Georgia Art Education Association Announces 2027 Award Recipients; Names Dr. Stan Dodson as Georgia Art Educator of the Year
WAYNESBORO, GA , September 8, 2026
The Georgia Art Education Association (GAEA) has officially announced its full slate of 2027 Annual Award Winners, recognizing exceptional excellence in visual arts instruction, administration, and community advocacy across the state. Leading this year’s distinguished honorees is Dr. Stan Dodson, who has been awarded GAEA’s highest annual honor: the 2027 Georgia Art Educator of the Year. The annual GAEA awards celebrate outstanding achievements across various educational levels and divisions, including Elementary, Middle School, Secondary, Higher Education, Museum Education, and Administration/Supervision, highlighting individuals whose dedication elevates visual arts education in Georgia’s schools and communities.
Dr. Dodson, a veteran educator, scholar, and visual artist with over 20 years of classroom and administrative experience, currently serves as the Fine Arts Department Chair at Burke County High School, Visual Art Instructor, and Lead Visual Art Coach for Burke County Public Schools. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Augusta University across two Colleges, the College of Education and Human Development and the Pamplin College Department of Art + Design, having previously helped establish the university's Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program and currently teaching as both a humanities and graduate level instructor within CEDHD and Art + Design.
A dedicated leader within the arts community, Dr. Dodson recently completed a six-year executive presidential cycle with GAEA (2019–2025), serving as State President from 2021 to 2023. During his tenure as President, he guided the organization through critical pandemic-era structural transitions, pioneered GAEA's first virtual statewide conferences, and spearheaded a recruitment campaign that expanded membership to over 700 educators, positioning Georgia as one of the top three state art education associations in the nation. His leadership earned him the National Art Education
Association (NAEA) Southeastern Region Award for Largest Membership Growth.
Beyond executive leadership, Dr. Dodson's contributions directly shape public arts education across Georgia. He served on the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) State Visual Arts Standards Revision Committee, created statewide online visual arts curriculum units for GaDOE in 2020, and currently sits on the GaDOE Fine Arts Advisory Board. As GAEA State Legislative Liaison from 2021 to 2023, he advocated directly to policymakers for systemic funding and support for school arts programs.
"Through the arts, minds are developed, meaning is created, and communities are united," said Dr. Dodson. "As art educators, we are granted the special privilege to develop young minds and offer rich experiences. I measure my success by providing students with a full arsenal of tools to explore the world, instructing them to feel free to wander outside the lines, just as my parents allowed me to do, embracing risk, chance and opportunity through process -based exploration. Receiving this recognition from GAEA alongside such an inspiring group of educators is a profound honor."
Dodson has also received other notable awards, including the GAEA Secondary Art Educator of the Year, Burke County Teacher of the Year, Burke County High School Teacher of the Year, Blakeney Elementary School Teacher of the Year, The Morris Museum of Art Outstanding Teacher in the Arts, Golden Apple award winner, and has been named a STAR Teacher twice.
On the national level, Dr. Dodson has represented Georgia as a multi-year Delegate to the NAEA Delegates' Assembly, served on the NAEA Awards Committee, and contributed to the NAEA Position Statement Review Process. An active scholar and presenter, he has authored chapters in academic texts published by Routledge and NAEA, contributed peer reviews for Springer Publishing, and regularly presents at NAEA and GAEA conventions on arts integration, service-learning, and Advanced Placement (AP) studio strategies.
Dr. Dodson holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Innovation from Augusta University, where his dissertation focused on, Issues that matter: Civic discourse through arts-based, critical service learning. Additionally, Dodson holds a Master of Education from the University of Florida, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Ringling College of Art and Design, and certification through the Georgia Teachers Alternative Preparation Program (GaTAPP). Prior to entering education in 2008, he worked for nearly a decade as a graphic artist for The Augusta Chronicle.
Originally from the South Carolina low country, Dr. Dodson's roots in Beaufort, SC, have heavily inspired and driven much of his personal visual art. He currently resides in Augusta, Georgia, with his wife, Michelle, and their two children, Caleb (16) and Hannah (13). The complete class of 2027 GAEA Award recipients, including division-level educators of the year and outstanding arts advocates, will be formally celebrated during the annual GAEA Fall Conference awards ceremony in October.
About the Georgia Art Education Association (GAEA):
Founded in 1970, the Georgia Art Education Association is a non-profit professional organization affiliated with the National Art Education Association (NAEA). GAEA is dedicated to advocating for high-quality visual arts education, advancing curriculum development, and supporting art educators across all educational levels in Georgia. For more information, visit the official GAEA website, www.gaeaartforall.org.
