A veteran education professor who wants his students to succeed in their own classrooms received this year's John H. Buchanan award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching at Samford University.

Dr. David C. Little received the award and accompanying $1,000 check from Samford acting provost Dr. Joe Lewis during the school's fall semester opening convocation Tuesday, Aug. 28. Little is director of elementary education in the teacher education department of Samford's Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies. He has taught at Samford since 1988.

Finalist for the award were nominated by members of the 2001 graduating class.

"Students who nominated him consistently spoke both of his willingness to stay late and do whatever necessary to help them succeed, and also of his teaching style which produced classes that were interesting and fun while introducing them to the real world of the elementary school," said Lewis.

Little teaches reading and classroom management courses to undergraduate students and advanced reading to graduate students. He is coordinator of the Samford Summer Institute for Teaching Excellence for outstanding educators and the Horizons program for entering freshmen students.

A Chilton County native, he has chaired the Samford school of education's state accreditation committee and trained teachers on the Alabama Reading Initiative.

A graduate of the University of Montevallo, Little earned a master's degree and doctorate in elementary education at the University of Alabama. He taught in elementary schools in Alabaster and Tuscaloosa before joining the Samford faculty.