Canton Resident, 4Cs Member Named CT Professor of the Year,

CANTON – Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges member and Northwestern Connecticut Community College Biology Professor Sharon Gusky of Canton has been named Connecticut Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

“This is the only national program to recognize excellence in teaching and mentoring,” says Pam Russell, the director of communications for CASE. “The process is rigorous and the criteria high.” As one of the most prestigious awards given to college professors, the CASE/Carnegie Foundation honor is not bestowed every year in every state. A high bar is set and must be met.

This year, a state Professor of the Year was recognized in only 35 states. Judges selected the state winners based on four criteria: impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; scholarly approach to teaching and learning; contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession; and support from colleagues and current and former students.

“Sharon is certainly a credit to both Northwestern and the 4Cs,” said 4Cs President Bryan Bonina. “Her hard work and dedication to the profession made her stand out among the best professors in the state, which won her this recognition.”

“Sharon certainly is an example of the culture of commitment common to 4Cs members,” Bonina added. “She and professionals like her devote many hours of their personal time to honing their academic and teaching skills through efforts like pursuing advanced degrees, attending seminars and workshops, and volunteering with professional groups to share their ideas and experiences with others. This enables them to help students develop the confidence and competence to move forward and succeed in both their academic careers and chosen professions.”

Professor Gusky is a graduate of Fairfield University and of Dartmouth College. She is a Fellow of the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Science Education (PULSE), an initiative sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

She is a founding member and current president of the Connecticut Association of Biology Teachers (CTABT), a founding member and current chair of the Connecticut Community College Biology Faculty Association (C3BIOS), and chair of the Connecticut Community Colleges Center for Teaching (CFT) Pathways for Teaching Success program. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation Mosal Award, the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Biotechnology Education Award, Academic Excellence Awards and College Merit Awards, and the recipient of several grants including two from the National Science Foundation.

Professor Gusky also leads initiatives to develop technology instruction to provide a skilled workforce to Connecticut’s numerous manufacturers and utility suppliers. Receiving this award is quite an honor in a state with top talent from the likes of Yale, Wesleyan, Trinity, the University of Connecticut, and many more.

According to the state Office of Higher Education there are over 10,000 faculty teaching in higher education classrooms throughout Connecticut each year. Professor Gusky and winners from the 34 other states were honored at an awards luncheon and an evening congressional reception in Washington, DC, on November 19, 2015.

CASE and the Carnegie Foundation have been partners in offering the U.S. Professors of the Year awards program since 1981. Additional support for the program is received from Phi Beta Kappa, which sponsors an evening congressional reception, the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education and other higher education associations.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center that supports needed transformations in American education through tighter connections between teaching practice, evidence of student learning, the communication and use of this evidence, and structured opportunities to build knowledge.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London, Singapore and Mexico City, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals at all levels who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas.

The Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4Cs) is a faculty and staff union representing approximately 4,000 professionals.