniors to enroll in college courses taught by University of Maryland professors. He has also been overseeing the modernization of the campus for the past several years.

Foreign language teacher Katherine Baird and social studies teacher Esther Adams have also been recently recognized as notable alums. Adams was recognized as an Outstanding Teacher from Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia and Baird received the Marcellus Waddill Excellent in Teaching Award, as well as $20,000 from Wake Forest University. This cash prize was highly talked about in the community.

“[Baird] got $20,000!” said Garran. “What am I getting, a plaque? She’s a fantastic teacher, very dedicated class sponsor for the seniors, so I was happy to help her out with her nomination last year, which was well deserving.”

Garran taught as a social studies teacher from 1992-2001, teaching subjects such as Model United Nations, Economics and Philosophy. Although he may be “top dog” now, to fulfill his passion for education, he teaches one course per semester.