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A member of the Martin Methodist College faculty received the Educator of the Year Award from her alma mater, the University of North Alabama, during the school’s 2011 Homecoming festivities.

Dr. Tina Thornton Smith, assistant professor of education, was honored during the annual Alumni Awards Banquet, held Friday, Sept. 23, on the UNA campus in Florence, Ala.

She is 1978 graduate of the school, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in speech, Spanish and music. She returned to UNA for a bachelor of science degree in 1980 and a master’s degree in elementary education in 1988. She also received an education specialist degree and a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from Tennessee State University in 2005.

Smith has been a member of the Martin Methodist faculty since 2008, following a 25-year career as an elementary classroom teacher in Maury County schools. She also has taught in Louisiana and Alabama.

The Educator of the Year Award is presented each year to an alumna or alumnus who has excelled as an educator at the elementary, secondary or college level, either as a teacher or administrator.

Smith has a particular interest in the training of substitute teachers, having served as editor of The SubJournal, which is published by Utah State University, and having been a consultant and a trainer for substitute teachers. She has authored numerous professional articles on the topic and has been a keynote speaker at workshops here and abroad.

She has been active in a variety of professional organizations, both at the state and national level.

A resident of Columbia, Tenn., with her husband, Robert, she has three children, including two daughters who have attended Martin Methodist College: Virginia Thomason, is a 2011 graduate of Martin Methodist; and Victoria Orman is enrolled as a junior at the college.