Recognized for Excellence in Faculty Inquiry and Exploration
To be a great college requires an outstanding faculty committed to student success, along with staff and an administration dedicated to assisting individuals with meeting their higher education goals. At County College of Morris (CCM), the latest faculty member to be recognized for excellence is Professor Deborah Poetsch who recently received a “Bright Idea Award” from the Institute for Academic Excellence (IAE) at Indian River State College in Florida.
Poetsch received that award in recognition of her work assisting faculty members with becoming even more highly effective educators. A resident of Randolph, Poetsch is assistant chair and professor of mathematics and co-director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at CCM, where she oversees and conducts workshops focused on faculty exploration to support excellence in teaching and learning.
In February, she took part in a Digital Learning Day held by IAE and was nominated for the Bright Idea Award by a colleague who noted, “Deborah is always sharing learning strategies for teaching remote and engages the (professors) with keen understandings.”
At CCM, Poetsch was instrumental in assisting full-time and adjunct professors with enhancing their online teaching capabilities in the face of the constraints brought by COVID-19. She has provided individual and group sessions on the use of Zoom and WebEx, Blackboard use and navigation, Pearson MyLab products and more.
“Professor Poetsch certainly deserves this recognition as she made sure that other professors were armed with the skills to teach virtually during this global pandemic,” said Kathy Naasz, dean of the School of Business, Mathematics, Engineering and Technologies at CCM.
The IAE at Indian River College is a national center for faculty inquiry and exploration to support the pursuit of excellence in teaching, learning and professional development.