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AVON PARK, Fla. – April 14, 2022 – Colleges and universities honor and encourage faculty who go beyond the requirements of the classroom. To that end, four SFSC faculty have been appointed as endowed chairs in their respective disciplines with funds donated through the South Florida State College (SFSC) Foundation.
Dr. Deborah Milliken, chair of dental education, was appointed as the Highlands County Health Facilities Authority (HCHFA) Endowed Chair in Dental Education, and Kathleen Cappo, nursing professor, was appointed as the HCHFA Endowed Chair in Nursing Education. The Norm and Laurie Stephens Endowed Teaching Chair went to Dr. Daniel Sanches, chair of natural sciences and biology instructor, and Peggy Sueppel, economics professor.
Faculty members appointed as teaching chairs are awarded $5,000 per year for two years, with half going toward equipment, professional development, or to attend a conference related to the faculty member’s discipline of study. The other half is a salary stipend.
Dr. Milliken plans to use part of the award to purchase Tal-Eval software for Dental Hygiene student assessment. “It is fairly simple for faculty to use and easy for students to follow their progress and understand where improvements are needed in their performance,” Dr. Milliken said. Part of the
award will be used toward recertification coursework to administer and teach nitrous oxide sedation and coursework on advances in the diagnosis and treatment of pathologies.
Carrying forward her training as a nurse coach, Cappo plans to continue teaching holistic care for nurses. “I would like to expand upon my role to enhance students’ learning to care for themselves,” she said. “Student nurses are at high risk for anxiety and practicing nurses are at high risk of burn out from the constant demands on them, especially during a global pandemic. My goal is to teach self-care to decrease stress and help the students in their roles as practitioners to help their patients decrease the stress in their lives during illnesses.” Cappo would also like to create continuing education for nurses in the community and apply these self-care techniques.
Further, she would like to enable SFSC Nursing faculty involvement in American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) conferences, so they can further teach students holistic care.
Dr. Sanches said that earlier in this academic year, five students participated in courses allowing them to learn cell culturing, cell assays, and cell image analyses. “The project is beneficial to students seeking our biology, chemistry, and pre-professional pathways,” he said. “It will allow them to develop their skills and apply their concepts to the actual life routine in a biomedical science lab. Through this grant, more students will be able to get involved in this project.”
Sueppel proposed purchasing a tablet and necessary software that would allow her to draw on an uploaded image that could be shown in real time to an online student and record the drawings as they are being done. “It allows a student to receive real-time help with problems and the production of additional videos covering more complex concepts,” she said. “Having this technology can potentially result in more students asking for help online. Currently, verbally describing the procedures has not always resulted in success and can be frustrating for the student.
It also gives me, as the instructor, a way to more effectively reach out to students who are struggling.”
Recipients for endowed teaching chairs at SFSC are chosen by a selection committee, with advice and counsel from College faculty. Selections are confirmed by Dr. Thomas C. Leitzel, SFSC president.
The idea of endowed teaching chairs at state and community colleges came from research chairs at universities. At SFSC, the Endowed Chair program rewards faculty who demonstrate caring and concern and who hold the belief that the student must come first. The award can be used to fund professional development activities that ultimately enhance student learning and incorporate classroom projects or activities above and beyond what is usually offered in a course.