IRSC Honors Faculty and Staff Commitment to Student Success and Innovation

April 19, 2021 Suzanne Seldes

FORT PIERCE, FL— Indian River State College (IRSC) recognized outstanding faculty and staff for their contributions to the College and for their unwavering commitment to student success. Accolades were conferred during the annual Employee Recognition Ceremony, held on April 7, 2021.

IRSC recognized outstanding faculty and staff for their contributions to the College and for their unwavering commitment to student success during the 2021 Employee Recognition Ceremony.

Ambassador Award

The IRSC Ambassador Award recognizes an employee who serves as a goodwill ambassador, actively and energetically representing the College in our community, state, and beyond. This year's award recipient is Dr. Kimberlie Massnick, Assistant Professor, Public Service Education. Since joining IRSC in 2008 and becoming full-time faculty in 2015, Massnick has been transformative. She has been recognized with the Faculty Instructional Innovation Award, honored as a past Faculty Member of the Year, and led an Endowed Teaching Chair project that established the Institute for Cold Case Studies, an applied learning forum for our Criminal Justice students to work on local cold cases. Massnick maintains one of the most successful crime podcasts in the nation and as a true IRSC ambassador, consistently extols the virtues of IRSC programs to her listenership. She has proudly worn the banner of IRSC as an expert on television and as a featured speaker at widely attended CrimeCons.

Instructional Innovation Award

The Instructional Innovation Award was presented to Assistant Professor of Mathematics Dr. Taylor Kilman, who converted two high-volume mathematics courses (Introductory Statistics and College Algebra) to use 100% open educational resources (OERs) instead of traditional publisher materials. His development and distribution of free, robust course materials for students eliminate a significant barrier to success in mathematics: the cost of course materials, which previously ran $55 to $125 per course per student. Inspired by a commitment to student success, Dr. Kilman's innovation contributes to IRSC's leadership in quality, accessible education, and reputation as one of the nation's lowest-cost, higher learning institutions.

Pioneer Award

The IRSC Pioneer Award is presented to a student, employee or advocate of our College who has helped the College forge ahead where it has gone before. Pioneer Award recipients welcome challenges, overcome obstacles and blaze new trails for IRSC. This year’s award was presented to IRSC Campus Presidents Dr. Harvey Arnold (Pruitt Campus, Port St. Lucie), Russ Brown (Dixon Hendry Campus, Okeechobee), Beth Gaskin (Chastain Campus, Stuart), Casey Lunceford (Mueller Campus, Vero Beach) and Kendall St. Hilaire (IRSC Global) for their innovative and entrepreneurial advancements in higher education and re-envisioned roles as leaders of Indian River State College.

Pride Award

Now in its 28th year, The IRSC Pride Award is presented annually to non-instructional employees (individually or as a group) who have consistently gone above and beyond in the performance of their jobs and through their pride in the institution. This year, the award was presented to the Marketing, Media & Brand Team, who have embraced a new vision for the IRSC brand, and through myriad applications and with an emphasis on storytelling and imagery that shares the spirit of who we are at IRSC.

River Award

The River Award is an honor that traditionally goes to an individual or group that has personified excellence or has guided IRSC to an unprecedented accomplishment. This year's award recipient is the CARES Act Team, an interdisciplinary collaboration of employees representing Institutional Effectiveness; Marketing, Media & Brand; Enterprise Systems; Finance; Financial Aid; Bursars; Advisors and more who have helped thousands of students stay afloat and continue their education through the disbursement of nearly $9 million in COVID relief funds.

President's Cup

The President's Cup is presented annually to an individual or group whose record of excellence and service to IRSC extends so far above the norm that it serves as inspiration all who work there. When the College shifted operations in spring of 2020, almost every class at IRSC went virtual. Faculty and staff made a a gargantuan effort to make this happen. The 2021 President’s Cup was awarded to the Faculty and Staff of the IRSC Science Departments, who had to make rapid transitions to online and hybrid labs. In just a matter of weeks, these dedicated employees researched and organized available options, revised and selected course curricula, and crafted scripts and produced videos. The result—an innovation in instruction: new online and hybrid labs in biology, chemistry, physics and other physical sciences to serve remote learners.

In addition to these named awards, nearly 100 employees were recognized for their longstanding service to the College.