Judith Love’s lifelong desire for excellence, and legacy as a teacher and principal, continues to influence Jennings County educators.
Love, a long-time member of the Jennings County School Corporation, died from illness in April of 2019. Soon after she passed, the new professional development center was named in her honor.
Indiana teachers are required to complete certain classroom trainings, which is one of the many purposes of the center.
“Before the center was opened, teachers and staff had no convenient and ready place to have meetings or classes,” JCSC Superintendent Teresa Brown said. “We worked a long time to find space and make it ready, and Judy passed away around the same time we were ready to name it.”
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The development center is located in the old Jennings County Middle School Building on South Webster Street in North Vernon.
Now called the Jennings County Educational Center, the building is also used for adult learning classes. Some JCSC staff offices are also in the center.
A large room, which once served as the school building’s cafeteria, has been converted into the Judy Love Professional Development Center.
“They really worked hard to do this right,” JCEC Adult Education Coordinator Crystol Cross said.
According to Cross, who opens and closes the room for events, the development center is very busy with scheduled meetings and classes.
“It’s really nice for them because you can move the furniture to accommodate different occasions,” Cross said. “It’s usually set up to hold 50 people, but if you move things around, I think you can fit about 75 people in here.”
According to JCSC Superintendent’s Assistant Debbie Andis, who schedules the availability, the center is used almost every school day and some evenings for either a meeting or teachers instruction.
“I did not know Judy well personally, but I do know that she touched teachers, staff and the students very deeply,” Andis said. “I also understand that it was very important to her that her staff continued to develop professionally and she encouraged them to do just that, It seemed natural that the center should be named for her.”
Love Graduated from New Albany High School in 1970 and completed a bachelor’s degree in 1974 from Indiana University Southeast. She went on to complete a master’s in education at IU in Columbus and an additional master’s in curriculum and administration from IU in Bloomington.
Love began teaching at St Mary’s School in North Vernon before joining, JCSC where she served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. She also served as a senior associate for the Schlechty Center in Louisville.
Love received many awards for her work in education including Indiana District 15 Principal of the Year and Indiana Principal of Year in 2001 and the National Distinguished Principal Award in 2002. She also received the Kentucky Colonel Award and the Sunshine Award for her work with children of many disabilities.
“Every since she was a small child, Judy had to do things just so,” Evelyn Bunch, Love’s mother, said. “It wasn’t enough that they were OK, they had to be done right and she was like that her whole life. She loved helping people learn and she loved helping people be better.””
Bunch said she thinks it’s wonderful the schools are remembering Love by naming the center after her.
“Education was such an important part of her life,” she said. “She had so much more to give but she ran out of time, this way her work will keep on going.”
