A two-time College of Education graduate will have a chance to earn national recognition after being named the top school superintendent in the state of Alabama.

Trussville City Schools superintendent Dr. Suzanne Freeman, who earned a master's degree in elementary education in 1988 and a doctorate in early childhood education in 1992 from Auburn, was named the state's 2009 Superintendent of the Year.

The School Superintendents of Alabama   announced Freeman's award at a press conference at Hewitt-Trussville High School attended by state Rep. Arthur Payne of Trussville, Trussville Mayor Gene Melton, and members of the school board and city council. As a result of the state honor, the 44-year-old Freeman finds herself in contention for the national superintendent of the y ear award selected by the American Association of School Administrators  .

"I'm honored and humbled,'' Freeman told The Birmingham News.

Freeman will be honored at the Superintendent of the Year luncheon on February 3, 2009, during the School Superintendents of Alabama Legislative Conference in Montgomery. Classworks will provide Freeman with a Superintendent of the Year ring and pay her travel expenses to the AASA National Conference on Education, scheduled for February 19 to 21 in San Francisco. The National Superintendent of the Year will be announced after all of the state winners are recognized at the conference.

"Dr. Freeman has created a leadership team and worked collaboratively, both within the system and within the community to create an urgency to improve the educational opportunities for children,'' said Dr. Susan Lockwood, executive director of the SSA. "This would be a daunting task for many, but for Dr. Freeman it was energizing and stimulating. She unleashed her innovative and creative abilities to empower her leaders and staff, to integrate technologies and technology tools throughout the system, and to continually look for improved opportunities for learning at all levels.''

Before becoming Trussville's first superintendent in 2004, she served in the same capacity for Cullman City Schools for four years. She had previously worked as an assistant principal for Auburn City Schools for three years and as a principal for five.

Her tenure as superintendent in Trussville, a suburb of Birmingham, has been quite eventful. Freeman led the school system through the construction of a new, $70 million Hewitt-Trussville High School and the launch of high school curriculum additions that included the state's first biomedical academy, as well as offerings in law, engineering, information technology, culinary arts, finance, health, construction and business and marketing. Members of the Trussville school board praised Freeman for motivating students to achieve and teachers to employ innovative classroom concepts.

"She believes in equipping teachers with the kind of continuing education and workshops that will infuse them with fresh ideas and teaching methods,'' the Trussville City School Board said in a press release. "It's not enough to have students grasp new information; we want them to understand the broader concepts behind that information.''

Of the 22 SSA state superintendents of the year since 1988, nine hold degrees from Auburn University. In addition to Freeman, these alumni include Dr. J. Terry Jenkins '83 (2005), Thad Morgan '66 (1999), Dr. H. Bruce Wright '63 (1998), Dr. J. Phillip Raley '71 (1997), Dr. Joseph B. Morton '69 (1996), Lance Grissett '63 (1995), Dr. John H. Mosley '58 (1989), and Brandon Sparkman '70 (1988). In addition, past Auburn trustee Dr. Thomas Ingram Jr. was honored in 1990.