Barbara Caldwell describes herself as a “student-centered” teacher, and now the National Art Education Association has recognized her for her commitment to art education.

“I go the extra mile for my students, and it’s good to be noticed for that,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell, Iowa State professor of art and design, was named the Western Higher Education Art Educator of the Year by the NAEA. She was presented the award at NAEA’s annual convention held in Chicago from April 1-5.

The award recognizes contributions to art education at the higher education level and teaching service to local, regional and national organizations, according to Caldwell.

Jonathan Ogle, graduate student in art and a student of Caldwell’s, agreed that Caldwell’s students are her first priority.

“She’ll always help out students,” Ogle said. “Somehow she’s intuitive; she knows when to help.

“She’s a great humanitarian. If you’re in trouble, she will call you,” he said. “She will work it out … She will be there, and she will stay there.”

Caldwell was named Iowa Art Educator of the Year earlier this year, and she was nominated for the national award by the Art Educators of Iowa, an organization of art teachers in public schools, universities and private colleges across Iowa.

“I don’t think I quite realized what a great award it was until I got there. People told me I was very young to be receiving this award,” Caldwell said. “Many people hope to get it at some point in their career … [Receiving] it helped to motivate me for the next 10 years.”

Caldwell received her bachelor of fine arts degree from Illinois Wesleyan and got her master’s degree in education and her doctorate in art education at Illinois State University. She said it was especially exciting to receive the award at the conference in Chicago because so many of her former students and colleagues were present.

“I had mentors there and students who I was a mentor to,” she said. “It’s really an ongoing legacy of inspiration between teachers and their students.”

Caldwell, whose interests are global perspectives in education, creative thinking, multicultural art education, women artists and ecological art, presented two programs at the convention, along with Ogle.

She said one presentation, “Trash or Treasure,” discussed how to use recyclables in art. Ogle said another presentation titled, “A Cross-cultural Approach to Teaching Ecological Art,” covered different art forms dealing with nature.

Ogle described Caldwell as an engaging speaker. “She brings the audience in with how she describes things,” he said. “Sometimes in a presentation, people will get up and leave — no one got up; they were really engaged with us.”

The convention wasn’t just a time to teach; Caldwell said she learned a lot, too.

“There were so many interesting workshops … you couldn’t possibly have seen them all,” she said. “In addition to all this learning, we also had fun. Trying great ethnic foods and trying to squeeze time in to go to museums.”

Caldwell, who has been at ISU two years, said the greatest reward in her job has been “working with highly-motivated students who really want to improve the quality of life through art education.”

“It’s really important as a teacher to have students that notice the torch, let alone carry it,” she said.

Caldwell, co-director of New Art Basics, also said she appreciates the exchange of ideas between colleagues and teachers in the field who are part of New Art Basics programs. New Art Basics is a graduate program in art education in the College of Design.

“She’s inspirational — she never runs out of energy,” Ogle said. “She juggles hundreds of things at a time.”

“It’s nice to be appreciated,” she said. “Things move fast at a research institution, and it’s nice for people to take time out to give you that pat on the back.”