The San Juan College Foundation is pleased to announce two Distinguished Teaching Chairs (DTC) for the 2023-2024 academic year.
The San Juan College Foundation is pleased to announce two Distinguished Teaching Chairs (DTC) for the 2023-2024 academic year. The DTC is designed to recognize and compensate unique projects or programs at San Juan College that enhance student learning and teaching excellence. Projects that bring new approaches, or build on current approaches, to teaching excellence, student engagement or pedagogical innovation are rewarded.
Benefits for the San Juan College community
Projects must provide a benefit to the general San Juan College (SJC) community; faculty, staff, and students, or communities served by SJC. DTC recipients serve in a leadership role to explore, foster, and share new ideas in teaching excellence. There are four categories of Distinguished Chair Projects awarded in the areas of Native American Student Success, Health Sciences, Literacy and Math Competency, and General. Each is awarded for one year at a time, but projects can span two years. Two of the categories have been awarded for the 2023-24 academic year.
Dugan Health Sciences Distinguished Teaching Chair awarded to Veronica Evans
The Dugan Health Sciences Distinguished Teaching Chair is awarded to Veronica Evans, Professor of Biology and Department Chair for Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) for her project, “Improving Retention and Success Rates in Anatomy and Physiology I Courses at San Juan College.” In the fall 2019 semester, the SJC A&P faculty designed and implemented a mandatory one hour a week study support meeting to improve student success in A&P. Students reported that the study support was helpful, but the improvement in success rates was modest. Evans DTC project will enhance prior support efforts by bolstering coordination of study support sessions, through increased support and faculty and supplemental instructor professional development. . The efforts and results of this project will be shared with the SJC community for adaptability to other courses. Evans has been teaching biology and A&P at San Juan College since 2006. She graduated from Bloomfield High School, did her undergraduate work at University of New Mexico, and earned her PhD at University of Colorado Medical School in Denver.
Annabelle Friddle General Distinguished Teaching Chair awarded to Jeff Pomeroy
The Annabelle Friddle General Distinguished Teaching Chair was also awarded for this academic year and goes to Jeff Pomeroy, Assistant Professor and Chair of Communication Studies for his project “Promoting Competency-based Education at San Juan College.” The goal of Pomeroy’s project is to provide opportunities for faculty across disciplines to learn about and consider implementing Competency based Education (CBE) in their courses and/or programs. CBE has the ability to increase student enrollment and engagement. With a CBE approach, students quickly find that their life experiences have taught them lessons that are valuable in college, and that can even earn them college credit, ultimately building their confidence and enthusiasm for learning. CBE focuses on what students learn, nothow long it takes to learn, and allows Instructors to meet students where they are. This project will educate faculty across disciplines about CBE and will examine the viability of offering degree programs made up entirely of CBE courses. Pomeroy has been teaching full-time at the community college level for over 15 years, moving to San Juan College in 2019. He earned both his Bachelors and Master’s degrees from New Mexico State University in Communication Studies and has been married to his wife Ramona for 25 years. They have six wonderful children. Congratulations and thanks to both of these dedicated individuals for their time and commitment to San Juan College students and fellow employees.
