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EDWARDSVILLE - Retired Edwardsville School Superintendent Ed Hightower has received the Outstanding Commitment in Education award from Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs.
Hightower, the vice chair of the Southern Illinois University System Board of Trustees, spent his entire career as an educator and NCAA college basketball referee.
“We wanted to honor Ed for his great contributions to Illinois,” Frerichs said during a Black History Month awards ceremony at the State Treasurer’s Office in Springfield. “Dr. Hightower’s leadership in education at all levels has made our state a better place to live and raise a family.”
Hightower, who was unable to attend the award ceremony, served as superintendent of the Edwardsville School District #7 for 19 years. When he retired, enrollment had grown from about 5,000 to about 7,000 with a slew of accomplishments in academics, athletics, and performing arts.
Supervising more than $160 million in school construction during bis tenure, Hightower raised millions of dollars from private sources to build a wrestling center and aquatic center with an Olympic-sized pool, as well as funding computer upgrades through the Technology in the 21st Century Classroom Initiative.
In addition, he is a past longtime member of the Lewis and Clark Community College and Southern Illinois University Boards of Trustees, where he recently was reappointed. The award from Treasurer Frerichs is the latest honor for Hightower, who previously has been named Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Alumni Hall of Fame, National Distinguished Principal of the Year and the Illinois Principal of the Year Award.
Hightower graduated from Alton High School and attended SIU Edwardsville. He started refereeing intramural basketball for $1.25 a game and refereed NCAA basketball for 36 years, including 12 Final Four Championships. He represented the U.S. at the World Championship of Basketball in South America and the Goodwill Games in Russia in 1993, where Europeans chose him as neutral referee for their championship game. He is a recipient of the Naismith Award for College Official of the Year and has been inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
Hightower served as the First Executive Director of the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities, founded in 2015 to promote mutual understanding and respect among people of different cultures, races, and ethnicities.
He started the Leadership Council of Madison County Leadership Council and the Madison County Law Enforcement Task Force, collaborating to improve communication and better relationships between law enforcement and Madison County citizens. The initiative resulted in addition of African Americans, women, and other minorities to the law enforcement workforce.
Hightower received his bachelor’s, master’s, and specialist’s degrees from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and his doctorate in education administration from St. Louis University.
Black History Month is a national effort started in 1926 by University of Chicago graduate, author and educator Carter G. Woodson. In 1976, the annual celebration was expanded to a month. This year’s Black History Month theme is “African Americans and Labor.”
Here is a list of the other people Treasurer Frerichs honored:
Outstanding Service in Business
Jeremy Bell
Co-Owner | Bells’ Finest BBQ, Springfield, and Director of Vocational Services at Sparc
Outstanding Service in Leadership
Jesse White
Former Illinois Secretary of State | Founder, Jesse White Tumblers
Outstanding Commitment in Community Service
Riley L. Owens III
Former Mayor | City of Centreville
Outstanding Commitment as an Elected Official
Hon. Doris Turner
Illinois State Senator | 48th District
Outstanding Achievement in Workforce and Labor
Terance Henry
Chair | Southern Illinois Workforce Development Board
Outstanding Achievement in Sportsmanship
A.J. Guyton
Retired NBA Player | Director of Athletics for Peoria Public Schools District 150
Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Humanities
Preston Jackson
Sculptor, Art Educator, Gallery Owner | Professor Emeritus, School of the Art Institute
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