Montgomery County Community College recognizes teaching excellence and honors its exceptional faculty members each academic year at the College’s Commencement Ceremony. Teaching excellence awards recognize full-time and part-time faculty whose teaching is intellectually stimulating, accessible for all students, and demonstrates a commitment to the well-being of students both inside and outside of the classroom.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the full-time teaching excellence award, full-time faculty must be in good standing at the College at the time of nomination and actively teaching* for the academic year the award is conferred. Part-time faculty, who have attained the rank of regular or senior lecturer no later than the beginning of the academic year in which the award is conferred and are in good standing with the College at the time of nomination, are eligible for the part-time award.
League Excellence and NISOD Award
In order to be nominated for the League Excellence or NISOD Excellence award, an individual must be a permanent, full-time or part-time employee of the College during the academic year (summer, fall, spring) for which they are selected. The employee must also be in good standing with the College at the time of selection. Employees may not have received the award within the last five years, and should exemplify exceptional teaching and/or leadership in more than one of the following areas:
- Participation within a college governance committee, task force, or planning core team.
- High impact practices within teaching and learning, or high institutional impact to the College.
- Demonstration and extraordinary commitment to implementing the College’s strategic plan to support improvements to institutional quality, educational effectiveness, or innovative inter-disciplinary learning.
Gladys and Raymond Pearlstine Teaching Excellence Award Recipients**
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Dr. Kendall Martin, Professor of Computer Science |
| 2020 | Martina Ware, Associate Professor of Nursing |
| 2018 | Tim Gallagher, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts |
| 2016 | Dr. Lee A. Bender, Professor of Economics (posthumously) |
| 2014 | Jill Beccaris-Pescatore, Assistant Professor of Economics |
Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence**
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Douglas Vardakas, Physics Instructor |
| 2023 | Kelli Corrado, Assistant Professor of Physics |
| 2021 | Dr. Steven Baron, Associate Professor of Psychology |
| 2019 | Heather Thomas, Assistant Professor of Accounting |
| 2017 | Dr. Christopher Harendza, Professor of Biology |
| 2015 | Dr. Debbie Levin, Professor of Education |
| 2013 | Dr. Ryan Johnson, Assistant Professor of History (posthumously) |
| 2012 | Dr. Emenike Ukazim, Professor of Mathematics |
| 2011 | Dr. Ann Marie Donohue, Assistant Professor of Psychology |
| 2010 | Stephen Blumm, Professor of History |
| 2009 | Robert Kuhlman, Professor of Geology |
| 2008 | Phyllis Dickert, Professor of Dental Hygiene (emeritus) |
| 2007 | Elsa Rapp, Professor of History |
| 2006 | Jesse Hodges, Professor of Health, Physical Education and Psychology (posthumously) |
| 2005 | Patricia Nestler, Associate Professor of English |
| 2004 | Dr. Peter Scheponik, Assistant Professor of English |
| 2002 | Dr. Thomas Kolsky, Professor of Political Science |
| 2002 | Carl Essig, Associate Professor of Accounting |
| 2001 | Dr. Roseanne Hofman, Professor of Mathematics (emeritus) |
| 2000 | William Zimmer, Associate Professor of Economics |
| 1999 | Dr. Martin Gelman, Professor of Psychology and Anthropology (emeritus) |
| 1998 | Dr. Margaret Seidel, Professor of Chemistry (emeritus) |
Part-time Teaching Excellence Award Recipients
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Dyana Kimball, Theatre Regular Lecturer |
| 2024 | Dr. Maryellen Miller, Exercise Science and Wellness Senior Lecturer |
| 2023 | Thomas Costello, Management Senior Lecturer |
| 2023 | Susan Lawrence, Psychology Senior Lecturer |
| 2022 | John Pilla, Mathematics Senior Lecturer |
| 2022 | Daryl Walmer, Chemistry Senior Lecturer |
| 2021 | Valerie Baker, Psychology Senior Lecturer |
| 2021 | Amy Vallette, Biology Senior Lecturer |
| 2020 | Michelle Eppleman, Mathematics Senior Lecturer |
| 2020 | Lara Ferris, Education Senior Lecturer |
| 2019 | Michelle Donovan, Exercise Science and Wellness Senior Lecturer |
| 2019 | Frank Bucci, Accounting Senior Lecturer |
| 2018 | Stephen Bartorillo, Mathematics Senior Lecturer |
| 2018 | Joseph Waldo, Economics Senior Lecturer |
| 2017 | Dr. Daniel Bassi, Biology Senior Lecturer |
| 2017 | Ann Forrestal, Computer Applications Lecturer |
| 2016 | Mary-Breanna Burch, Psychology Senior Lecturer |
| 2016 | Dr. Ricardo Lopez, Biology Senior Lecturer |
| 2015 | Robin Cavallo, Medical Assisting Regular Lecturer |
| 2015 | Tracy Halsey, Mathematics Senior Lecturer |
NISOD Award Recipients
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Frank Bucci, Accounting Senior Lecturer |
| 2020 | Gerald Collom, Instructor of Mass Media and Sound Production |
| 2020 | Dr. Melinda Copel, Professor of Dance |
| 2020 | Michelle Donovan, Exercise Science and Wellness Senior Lecturer |
| 2020 | David Doskicz-Ivory, Director of Sound Recording and Music Technology |
| 2020 | Sean Hutchinson, Coordinator of Integrated Learning |
| 2020 | Andrew Kosciesza, Associate Professor of Music |
| 2020 | Susan Masciantonio, Director of Faculty Success, Instructor |
| 2020 | Patrick Rodgers, Galleries Director |
| 2020 | Dr. Keima Sheriff, Assistant Dean of Student Programs |
| 2020 | Heather Thomas, Assistant Professor of Accounting |
| 2020 | Brent Woods, Senior Director of Cultural Affairs |
| 2020 | Dianne Zotter-Mill, Associate Professor of Art and Galleries Liaison |
| 2019 | Stephen Bartorillo, Mathematics Senior Lecturer |
| 2019 | Kristin Fulmer, Counselor, Assistant Professor |
| 2019 | Timothy Gallagher, Assistant Professor of Theatre |
| 2019 | Mary-Kathleen Najarian, Assistant Director of Instructional Technology |
| 2019 | Joseph Waldo, Economics Senior Lecturer |
| 2018 | Dr. Daniel Bassi, Biology Senior Lecturer |
| 2018 | Ann Forrestal, Computer Applications Lecturer |
| 2018 | Dr. Christopher Harendza, Professor of Biology |
| 2017 | Dr. Lee A. Bender, Professor of Economics (posthumously) |
| 2017 | Dr. Ricardo Lopez, Biology Senior Lecturer |
| 2016 | Robin Cavallo, Medical Assisting Regular Lecturer |
| 2016 | Tracy Halsey, Mathematics Senior Lecturer |
| 2016 | Dr. Debbie Levin, Professor of Education |
| 2015 | Jill Baccaris, Associate Professor of Economics |
| 2013 | Dr. Emenike Ukazim, Professor of Mathematics |
| 2012 | Dr. Ann Marie Donohue, Associate Professor of Psychology |
| 2010 | Robert Kuhlman, Professor of Geology |
| 2009 | Phyllis Dickert, Professor of Dental Hygiene (emeritus) |
League Excellence Award Recipients
| Year | Recipient |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Karima Roepel, Director of the Hospitality Institute |
| 2019 | Mary Beaver, Director Enterprise Software Systems |
| 2019 | Kelly Dunbar, Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation |
| 2019 | Rose Makofske, Director of Equity and Diversity Initiatives and Title IX Coordinator |
| 2019 | Dr. Jenna Meehan, Assistant Vice President Academic Affairs |
| 2019 | Philip Needles, Vice President of Student Services |
| 2019 | Diane O'Connor, Executive Director Human Resources |
| 2019 | Denise Prushan, Executive Assistant to Vice President Information Technology and College Services |
| 2018 | James Bedrosian, Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost |
| 2018 | Dr. Lianne Hartman, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs |
| 2018 | Dr. David Kowalski, Executive Director of Institutional Research |
| 2018 | Sherry Phillips, Director of Records and Registration and Registrar |
| 2018 | Matthew Porter, Senior Producer and Technical Services Manager |
| 2018 | Shannon Schmidt, Assistant Director of Human Resources |
| 2017 | Dr. Anna Raskin, Associate Professor of History |
| 2016 | Dr. Deborah Greenspan, Associate Professor of Psychology |
| 2016 | Joseph Mancini, Executive Director of Information Technology |
| 2016 | Diane McDonald, Assistant Professor of English |
| 2015 | Dr. Victoria Bastecki-Perez, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost |
| 2015 | Dr. Margaret Bryans, Associate Professor of Biology |
| 2015 | Stefanie Crouse, Academic Advisor, Assistant Professor |
| 2015 | Theresa Sullivan, Associate Professor of Office Management |
| 2014 | Jill Beccaris, Assistant Professor of Economics |
| 2014 | Dr. Lee A. Bender, Professor of Economics |
| 2012 | Diane Biddle, Assistant Professor of English |
| 2014 | Dr. Catherine Carsley, Professor of English |
| 2014 | Deborah Dalrymple, Professor of Nursing |
| 2014 | Jennifer Fewster, Assistant Professor of Biology |
| 2014 | Dr. Thomas Kolsky, Senior Lecturer of History |
| 2014 | Dr. Debbie Levin, Professor of Education |
| 2014 | Rhoda McFadden, Professor of History |
| 2014 | Dr. Catherine Parzynski, Assistant Professor of History |
| 2014 | Samuel Wallace, Associate Professor of Geography |
| 2014 | Dr. Beverly Welhan, Dean of Health Sciences |
| 2013 | Dr. Harold Halbert, Associate Professor of English |
| 2013 | Barbara Hordis, Assistant Professor of Accounting |
| 2013 | Dr. Kendall Martin, Associate Professor of Computer Science |
| 2013 | Jerry Yarnetsky, Librarian, Assistant Professor |
| 2012 | Dr. Ann Marie Donohue, Associate Professor of Psychology |
*Actively teaching is defined as a faculty member teaching in one of three semesters
within the academic year (summer, fall, or spring).
**The Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and
the Gladys and Raymond Pearlstine Award for Teaching Excellence are given on alternating
years to a full-time faculty member.