State education association honors Combs, Zeliff

The Missouri Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) honored one Northwest Missouri State University instructor and one retired professor during an awards ceremony on July 23 at its summer conference.

Crystal Combs

Dr. Nancy Zeliff

The organization honored Crystal Combs, an instructor of computer science and information systems, as its Postsecondary Professional of the Year. Dr. Nancy Zeliff, who retired from Northwest in 2023 as a professor of computer science and information systems, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Postsecondary Professional of the Year Award recognizes career and technical teachers at the postsecondary level who have demonstrated innovation in the classroom, commitment to students and dedication to improvement of the field in their institution and communities. 

Combs began her career as a high school business teacher at Corning High School in Iowa and taught at Northwest Technical School in Maryville before joining the Northwest faculty in 2020. She serves as co-sponsor of Pi Omega Pi Beta Chapter, a business education honor society and advises business education majors, in addition to serving on numerous University committees.

In addition to being a member of Missouri ACTE, she is a member of the National Business Education Association, Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals, and the Missouri Business Education Association. She is serving as Northwest District President for MBEA.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in business education and her master’s degree in instructional technology at Northwest, where she also was a student representative for MBEA.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes professionals in career and technical education for innovations, contributions and their leadership on behalf of ACTE during an extended period of time.

Zeliff taught business education and career and technical education at Northwest for 35 years and was a high school business teacher for five years prior.

She was a member of the Missouri ACTE Executive Board and served in all offices with MBEA She also served in leadership roles at the national level and is an accomplished presenter and author in the field. In March, she was inducted into the Business Education National Hall of Fame. 

Combs and Zeliff received similar recognition last year from the Missouri Business Education Association.

Missouri ACTE supports and promotes individuals interested in career, practical arts, technical and vocational education while encouraging the development and improvement of related educational programs and supportive services. For more information, visit https://mo-acte.org/.