State Association names KSU Instructor 'Outstanding' Educator

Staff Report

The Georgia Adult Education Association named Nancy DeLisle-Brown, MA, the Outstanding Adult Educator for 2015 during its annual conference March 9 in Augusta.

DeLisle-Brown is a longtime instructor at Kennesaw State University’s College of Continuing and Professional Education. She specializes in English as a Second Language, leading classes for local adult learners as well as international educators who train at the College.

“This award comes as a wonderful honor for me,” she said. “I feel so blessed to be a part of the College of Continuing and Professional Education and to have a role in making a difference in the lives of our students. I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the faculty and staff, to my colleagues, the students, and to everyone who made this award possible. Thank you to all for this high honor and for the tremendous joy it has given me as an educator!”

DeLisle-Brown is a valued instructor at the College, and her students recognize it. She consistently gets the best reviews from them during student evaluations, said Lyn Cohen, Languages program manager.

“Nancy truly deserves this award,” said Cohen, who helped prepare her nomination. “She’s the definition of an outstanding educator. She cares about her students. She puts in extra time creating lessons that are fun and memorable. You can tell it when you see how engaged the students are in her classroom.”

DeLisle-Brown also teaches in the College’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program, designed for students 50 and older. She holds a master’s degree in Spanish from Salamanca University in Spain.

“Nancy is a fantastic Spanish teacher for our OLLI students,” said Meg Webber, OLLI program manager. “Many of our students return to her Nancy DeLisleBrown was honored by the Georgia Adult Education Association as the Outstanding Adult Educator for 2015. Spanish courses over and over because they learn so much working with her. She loves what she does and it shows. She makes learning a new language fun.”

The College’s presence at this year’s GAEA conference extended from the awards ceremony to the presentations, where two staff members were selected to lead sessions for their fellow education professionals. Lis Hames, Registration manager, shared registration insight from a continuing education perspective in “Registration Best Practices & Non-traditional Financial Aid.” Cheryl Rodewig, social media specialist, gave advice for using social networks effectively in “Your Social Media Survival Guide: Staying Professional in a Connected World.”