Dr. Ron Saunders '70, known as the 2008 Georgia's superintendent of the year and a "tech-savvy" K-12 administrator, added the tile of College of Education outstanding alumnus to a growing list of accoldates in April 2008.

Saunders, who earned a bachelor's degree in social science education, has held many positions during his career in education.  Currently superintendent of Barrow County Schools in Widner, Ga., since 1998, he has been a teacher, assistant principal, principal and staff development director.  Prior to Barrow County Schools, Saunders served as superintendent of Huntsville City Schools for seven years.

Barrow County Schools has greatly benefitted from Saunders' guidance and vision.  Under his leadership, the school system has dramatically increased teacher retention rate, reduced student dropout percentage and increased the professional learning opportunities for teachers.  In May 2007, the school system received an "exemplary" rating from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Saunders' work has hardly gone unnoticed.  He was recently selected by the Georgia School Superintendents Association as its 2008 Georgia Superintendent of the Year.  He was also named one of the nation's top 10 most "tech savvy" K-12 executives in 2008 by eSchool News for his outstanding ed-tech leadership and vision.

Saunders has also been active within Auburn University's College of Education.  He has served on the college's National Advisory Council since 2002, and he and his wife, Kathy are members of the Dean's Circle.  In 1994, with his mother and siblings, he helped establish the Ronald Saunders Endowed Scholarship, which honors the memory of his father, a 1947 COE graduate and 1985 recipient of the college's Outstanding Alumnus Award.