Submitted by South Puget Sound Community College
Four South Puget Sound Community College faculty members earned 2015-16 Teacher Excellence Awards from The Evergreen State College. Eric Chase, James Chen, Kathy Harrigan, and David Hyde were honored at the SPSCC Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, November 10.
The awards, in their fifth year out of The Evergreen State College, recognize great teachers who have impacted students’ lives, as nominated by incoming TESC students. Students submit a letter nominating those professors, who are then sent a letter highlighting both the honor and including quotes from their nominating students.
History Professor Eric Chase
Evergreen student Simon Watson nominated Chase, who has been teaching at SPSCC since 2001.
“He is absolutely the most engaging professor I’ve ever had,” Watson said. “Though my views greatly differ from his, he was always respectful and encourages positive and meaningful thinking.”
Chemistry Professor James Chen
Chen, a professor at the college since 2005, was nominated by student Alp Tunali.
“I appreciated the mix of humor with serious class and laboratory work; the clarity of and flexibility in handling more challenging tasks,” Tunali said.
Adult Basic Education Professor Kathy Harrigan
Former SPSCC Senator for Diversity and Equity Merrill Williams nominated Harrigan, who has taught at SPSCC since 2007.
“She is a confidence builder and motivates her students to tap into their greatness,” Williams said. “She’s very passionate about the work that she does.”
Sociology Professor David Hyde
And Hyde, with the college since 2001, was nominated by student Tierra Petersen.
“Professor Hyde creates a comfortable environment for people to talk freely,” she said. “Because of this, for myself, the information presented was better absorbed.”