Distinguished Achievement in a Profession 

Alumnae Award winner during Alumnae Weekend 2019.

Professor Mitchell, Dr. Mitchell, Dean Mitchell. After nearly half a century in higher education, Beverly Ford Mitchell’s accomplishments and credentials demonstrate her commitment to the highest standards in the fields of teacher preparation and curriculum assessment and have earned her many distinguished honorifics.  

After graduation Beverly returned to Wesleyan in 1970 with a master’s degree from Michigan State University and taught for fourteen years in the Department of Health and Physical Education. She became a full professor and served a term as President of the Faculty. Upon earning a Ph.D. in Motor Learning from Florida State University, Beverly joined the faculty of Kennesaw State University, beginning her rise to leadership in the world of assessment and accreditation.

For the next thirty years, Beverly committed herself to excellence in teaching and to the critical area of curriculum assessment. First at KSU and then at colleges and universities across the nation, Beverly helped teacher education programs develop curriculum, analyze data, and design valid measures of assessment. As chair of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (now CAEP) Board of Examiners, Dr. Mitchell conducted site visits and led accreditation reviews. Elected President of the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education (NAKHE), she travelled the country, evaluating both graduate and undergraduate programs to ensure the establishment of curriculum rigor and accountability. Since 2003 Dr. Mitchell has been a member of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC), serving on the Board of Examiners, the group charged specifically with the accreditation of Georgia teacher preparation programs. Additionally, she has held numerous leadership positions with both the American and the Georgia Alliances for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance; the Georgia Education Research Association; and with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. She has facilitated program reviews, received grants, and authored scores of scholarly articles, all of which have positioned her among the most respected leaders in her field. 

Along the way, Beverly has been recognized with numerous awards: the KSU President Betty Siegel Award, 2000 and the “Joy of Effort” Award, National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2001. In 2016 she became the first honoree of a prize, named for her, given by the Georgia Assessment Directors Association: the “Beverly Ford Mitchell Award for Distinguished Service.” In 2019, she was named a Fellow of NAKHE.  

In 2014 Beverly retired from KSU as Professor Emerita, Associate Dean for Assessment and Accreditation. An oak table at KSU bears a plaque memorializing Dr. Mitchell as the “Queen of Assessment,” a fitting honor for a professional role she fulfilled with exactitude and integrity. 

Once asked to name her three favorite words, Beverly quietly replied, “Humility, discernment, and gratitude.” The three very words others have used to describe the way in which she always has lived her life: with humility, discerning wisdom, and a grateful heart.

Beverly has shared her multiple gifts with Wesleyan as well. In addition to serving as a current Trustee and member of the Society for the Twenty-first Century, she has also served as an Alumna Trustee on the alumnae association’s Board of Managers.

The Wesleyan College Alumnae Association is proud to name Dr. Beverly Ford Mitchell the 2019 recipient of the alumnae award for Distinguished Achievement in a Profession.