Faculty Instructional Awards Announced

Kalamazoo Valley’s 2014 Faculty Instructional Awards were announced during Seminar Days at the start of the fall semester. This year’s winners were respiratory care practitioner program instructor Al Moss; communications instructor Patrick Conroy; math instructor Nicole Newman; calculus instructor Michael Raines; biology instructor Darryl Chapman; and political science instructor Uisoon Kwon.

The awards are meant to recognize teaching excellence. Students and staff nominate candidates in the annual contest. This is the fourth year the awards have presented to instructors who actively encourage students’ intellectual curiosity, engage them in the enterprise of learning, and have a life?long impact.

Kevin Dockerty, who serves on the selection committee, said hundreds of nominations were received for consideration this year. Each instructor received a framed certificate and a gift bag. Their names are also being added to a commemorative plaque that will be displayed at the Texas Township Campus.

Al Moss

Respiratory care faculty member Al Moss was praised by many. “I would be hard pressed to name a person that has made a bigger impression on my academic life than Al Moss,” a former student said. “He consistently goes out of his way to make the educational experience at KVCC a positive one, by always being exceptionally prepared, kind, honest, and full of integrity. As a bonus, his knowledge base in our curriculum could not possibly be rivaled by any other instructor . . . I was a struggling student for years floating through various ideas of what I wanted to become, but when I took my first class with Mr. Moss I was immediately sure that this was a field to be passionate about. If any student ever needs extra help or time learning a concept he will do whatever it takes, including taking time out of his own astonishingly busy schedule to meet with them.”

Pat Conroy

“I had Pat Conroy several years ago for Public Speaking, which was a required class for my degree,” one of his nominators said. “Pat facilitated an environment that was comfortable and made speech welcoming to the entire class. He was able to bring a positive attitude to help us develop a very critical element that we need as people, and let’s face it, most people don't care for public speaking but we all need to be able to do it. Pat was willing to work with us in whatever way we needed so that we would be successful, and he always brought stories and laughs to every class. He gave me the best hang over cure, and one of the best classes of my career. I took another class that he taught after that just because I wanted to; it didn't benefit my major but that didn't matter. Pat Conroy's hard work and dedication to his students deserves to be recognized.”

Nicole Newman

Nicole Newman was praised for her caring attitude. “I am nominating Ms. Newman because she engaged me in the process of learning,” one contest entry said, “She also made the class worth going to by controlling the learning environment. Out of all the teachers I have had for the last five semesters, she is the one that comes to mind when I think of a great teacher. She is a teacher that I have and will continue to recommend to others. She takes her teaching ability seriously and is committed to helping each and every student that seeks her help. She has deserved my nomination.

She has really made my journey through math quite pleasant for me, together with her knowledge, kindness and charisma. If you fail her class it’s all on you. She gives all the tools and opportunities to achieve your goal. If you don’t then that is really on you for taking advantage of her gifts.”

Michael Raines

Michael Raines was complimented for the way he makes learning about math fun. “Dr. Raines is the greatest educator I've ever had, across all my levels of education,” one of his nominations reads,”Knowledge and passion for his craft emanates from him like an aura, and critically he has an absolute natural gift of directing it straight into his students' minds. You'll never feel more confident in an exam than you do in his classes. No instructor is more universally acknowledged and liked by their students than he (look no further than how quickly his classes fill!). Combined with a near-endless supply of bemusing (and surprisingly educational) anecdotes, and the utter devotion he gives to his students, both inside and outside of the classroom, you have the best instructor on campus, and the best I've ever had. When a friend asks me for scheduling advice, I tell them to get whatever math class they need with Dr. Raines, and then go from there, because a class with Raines is one of the best educational decisions that they will ever make.”

Uisoon Kwon

A student who is a former Marine and a former instructor shared thoughts on Uisoon Kwon’s teaching abilities. “Mr. Kwon is an amazing instructor. I spent 11 years in the Marines, bits and pieces of three years in college. I've dealt with many different teachers and instructors in my life, to include training and certifying over 70 while I was an instructor in the Marine Corps. Mr. Kwon has an innate ability to put learning objectives into relative terms no matter who the student is. His instructional methods are virtually flawless. Not only is he on top of classroom instruction, he gives all the tools to every student to further their understanding of any subject.”

Darryl Chapman

One of Darryl Chapman’s students called him the most genuine and caring instructor on campus. “In my two years at KVCC, and many classes taken to reach my goals I have never met a professor who was so passionate and caring about their students and the field of study in which they were teaching. Darryl is the most genuine professor and even the most caring faculty member I have encountered at my time here at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. No one deserves this award more than Darryl and I know every other student who was came into contact with him would agree. Never in my four years of high school would I have said I enjoyed a biology class, but Darryl completely changed my outlook on the science field and especially my view on biology.”