YOUNGSTOWN 6 YSU educators receive awards for excellence

Educators from several area colleges were named top instructors.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Six Youngstown State University faculty members have received statewide recognition for excellence in teaching by the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, with four of the six also receiving accolades from Ohio magazine.
Dr. Stacey Lowery Bretz, associate professor of chemistry; Dr. Annette M. Burden, distinguished professor of mathematics; Dr. Shirley M. Keller, associate professor of social work; Dr. Nancy W. Mosca, associate professor of nursing; Dr. Jennifer Pintar, assistant professor of exercise physiology; and Dr. David Pollack, associate professor of mathematics and statistics, were among 56 faculty members named top classroom instructors by NOCHE. They were selected from 9,000 faculty members in the region.
Bretz, Burden, Keller and Pintar also were among 100 Ohio faculty members selected by Ohio magazine for excellence-in-education awards. Honorees, selected by a panel of the magazine's editors, will be featured in the December issue.
Professional organization
NOCHE is the representative body and professional service organization for 21 universities and colleges in Northeast Ohio.
Also receiving the NOCHE top classroom instructor recognition are Kent State University's Margaret Anderson, professor of English; Christine Balan, assistant professor of educational foundations and special services; Christina McVay, lecturer of English and Pan-African studies; Gustav Medicus, associate professor of art; Nancy Panthofer, lecturer of nursing; and Stanley Wearden, professor of journalism and mass communications.
At Malone College, recognized were Dr. Pam Holat, professor of health education; and Dr. Greg Miller, associate professor of history. At the University of Akron, recognition went to Dr. Harold Foster, assistant professor of English education and literacy; Dr. Antonio R. Quesada, professor of mathematics; and Dr. Kathleen Ross-Alaolmolki, associate professor and director of nursing education.
What they did
Faculty members were recognized as top classroom instructors for creating field-study programs, developing new degree programs and courses, introducing more interactive teaching methods, introducing online programs and other new ways to deliver courses, meeting the needs of nontraditional students and providing support to co-curricular activities.