Curtis Ulmer

Hall of Fame Class of 1996

During his career, Curtis Ulmer developed three different adult education programs that were new in the geographic area where they were developed. Each program represented a different facet of adult education and has survived and grown over the years. He began an Evening College at Meridian Municipal Junior College, primarily for veterans of WWII. As the program grew, he planned and implemented a non-credit program for the community. He volunteered as a teacher for several years in one of the program's components, a High School Completion section. It was the forerunner of the current ABE program.

He became the first State Coordinator of Adult Basic Education in Florida. During the two years he held the position, his time was primarily devoted to setting up contracts with various counties in Florida to implement the section of the Economic Opportunity Act pertaining to literacy education. He played a leadership role in several experimental federal programs, including migrant education.

He joined the faculty of the College of Education, University of Georgia, where he was responsible for beginning a new Department of Adult Education. Beginning with two faculty members, the department has grown into one of the most prominent in the U.S.