Rifle, Edwards educators recognized for teaching excellence
By Carrie Click
Dr. Jennifer Wing was doing what all educators know is an integral part of their profession when a gymnasium full of people heard she received Colorado Mountain College’s collegewide full-time Faculty of the Year award – and she was not present.
Wing, who is a professor of English, composition and literature at the college’s Edwards campus, missed hearing her name on May 12 when CMC President and CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser revealed that the Edwards-based educator had won the award. Hauser made the announcement in front of hundreds of the college’s faculty and staff at CMC Day, an annual employee meeting that was held in Glenwood Springs this year.
So why wasn’t Wing able to attend?
“Jenny would be here,” called out Edwards campus Vice President Dr. Kathryn Regjo, as Hauser scanned the audience in the gymnasium where the awards presentation was held. “But she’s still grading final exams!”
On the other hand, Cory Allen was in attendance, and looked surprised and even a little stunned when Hauser asked her to come to the stage to accept a plaque naming her the collegewide adjunct Faculty of the Year. Allen teaches English at CMC’s Rifle campus.
Each year, students, staff and faculty at Colorado Mountain College can nominate one outstanding full-time and one adjunct faculty member from each of the college’s seven campuses and the online learning department. From those honorees, senior administrators then select a collegewide award recipient in each of the two categories, who then represent their peers across the span of the college’s 12,000-square-mile service area.
Great expectations – for students
Although Wing and Allen teach at different campuses, the reasons nominators gave for each of them to receive recognition were quite similar. For both educators, focusing on the needs of students is paramount to effective teaching.
According to Edwards campus Spanish faculty Carol Koch, Wing “holds her students to a high standard and does not waver on this conviction.” Further west, at the Rifle campus, Laura Hardman, campus assistant dean of instruction, noted that Allen’s “students know that she has high expectations for them, and that she is open and understanding at the same time.”
“I have personally heard students rave about Jenny [Wing]’s courses, not because they are easy, but because they are engaging,” said Regjo of the Edwards campus. “She creates a safe environment where students can learn, grow and take some risks.”
Allen creates that same type of atmosphere for learning in her Rifle classes. “Cory is beloved by all of her students because her lessons are interactive and innovative, and she is grounded and approachable,” said Hardman. “She is the best of all worlds, and we are so fortunate to have her on our campus.”
Colorado Mountain College campus Faculty of the Year named
Every year employees and students at each of Colorado Mountain College’s campuses can nominate adjunct and full-time faculty members for the Faculty of the Year Award.
From those campus-level honorees, senior administrators then select a collegewide award recipient in each of those two categories, representing the span of the college’s 12,000 square miles.
Faculty honorees for this year are:
Collegewide and Edwards full time: Jennifer Wing; communications
Collegewide and Rifle adjunct: Cory Allen; English
Aspen adjunct: Bennett Bramson; business
Breckenridge and Dillon full time: Sharon Aguiar; English as a Second Language
Breckenridge and Dillon adjunct: Hana Forest; English as a Second Language and math
Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, Spring Valley full time: Gretchen Lamb; veterinary technology
Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, Spring Valley adjunct: Natasha Williams; computer information systems
Edwards adjunct: Rich Tarmey; business
Leadville and Buena Vista full time: Kent Clement; outdoor recreation leadership
Leadville and Buena Vista adjunct: Jake Mohrmann; natural resource management
Online learning full time: George Cornwall; biology
Online learning adjunct: Louis Beatty; computer information systems
Rifle full time: Nephi Thompson; science
Steamboat Springs full time: Alex Krolik; mathematics
Steamboat Springs adjunct: Christopher Harnden; full-time college counselor, adjunct psychology faculty