Faculty & staff members recognized for their service

Two faculty members and two staff members who made critical contributions to the College’s ability to serve students during the pandemic will be honored with awards from two local higher education organizations.

The faculty members who will be recognized at the 33rd Annual Celebration of Teaching sponsored by the Greater Cincinnati Collegiate Connection (GC3) are Julee Johns, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, and Dr. Jon McKamey, Instructional Designer in the Office of Online Learning.

• GC3 includes 17 area colleges and universities, and strives to “enhance the vitality of higher education and strengthen each individual institution, its faculty, its administration, and its student body.”
   
• GC3 will recognize this year’s honorees during an online Celebration of Teaching that takes place December 15, 2020, starting at noon. The celebration event recording will be available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOD8ftM7HC8&feature=youtu.be

Staff members Jodie Driggs, End User and Classroom Support Specialist in Information Technology Services, and Patty Edwards, Manager of End User and Classroom Support for IT Services, will be honored along with Jon and Julee as recipients of 2021 Excellence Awards from the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE).

• SOCHE includes 22 colleges and universities in Southwestern Ohio, and promotes “educated, employed, and engaged citizens.”
   
• SOCHE will recognize the 2021 Execellence Award recipients throughout the year on their website and through social media, press releases, and other messaging.

Provost Robbin Hoopes said Cincinnati State’s nominees for these awards “represent excellence in service during a trying time.”

“The sudden and prolonged move to remote instruction would not have been as successful for Cincinnati State without these dedicated employees and their commitment to excellence in service,” Provost Hoopes said.

Tom Hale, Interim Director of Middletown Campus, coordinated the selection processes. For the SOCHE awards, the Academic Deans recommended recipients. For the GC3 awards, the Faculty Senate and the Academic Response Team also endorsed the selected recipients.

More about the award recipients:

Julianna (Julee) Johns, Director of Cincinnati State’s Center for Teaching and Learning, is a tenured professor of Biology, entering her 30^th year teaching natural science courses and skills for science courses in secondary and higher education settings.   

• Since March 2020, the CTL, in colaboration with the Office of Online Learning, has helped over 600 faculty members transition to fully remote instruction. The CTL provided workshops such as the “Teaching in the Time of COVID” series to address the fast-changing instructional environment during the pandemic.
   
• Additionally, the CTL provides numerous learning opportunities for faculty and staff, ensuring ongoing curriculum improvement and professional development that assists peers and students.  

Dr. Jon P. McKamey is an instructional designer and tenured professor. He joined the College in 1987 as the Coordinator of Media Services and moved to the faculty position of Instructional Designer in 2003.

• In the Office of Online Learning, Jon is responsible for design and development of remote learning opportunities and helping his colleagues integrate technology into all course modalities.
   
• Jon plans and delivers professional development offerings, and provides Blackboard training and support. Since March he has maintained a regular schedule of varied support offerings to assist faculty when the pandemic forced all courses into a remote format.

Jodie Driggs has been a full-time member of the IT Services department for nearly 8 years, plus a year as a co-op on the Help Desk team while she completed her associate’s degree in Network Administration.

• Jodie is the primary IT support staff member for the Middletown, Evendale, and Harrison campuses. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic Jodie delivered laptops to employees in parking lots and at their homes, and worked many hours into the evening helping staff members connect to the College’s essential services to enable remote operations.
  
• Jodie also made masks for family, friends, and co-workers during her COVID quarantine time.

Patty Edwards has served Cincinnati State students, faculty, and staff for almost 15 years.

• When the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly shifted students, faculty, and staff to a remote learning environment, Patty provided essential supporting for end users during the transition. She worked with a task force to plan and implement the Student Technology Loaner Program that provided laptop computers and Wi-Fi hotspots. A few months later, she asssisted in deploying new laptops to faculty members.
   
• In the early stages of the pandemic, Ohio’s stay at home order left Patty as one of only two IT personnel working on campus. She came in early or stayed late to accommodate student’s special needs when obtaining their loaned technology equipment.