Biltmore Who's Who News and Events

Patricia Neill



Biltmore Who's Who Selects Dr. Patricia Neill as this week's Honored Member of the Executive and Professional Registry for 2009.

Dr. Patricia Neill, a former teacher for the past 32 years, and a 2007 retiree of the public school system, is now teaching in the graduate program at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1977, Neill entered the public school system in the state of Tennessee where she was known as Patricia Ragsdale. She was a special education teacher for 7 years, an elementary school principal for 15 years, central office director of special education for 4 years and a superintendent of schools for 4 years. During her 30 year tenure in Tennessee, she worked in the Anderson County, Oak Ridge and Cumberland County school systems.

When Dr. Neill decided to retire, she returned to her hometown to take on an even bigger venture at Samford University. Working in the graduate program, she instructs current teachers or principals that aspire to advance to the next level of school administration in their future careers. "All of my experiences as a practitioner in the field of education bring life to the classroom in the university setting," Neill said. "My students appreciate experiences from the field that directly correlate to class content and educational research."

In 1994, Dr. Neill was named Principal of the Year by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce and in 1999 she received an Excellence in Education Award from Fairview Elementary School where she acted as principal. In 2002, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, her team nominated and helped an autistic child receive a Council for Exceptional Children Academic Award at the state and international levels. In Cumberland County she helped implement the first Pre-K programs using money from the Tennessee Lottery funds and facilitated a $26.5 million building project that included a new high school and the renovation of a historic elementary school to be used as a new central office.

Neill, who also holds an EdD in Educational Leadership from the University of Tennessee, was always inspired by her former teachers at Holman Elementary and Woodlawn High. Dr. Neill plans to continue teaching at Samford University's School of Education, looking forward to the years ahead. In her spare time, Patricia enjoys running, reading, jazzercise, tennis and ballroom dancing.

For more information, please visit http://www. http://www.samford.edu.

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Patricia Neill
posted by Biltmore Who's Who on Monday, September 21, 2009