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TOMBALL, Texas – Lone Star College-Tomball has announced its 2018-2019 Excellence Awards. The awards recognize faculty members and staff who have made exceptional contributions to the college.  A committee of their peers selected the four full-time faculty members, four adjunct faculty members, and five members of the staff to receive the esteemed honor. 

“Revealing who the faculty selected as excellent peers is a highlight of each fall semester, said Dr. Lee Ann Nutt, President of LSC-Tomball. “Celebrating each other’s accomplishments is an important value at LSC-Tomball, and I congratulate those who have earned the praise and acknowledgement of their fellow faculty.”

[A complete list of 2018-2019 Excellence Award recipients follows the article.]

An established and formal nomination process identifies and nominates the faculty and staff members judged exemplary for their excellence in scholarship, service, and are deserving of recognition for the quality of their contributions to the college. 

“The winners are all seasoned educators,” said Cory Colby, who headed up the full time faculty awards process for LSC-Tomball. “Which actually I love, because that implies these are people who, while their veteran educators, are still high performers in the classroom.”

Faculty members can't nominate themselves, so potential candidates are suggested by other faculty members, staff, and students.   The successful recipients are selected based on several core criteria which include the instructor’s use of creative or clever ideas to help students learn, mentoring in and outside of the classroom, and involvement in community and college activities.  Recipients also met a high standard for commitment and contribution to student success, a high priority in LSC-Tomball’s mission statement and goals.

“I was literally blown away when a colleague sent me a congratulatory text which was my notification of this honor,” said Dr. Annie Benifield, 2018 Faculty Excellence Award Recipient, Department Chair and professor of government. “Students are the primary motivation that propels me in the academic arena and creates the incentive for me doing this job.”

Dr. Steven Prewitt, Faculty Excellence Award Recipient and professor of history, said being recognized by his peers was most significant, “It is especially humbling to receive an award from those who know best what I do and what educating the human mind is about.”

In addition to the four full-time faculty recipients there were four Adjunct Faculty Excellence Awards winners.  Adjunct instructor for Japanese Language, Naoko Okazaki Brogan, was surprised and greatly honored by her selection.  She comes from a family of educators making the recognition especially meaningful.

“Both of my parents were educators in Japan.  I grew up with their philosophy that educators are important for society and that one of greatest things is to be a teacher,” she said. “My students also inspire me with their passion to learn.”

Adjunct Faculty Award recipient Jennifer Fairweather attended Lone Star College-Tomball in 1988 when it was known as North Harris County.  An English professor inspired and encouraged her, “I can't tell you the academic lessons that I learned that summer; however, I can tell you the life lessons that I learned.”

“Practice those things that are difficult,” Fairweather said, “And you will become stronger.  Just keep going one step at a time even if it’s a baby step.  Learn to compensate for your weakness and don't let it stop you.  That same culture continues to be encouraged thirty years later, and I am proud to now be a part of this college system in hopes of inspiring other students.”  

The LSC-Tomball Excellence Awards recipients were formally recognized during the Lone Star College employee awards ceremony earlier this month.  The names of the winning full-time faculty will be submitted to the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Awards program which provides member colleges an opportunity to recognize individuals doing extraordinary work on their campuses.  They will also be eligible for nomination for a Minnie Stevens Piper Award, an annual award that recognizes teaching excellence at the college level.

Faculty Excellence Award Winners

• Dr. Annie Johnson Benifield
• Dr. Steven Prewitt
• Dr. Sethurama “Babu” Srinivasan
• Professor Jane Simons

Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award Winners

• Naoko Brogan
• Jennifer Fairweather
• Kristi Grassi
• Barbara Keith

 Staff Excellence Award Winners

• Durell Forte
• Kaylan Voss
• Barbara Curtiss
• Lacy Moreno

 Part-Time Staff Excellence Winner

• Christine Naspinski

Lone Star College-Tomball is located at 30555 Tomball Parkway, at the intersection of SH 249 and Zion Road. For more information about the college, call 281.351.3300 or visit LoneStar.edu/Tomball.

LSC-Tomball recognizes it’s 2018-19 faculty excellence award winners. Pictured from left: Dr. Sethurama “Babu” Srinivasan, Jane Simons, Dr. Steven Prewitt, and Dr. Annie Johnson Benifield.

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