Dublin Resident, Ohio Wesleyan Professor Elected to Newbery Medal Selection Committee

Amy Mcclure, Ph.D., to Help Choose Nation's Outstanding Children's Book for 2013

DELAWARE, OH (05/18/2011)(readMedia)-- Ohio Wesleyan University professor Amy McClure, Ph.D., an expert in children's literature, will help select the nation's outstanding children's book for 2013.

McClure, 1972 OWU graduate and chair of the university's Department of Education, has been elected to the eight-member Newbery Medal Selection Committee, which presents the prestigious Newbery Medal, the nation's highest honor in children's literature.

The medal, named for 18th century British bookseller John Newbery, is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. The medal is awarded to the author deemed by an elected panel of experts to have made "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

McClure, who joined the Ohio Wesleyan faculty in 1979, is involved in numerous education-related organizations and is a past president for the Children's Literature Assembly, the Children's Literature Board of the International Reading Association, the Ohio Association of Private Colleges for Teacher Education, and the Ohio International Reading Association. She has published six books, including two textbooks, on teaching children's literature.

At Ohio Wesleyan, McClure also serves as director of the early childhood and university honors programs. In addition to her Ohio Wesleyan bachelor's degree, McClure holds a master's degree from Emory University in Atlanta and both master's and doctoral degrees from The Ohio State University.

McClure lives in Dublin, Ohio, with her husband, George "Rusty" McClure, an author, entrepreneur, Ohio Wesleyan instructor, and 1972 university alumnus.

Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier small, private universities, with more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 Division III varsity sports. Located in Delaware, Ohio, just minutes north of Ohio's capital and largest city, Columbus, the university combines a globally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that translate classroom theory into real-world practice. OWU's close-knit community of 1,850 students represents 45 states and 52 countries. Ohio Wesleyan was named to the 2010 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction, is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives," and is included on the "best colleges" lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.

#OWU#