Type Of Business:
University
Marketing Area:
International
Expertise:
Dr. Akanbi's areas of expertise include reading education, curriculum development and instruction.
Major Product/SVS:
Higher Education
Favorite Business Publication:
Reading Research Quarterly; Reading Today; Phi Delta Kappan; Empowering Women
Hobbies/Sports:
Writing, Reading, Traveling, Aerobics, Selling and Promoting Health and Beauty Products
Education Degrees:
Post-Doctoral Study, University of Georgia (1986); Doctorate in Reading Education, University at Buffalo, SUNY (1978); Master's Degree in Reading, University at Buffalo, SUNY (1971); Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, West Virginia State University (1966)
Affiliations Awards:
Leadership Cobb Alumni Association, Cobb Chamber of Commerce; National Reading Conference; National Association for Multicultural Education; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; Oxford Round Table, England; Phi Delta Kappa; International Reading Association; Contributor, International Reading Association
Industry:
Higher Education
Date of Distinction:
2/24/2010
What do you feel separates you from the rest of the professionals in your industry?:
Dr. Akanbi’s knowledge and dedication separates her from her peers.
What has been the most outstanding thing you have done thus far in your career?:
Dr. Akanbi's greatest career achievements were developing a diagnostic reading test, an M.Ed. program in reading education, serving as chairwoman of an academic department, directing and designing minority teacher-scholar programs, and presenting scholarly papers at international conferences.
Throughout the duration of your career, what was the one highlight that stood out the most?:
The highlight of her career was receiving her doctorate in reading education.
Charity:
Board Member, Ben Hill United Methodist Church Christian Academy; The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; American Diabetes Association; The Institute of Cancer Research
Number Of Years In Profession:
41
Number Of Years In Current Position:
41
What Does He/She Attribute Success To:
She attributes her success to her self-motivation and to the support she receives from her parents.
Why did you become involved in your profession or industry?:
She became involved in her profession because of her childhood desire to become a teacher.
Extended Bio Profile:
Dr. Akanbi hopes that she can inspire more young people to enter the teaching field, so that they can become agents of change for the improvement of education across the world. She has enjoyed both the challenges and successes of her career as an educator. The challenges have made her stronger, and the successes have been affirming. As a college administrator, she gained an appreciation for focusing on the 'big picture' for the good of the organization, while simultaneously maintaining unit goals. She also learned about the importance of morale and team-building. As an educator, she has learned that education is a life long process. It certainly does not stop with a terminal degree. Also, once a person is an educator, they will always be an educator. Dr. Akanbi believes that she has truly been blessed and the Lord continues to order her steps each and every day. Her international travels, especially to third-world countries, has heightened her awareness of how important it is to provide educational expertise and resources to help meet the goals of education for all in the 21st century. She is motivated to get more involved with this effort. Dr. Akanbi was a department chairwoman and taught elementary education, early childhood education as well as reading education. She also served as the director of a reading institute for four years. She is an independent consultant for Arbonne International and also an independent reading consultant specializing in remedial reading and multicultural, multilingual literacy development and instruction. She delivers public speeches on reading and multicultural educational topics for the world congress. She thinks that all knowledgeable and dedicated teachers who teach from the heart are cut from the same basic pattern. She believes that what makes them different from one another are the different textures that they choose and rearrange to make their imprint on the students that they teach. She has always tried to be creative in her teaching, whether she is teaching a course for the first time or the twentieth time, and whether she is teaching elementary, undergraduate, or graduate students. She has always tried to stay abreast of research to stay on the cutting edge, so that she could bring fresh approaches to learning.
Position Responsibilities and Duties:
Teaching Graduate and Undergraduate Courses in Reading Education, Conducting Educational Research, Writing, Developing Curriculum
Awards/Honors:
Partnership Award, Kennesaw State University; Distinguished Graduate Teaching Honor, Kennesaw State University; Distinguished Graduate Scholarship Award, Kennesaw State University; Marquis Who's Who in American Education; Marquis Who's Who in America; Marquis Who's Who of American Women; Who's Who in the World; Premiere Who's Who International