RADFORD – Esteemed educator and children’s author Gloria Houston will present a free public workshop, “Preserving and Writing Family Oral Histories,” on Thursday, April 17, 1 - 2:15 p.m. in the Bonnie Auditorium.

Born in Avery County, N.C., Houston grew up in a country store instead of a house. Many of her stories are about her family and her experiences growing up in North Carolina. For the workshop, she will present approaches to writing family histories.

Houston will be on campus as a featured presenter for the McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching, for which she will present a lecture, “My Great Aunt Arizona and the Legacy of Teaching,” at 4:30 p.m. on April 17.

Houston has won more than 40 national awards for her books. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree (1988) was named a Best Book of the Decade by the American Library Association’s Book List. My Great Aunt Arizona (1992) received the Medal of Merit from the Family Channel. Houston is a Distinguished Educator of the International Reading Association and a winner of the Excellence in Literacy Education Award from Partnerships in Education. She has taught from the elementary to the doctorate level, has served as a writing consultant for local, state and national schools and organizations, and currently sits on the international Board of Governors of Computer Pals Around the World, an organization dedicated to achieving world peace through electronic communication.

The McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching honors past and present winners of the McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence and all public school teachers in the region. Virginia Secretary of Education Thomas R. Morris will be the keynote speaker for the McGlothlin Awards ceremony. The McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching is hosted by the McGlothlin Foundation of Bristol, Va., Blue Ridge PBS, and Radford University.

To learn more about the family history workshop, e-mail dgrose4@radford.edu.

To learn more about the McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching and the McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence, visit www.radford.edu/mcglothlin or call (540) 831- 5800.