ACTC Presents 2014-15 Faculty Awards

Outstanding faculty at Ashland Community and Technical College were recognized at the All College Meeting on August 3.

Each semester, students and faculty nominate faculty for the annual Teaching Learning Excellence Awards. The awards are based on student ratings and evidence of learning presented by the faulty member. One award winner from each academic division was selected by the colleges Teaching and Learning Excellence Committee for a First Among Peers Award. The recipients are listed below.

The recipient in the Math and Natural Science Division was Dr. James Schmidt, an Ashland resident and Professor of Chemistry.

The recipient in the Manufacturing Transportation and Industrial Technology Division was Woodrow Fosson, an Ashland resident and Assistant Professor of Applied Process Technologies.

The recipient in the Humanities Division was Jonathan Joy, a Huntington resident and Assistant Professor of English.

The recipient in the Social Science, Education and Business Technology Division was Robin Johns, a Catlettsburg resident and Coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education Program.

The recipient in the Health Science Division was Rachel Henderson, a Rush resident and Assistant Professor of Associate Degree Nursing.

The recipient for Adjunct Faculty was Linda Hunt, a Proctorville resident who teaches development mathematics.

Joy Receives First among Firsts Award

Jonathon Joy was selected by the ACTC Presidents Office for the 2014-15 First Among Firsts Teaching Learning Excellence Award presented at the All-College Meeting. The First Among Firsts recipient is selected from the recipients of the First Among Peers Awards for teaching excellence.

Joy is a Huntington resident who grew up across the river in Burlington, OH, and who earned Bachelor of Fine Arts Master of Arts degrees from Marshall University.

He started at the college in 2010 and has won teaching excellence awards each year since then. An accomplished playwright, he started a playwriting class two years ago to give students a new way to express their creativity. Their monologues, short scenes, and one acts plays are performed at ACTCs annual New Play Festival.

Although a successful and prolific writer, with more than 25 plays to his credit, Joy considers himself to be a teacher.

I love to read and write, and I love to teach, Joy said. I am blessed to have the classroom as a place where my enthusiasm for the written word can meet the needs of a group of students and community, as well as the goals for the College.

Oral and written communication is consistently the number one job skill sought by employers, he said. Helping students become better writers can help them succeed in other courses and ultimately on the job.