Logistics Professor Jon Sorensen has been put forward as Lone Star College-CyFair’s recommendation for this year’s Texas Piper Professor nominee.
Only 10 professors are annually recognized for superior teaching at the college level with this most prestigious Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation program honor.
While honored to be chosen to represent LSC-CyFair, Sorensen said “From a personal perspective, my greatest satisfaction comes from seeing how my support, mentoring and inspiration helps guide a student onto a pathway of success in whatever their chosen field.”
Teaching at LSC-CyFair since 2015 is Sorensen’s second career. However, he often found himself in very satisfying training or mentoring roles throughout his 21 years of working logistics-related jobs at Sysco Corporation.
He said the passionate and inspiring mentors he was fortunate to have had during his first career helped to nurture his teaching style. Now as a college professor, he cultivates an environment of engaging students from their first introductory logistics course through graduation.
"Encouraging and supporting my students to participate in external business events, organizations and conferences has been a top priority of mine to help ready them for their professional careers,” Sorensen said. “My students will attest that I put a high value on the power of networking, on both a personal and professional level.”
An advocate of expanding the learning experience beyond the classroom, Sorensen also keeps students engaged in the classroom with real-world scenarios through case studies, discussions (in-class and online), guest speakers, role playing, research assignments and off-site facility tours.
“The simple answer as to why I teach logistics is because it’s fun! I truly find enjoyment in providing my students the tools and skills to solve supply-chain and logistics challenges,” Sorensen said. “Since COVID, the world’s supply-chain challenges have taken center stage …. This is an incredible, challenging, yet opportunistic time to be in the logistics industry.”
Piper Professor winners will be announced this spring. Since the college’s inception in 2002, LSC-CyFair has had two of the seven winners in the LSC system’s history including Susan Edwards in 2005 and Jeff Edwards in 2007.
Registration is under way for winter mini-mester classes that start Dec. 19 and spring classes that start Jan. 17, 2023. Go to LoneStar.edu/regCyFair or LoneStar.edu/registration for information.