Downs honored with Superintendent of the Year recipients

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Philip Downs, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of education graduate programs for Trine University’s Franks School of Education, recently was honored along with other state Superintendent of the Year winners for 2020 and 2021.

Downs was named Indiana’s Superintendent of the Year in 2020 by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents (IAPSS), a nonprofit professional organization serving superintendents and other school administrators, professors of education, students studying educational administration and retired superintendents.

At the time he was named, Downs was serving as superintendent for Southwest Allen County Schools.

He received his award from IAPSS in Indianapolis on Dec. 6, 2019, and was invited with other state award winners to attend the national Superintendent of the Year gala hosted by the AASA, the School Superintendents Association. The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the 2021 event, held Nov. 3 at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C., honored recipients from both 2020 and 2021.

Downs credited the “exceptional” team at Southwest Allen County Schools for the award, and said he looks forward to impacting future educators through his extensive experience in education and his network of professionals.

“I am excited to be able to help train future educators and to connect the superintendents of Indiana with the great team at the Franks School of Education to work together to develop innovative solutions to some of education's pressing problems,” he said.

Photo: A photo from the AASA, the School Superintendents Association, shows the 2020 Superintendents of the Year who were honored Nov. 3. Philip Downs, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of education graduate programs for Trine University’s Franks School of Education, is in the back row, third from the right.

Last Updated: 01/04/2022