Edison State Community College recognized 15 employees for instructing a combined total of 2,400 semester hours, or approximately 800 classes, in their careers at the College’s annual adjunct faculty recognition banquet on Wednesday, August 21.
William Loudermilk, President of the Academic Senate and Professor of English, served as the event’s Master of Ceremonies. Edison State President Chris Spradlin and Provost Dr. Melissa Wertz provided a welcome, and Dr. Wertz presented honorees with gifts.
“I really appreciate the role of our adjunct faculty,” said Spradlin. “You are the lifeblood of Edison State. I always try to talk about our mission statement and what we do to help students achieve their educational goals and realize their dreams. That last part is so important, and we see it at graduation, nursing pinning, and different celebrations of program graduations. That’s why we’re here and why we do this every day.”
“The experience you bring to the classroom for our students is invaluable, and we appreciate all of you,” Wertz added. “You all are so important to what we do here, and I thank you for walking into the classroom for our students, because we really are dream makers. We make it happen.”
When Loudermilk recognized Theresa Grilliot, who teaches mathematics, for the highest number of service hours, she received a standing ovation from the audience. “Theresa is clocking in at 750 hours, which equals 25 years of full-time service,” Loudermilk said.
Adjunct faculty hours accrue by the number of credit hours in each class taught, which are typically worth three credit hours.
Edison State recognized the following employees for reaching significant milestones in their careers:
Seven-Hundred Fifty Hours: Theresa Grilliot, Mathematics
Three-Hundred Seventy-Five Hours: Marcia Youtz, Social Services
Two-Hundred Twenty-Five Hours: Richard Monnin, Philosophy; Nahreen Rahman, Economics, Political Science, Sociology; Doug Streitenberger, Accounting, Finance, Computer Programming
One-Hundred Fifty Hours: Jolynn Colebaugh, Fine Art, Photography
Seventy-Five Hours: Brett Bickel, Geography, History; Christopher Braun, Music; Charity Byer, American Sign Language; Mary Garrison, Communication; Jason Johnston, Veterinary Technology; Karen Korn, Anthropology
Photo: Dr. Melissa Wertz (left) presents Theresa Grilliot (right) with a gift for reaching 750 service hours in her career at Edison State.