INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Four exceptional Indian River State College (IRSC) professors were surprised with Endowed Teaching Chairs from the Indian River State College Foundation in recognition of their outstanding teaching and to support new initiatives benefiting students and the community.
The recipients are Wendy Dwyer, instructor, Developmental Education Department, with the Richardson Endowed Teaching Chair in Business and Entrepreneurship; Dr. Jonathan Glover, associate professor, English Department, with the BankAtlantic Foundation Endowed Teaching Chair; Dr. Sarah Mallonee, professor, English, Communications, and Modern Languages Department and Dr. Tom D’Elia, associate professor, Biology Department with the Banack Family Partnership Endowed Teaching Chair in Agriculture.
“Because quality of instruction is fundamental to IRSC’s mission, we feel that it is very important to recognize these outstanding faculty members and reward them with the resources to implement projects that will benefit students and the community and further contribute toward the excellence of the College,” said Dr. Edwin R. Massey, IRSC President.
Dr. Massey and more than 30 IRSC administrators, faculty, and students surprised the recipients with balloons, flowers, and a miniature wooden “chair” for the surprise presentation.
The recipients will be rewarded with an annual stipend of $6,000 a year for three consecutive years; $4,000 to implement their initiatives and improve instruction in their field of expertise and $2,000 in recognition of excellence in teaching. The Endowed Teaching Chair program is made possible by contributions to the IRSC Foundation.
Wendy Dwyer, a St. Lucie County resident, will focus on exposing students to a variety of communication styles, opportunities to enhance written, verbal, and non-verbal communication skills, with practical application for the 21st Century.
Dwyer joined IRSC in 2009 and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Ithaca College and a Master’s Degree from Concordia University.
Dr. Jonathan Glover will establish Project Public Spheres: Academic Service Learning Across the Curriculum, an interdisciplinary teaching institute and online scholarly journal dedicated to instructional invocation through Academic Service Learning.
An Indian River county resident, Dr. Glover joined IRSC in 2011. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Florida Gulf Coast University, a Master’s Degree from the University of Central Florida, and his Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida.
Dr. Sarah Mallonee will create a Virtual Honors program which will support the increased demand for the Honors experience at IRSC through online offerings.
A St. Lucie County resident, Dr. Mallonee joined IRSC in 2007. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Tulane University, and a Master’s and Ph.D. in English degrees from the University of Florida.
Dr. Tom D’Elia, an Indian River County resident, will focus on training students with specialized biological research and data analysis abilities to solve real world problems in the agricultural and biomedical sciences.
Dr. D’Elia joined IRSC in 2011 and holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Mount Union, a Master’s Degree from Youngstown State University, and earned his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at Bowling Green State University.
To date, the IRSC Foundation has awarded 47 honored faculty members with Endowed Teaching Chairs. Other Endowed Teaching Chair awards include the Susan H. Johnson Endowed Teaching Chair, Basil L. King Endowed Teaching Chair in Health Science, Gladys Williams Wolf Endowed Teaching Chair in Communications, Marilyn C. Link Endowed Teaching Chair in Financial Management, Community Endowed Teaching Chair in Fine Arts, and the J. Douglas Stephens Endowed Teaching Chair in any discipline.
For more information about supporting an Endowed Teaching Chair with a tax-deductible contribution, please call the IRSC Foundation at (772) 462-4786.
