Besse Award

• A maximum of eight awards will be announced (four full-time faculty and four adjuncts).
• Winners are announced at Fall Convocation and receive an engraved plaque, monetary award, and support for professional development.
• Awards are College-wide and not based on campus location or discipline.
• Lecturers are eligible to receive the Adjunct Award.
• This is a two-step award process. Students are the initial driver by completing an electronic form with five questions related to teaching excellence. Those eligible faculty nominees are then sent forth for a college-wide faculty/staff nomination. Faculty must have at least one student nomination and at least one faculty/staff nomination to be eligible for final consideration. 
• Review the award process overview and eligibility requirements

Congratulations to the outstanding faculty recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Award in Honor or Ralph M. Besse! This award is presented annually to up to four full-time faculty members and up to four adjunct faculty or lecturers selected for exceptional professional competence and commitment to helping students succeed. Specifically, these award winners demonstrate a commitment to academic quality, stimulation of intellectual development, and investment with students within and beyond the classroom. The award is given in honor of Ralph M. Besse, who was a Cleveland community leader, champion of higher education and instrumental in founding Tri-C.

 

Year	Full-time Faculty Recipients	Adjunct Faculty and Lecturer Recipients
2025	Miriam Bennett Elaine Brunschwig Mardy Chaplin Alan Gerding	Judith Allen Amelia Caldwell Robert Gala Gayatry Jacob-Mosier
2024	Jim Funai Michelle Nicopolis Ryan Rodriguez Kirsten Yates-Konzen	Amy Chan Diane Nickoson Eric Olson Kristen Reiter
2023	Paula Allotta Jeffrey Lowell Kathy Renfro Jonathan Wayne	Kathy Cone Rocklend Davis Monyulona James
2022	Daniel Levin Erin Susick Casandra Coin-Sweeney Ky-Wai Wong	Sue Dietrich Holly Gast Alan Green Oksana Melnychenko
2021	Julia Cronin Brian Hall Jasser Yahami Elizabeth Vaidya	Yiyun Chen Joyce Laggan John Latimer Danielle Seighman
2020	Margot Freer-Prokop Michele Hampton Mike McCraith Christine Wolken	Lydia Beard Yumiko Goto Cassie Hewitt Nicole Meadows
2019	Sharon Doughten Michelle Davis Lindsay Milam Derrick Williams	Patricia Bradley April Luginbuhl Mather Gudrun Michalla-Neubaecker Joseph Bonsignore
2018	Aaron Altose Lorrie DiGiampietro Amanda Hanley Iryna Tsarukyanova	Vida Radovic Melissa Resnick Erica Stevenson Joe Wagner
2017	Kristine Glasener John Thomas Henry Young	Priyanka Banerjie Colleen Clark-Sutton Jaydip DasGupta Pamela Simmons
2016	Holly Clemens Sharlene Green David Long	Elizabeth Emmer Lorraine Ranchod Maryann Sender Sarah Szweda
2015	David Bernatowicz Susan Lohwater Seong-Ae Mun	Bilal Bomani Holly Craider Hanumanth Rao Padaraju Kelly Moranz
2014	Carilynn H. Bouie Clara J. Hall George Kanieski	Theodore J. DeCarlo Erika N. Jefferson Angela Mastronardi-Kuk Jaclyn Saggio
2013	Diane Gaston Jerome McKeever Andrew Pegman	Hui-Chun Chang Treena Eileen Rohde Doug Shannon Michele Grimm Terlep
2012	Terri Pope Kira Seaton Debbie Allen
2011	Kellie Emrich Deborah Massari Heather Snell Masterson
2010	Ashlee Brand John Ndefru Pamela Hardman
2009	Andrew Bajda Ormond Brathwaite Paul Rokicky
2008	Valerie Brown Melissa Zagata Lawrence Roman
2007	Norma Gatica Elaine Hobbs Rejean Schulte
2006	Dorothy Blackmon Richard Holsworth Mary Hovanec
2005	Robert Jaskulski Samuel LiPuma Robert McDonough
2004	Donna Caretti Prabhat Sharma Peter Surace
2003	Lillian Dailey Carol Gerding Shirley Kangas
2002	Karen Taylor Gloria Tolliver Julia Tryk
2001	Barbara Hardiman Mary Hurst J. Edward Johnson
2000	Jacqueline Freedman Hazel Murray Alan Vogel
1999	Albelino Lopez, Jr. Brenda Sims Samuel Spero
1998	James Burke Anne Hawthorne Igal Hurvitz
1997	Judith Barker Rebecca Kapley Richard Browning
1996	Allan Etling Charleen Jaeb Alex Rubins
1995	Trevor Guy Christine Rakowsky Brian Zoldessy
1994	Peggy Roberson Bruce Whann Florence Wolters-Chew
1993	Jacquelyn Jefferson Don Shrimplin Ruth Silon
1992	Eunice Johnson Marguerite Nagy Norman Prange
1991	Edward Kosiewicz Arlene Sego Nicholas Siropolis
1990	Joseph Howard Marsha Julian Robert Rateno
1989	Johnnie Butler Vicki Vorell Sarah Wilder
1988	Louise Lassiter James Leonard Michael Silk
1987	Mark Lewine Dorothy Merchant John Venesile
1986	James Banks Laura Blunk Joseph Malone
1985	Harvey Kassebaum Donald Plagens Dorothy Salem
1984	Lovid Owens Patrick Masterson Arthur D. Polen
1983	James Kilgore Charles A. Morrow Phyllis Weinstein
1982	John Ferrara Daniel Grossman Johnnie Mae Henderson
1981	Laura Ryan Caldwell John Coleman David Stevenson
1980	Evelyn Boyd Angela Hergenroeder Margaret Taylor