Besse Award

Award Overview:

The Excellence in Teaching Award in Honor of Ralph M. Besse is presented annually for 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. Students are the initial driver of the list of nominees. The award is given in honor of Ralph M. Besse, Cleveland community leader and champion of higher education, who was instrumental in founding Tri-C.

Award Highlights:

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 here.

2022 Award Timeline:

March 1 - 23: College-wide call for student nominations
April 18 – May 12: College-wide call for faculty/staff nominations
May 13: Nominees notified if they received both a student nomination and a faculty/staff nomination and are eligible for final consideration
May 13 – June 20: Nominees electronically submit a teaching artifact, CV/resume, and list of professional development activities.
June 27 – July 20: Selection Committees review candidates’ documents and meet to determine final recommendations
July 25: Campus Presidents and Provost approves final candidates
August 23: Winners announced at Fall Convocation

Faculty/Staff Nominations:

Below are the faculty who received one or more student nominations. The candidates must receive a second nomination from faculty/staff to be eligible for final consideration. You are welcome to submit nominations for more than one faculty member. Nominations are due at noon on Thursday, May 12! Click here to submit a faculty/staff nomination.

2022 Lecturers and Adjunct Faculty:

Roan Adognravi, Adjunct, Visual Communication & Design, Metropolitan
Timothy Bailey, Adjunct, English as a Second Language, Westshore
Michael Centanni, Adjunct, Physics, Western
Shawnda Coon-Borocz, Adjunct, Medical Laboratory Technology, Metropolitan
Sue Dieterich, Lecturer, General Education/Counseling, Metropolitan
Holly Gast, Lecturer, Communication Studies, Eastern
Alan Green, Adjunct, Humanities, Western
Angela Harris, Adjunct, Business Administration, Metropolitan
John Lanning, Lecturer, English, Metropolitan
Kevin Lizanich, Adjunct, Information Technology, Western
Jeffrey Lonjak, Adjunct, Business Administration, Western
Kelly McGreal, Adjunct, English, Eastern
Oksana Melnychenko, Adjunct, Music, Eastern
Kelly Moranz, Adjunct, Court Reporting & Captioning, Western
Daniel Newman, Adjunct, Paralegal Studies, Western
Allie Shapero, Adjunct, Criminal Justice, Metropolitan
Sarah Szweda, Adjunct, Media & Journalism Studies, Western

2022 Full-time Faculty:

Stacy Arsenault, Assistant Professor, Medical Laboratory Technology, Metropolitan
Kevin Berg, Assistant Professor, Counseling, Western
Neeta Chandra, Associate Professor, English, Metropolitan
Mardy Chaplin, Assistant Professor, Paralegal Studies, Western
Cindy Conaway-Mavroidis, Assistant Professor, Biology, Metropolitan
Joseph Cummins, Assistant Professor, Human Services, Metropolitan
Joslyn Dalton, Associate Professor, Health Information Management, Metropolitan
Irene Diritsky, Associate Professor, Human Services, Metropolitan
Lisa Friel, Assistant Professor, English as a Second Language, Westshore
Brian Johnson, Assistant Professor, Humanities, Eastern
Robin Kelly, Assistant Professor, Marketing, Western
Margaret Lehnert, Assistant Professor, Biology, Western
Daniel Levin, Associate Professor, Visual Communication & Design, Western
Richard London, Assistant Professor, Biology, Metropolitan
Benjamin Morgenstein, Assistant Professor, English, Western
Susan Nagorney, Assistant Professor, Mathematics, Metropolitan
John Ostroske, Assistant Professor, Information Technology, Metropolitan
Trista Powers, Assistant Professor, English, Metropolitan
Kathy Renfro, Assistant Professor, Mathematics, Metropolitan
Pamela Simmons, Assistant Professor, Accounting, Western
Erin Susick, Assistant Professor, Mathematics, Eastern
Casandra Sweeney, Associate Professor, English, Eastern
Kathleen Tamerlano, Associate Professor, Information Technology, Western
Bhavna Thakkar, Associate Professor, Psychology, Westshore
Ky-Wai Wong, Assistant Professor, Hospitality Management, Westshore