February 06, 2023
Trine University’s Franks School of Education will host Tara Cocanower, Indiana’s
2023 Teacher of the Year, at its annual Excellence in Education Speaker Series on
Feb. 20.
The event will be held from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in Fabiani Theatre inside the Rick L. and Vicki L. James University Center, and will be free and open to the public.
Cocanower is a passionate educator at Bluffton High School, where she teaches world history, Advanced Placement world history and a principles of education course.
Cocanower graduated from Norwell High School before attending the University of Southern Indiana, where she graduated with honors and earned bachelor’s degrees in history and secondary education. She was a member of the women’s golf team and earned all-conference and academic all-American awards.
After college, Cocanower served in Romania in the Peace Corps as an education volunteer from 2008-2010.
She has worked for the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District since 2014, where she is a coach, club sponsor and leader among her fellow teachers.
Cocanower was honored as the 2022 Bluffton-Harrison Teacher of the Year before being named the 2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year. She believes in creating an equitable and engaging learning environment for all students, supporting students’ social-emotional development, enhancing social studies literacy and empowering students to be world-changers.
Trine University students learned about opportunities available with the Purdue Data Mine during a special presentation on April 10 in the Mark and Sarah Music/Ruoff Mortgage Esports Arena.
Trine University has received a lead gift from Dr. Rick L. James, alumnus and chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, and his wife, Dr. Vicki L. James, for a new building to house Trine’s business school.
Trine University’s esports teams won the Block House Esports League MIAA competition Sunday, April 12, the first time Trine has secured the title in back-to-back semesters.