Sears, Kipfer named CMC faculty of the year for Steamboat
By Kristin Carlson
[STEAMBOAT SPRINGS] – Colorado Mountain College biology instructor Becky Sears strives for a balance between challenging and supporting the students in her classroom. “I like it when students think I’m tough and I’m fair,” she said.
That balance has paid off in unexpected ways this year, as Sears was honored as full-time faculty of the year at the college’s Steamboat campus. She now holds the coveted “plastic apple” that is passed like a torch from honoree to honoree.
Her colleague, Susan Kipfer, a math instructor in the developmental education department, was selected as this year’s outstanding adjunct at the campus.
Every year, each of Colorado Mountain College’s seven campuses, as well as the college’s department of online learning, can nominate adjunct and full-time instructors for the faculty of the year award. From those honorees, senior administrators then select a collegewide award recipient in each of the two categories.
Enthusiasm contagious in Sears’ classes
Sears’ colleagues credit her with setting high standards and helping students meet them. Kevin Cooper, instructional chair for math, science and social studies, said a key strength is that Sears is thorough: “She offers review sessions with her students outside of regular class time; it’s almost a brown bag lunch setup.”
Students concur that Sears is dedicated to helping them understand course material. She recognizes that the content she teaches can be difficult, and she strives to help students go beyond earning grades to mastering the information and concepts they’ll need to go on in the sciences.
Sears enjoys working with the students in her classes because they’re typically highly motivated to participate in their own education. “They know why they’re here,” she said. “Students in Anatomy and Physiology in particular are often trying to get into nursing school, and they work hard to make that happen.”
Sears began her career as an educator at Western State College in Gunnison, where she taught for five years. She holds a bachelor’s in environmental biology from Mount Union College in Ohio and a master’s in integrative physiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
“It’s an unusual combination of degrees,” said Sears, “but as it turns out, my background set me up perfectly to teach.”
Her students would agree. In their nomination forms, they note Sears’ enthusiasm and her broad and deep knowledge of her subject. As for Sears, she’s thrilled to be appreciated by students and faculty alike.
Being named faculty of the year was an especially unexpected honor because Sears has only been teaching at Colorado Mountain College for one year. “I was totally surprised,” she said.
Patience key for Steamboat’s adjunct faculty honoree
This year’s adjunct faculty of the year recipient in Steamboat Springs, Susan Kipfer, teaches developmental math classes to help students refresh and strengthen their skills before advancing to higher-level math classes.
Instructional Chair Cooper noted Kipfer’s patience with students as a great strength: “She’s excellent at working one-on-one with students, acting almost as a personal tutor to help each student build a better understanding of the material.”
Kipfer began as an English instructor at Colorado Mountain College, then shifted into developmental math, which she finds particularly rewarding. “A lot of students have fundamental gaps from grade school,” she said. “When they fill in the gaps, they feel better, not just about math, but about themselves.”
If students leave her class with a neutral attitude toward the subject, or, better yet, a positive one, she feels she’s done her job. When asked to share a highlight of her career, Kipfer said: “I tear up at every graduation, as I watch kids that I had two years earlier walk across that stage, just knowing I had a tiny part in it.”