Exceptional Faculty Awards
The Clark College Exceptional Faculty Awards are presented annually to full-time and part-time faculty members. Nominations can be submitted by Clark College students, faculty, classified employees, administrators, alumni, Board members, and Foundation directors. Students are particularly encouraged to submit nominations.
Full and part-time faculty members are eligible for the award -- this includes instructors, librarians, counselors, and department heads -- as long as they have not received the award in the past four years. Members of the Exceptional Faculty Awards Committee will not be eligible. See below for a list of past winners and current committee members.
Past Exceptional Faculty Award Recipients
Clark College is proud to honor the full-time and part-time faculty members who have
received this prestigious award.
→ Visit our archives to learn about past recipients.
2024-2025
(read 2024-2025 award article)
Joe Cha, Business
Jill Darley-Vanis, English
Melanie Hendry, Culinary
James “Ron” Powers, Business
Chris Smith, English
Allison Syes, Fine Arts
Robert Weston, Mathematics
2023-2024
(read 2023-2024 award article)
Sarah Blanchette, Human Services
Halina Brant-Zawadzki, Nursing
Tanya Diaz-Kozlowski, Women's Studies
Rebecca Engel, American Sign Language
Catherine Johnston, English as a Second Language
Sarah Luther, Mathematics
2022-2023
(read 2022-2023 award article)
Dan Alberghetti, Network Technology
Earl Frederick, Cuisine
Dr. Jacob Funk, Music
Rebecca Herman, Dental Hygiene
Dr. Julian Nelson, English
Michiyo Okuhara, Japanese
2021-2022
(read 2021-2022 award article)
Dr. Amy Castellano, Phlebotomy
Steven Clark, Biology
Erielle Lamb, Surveying & Geomatics
Luanne Lundberg, Career & Academic Prep
Gail Robinson, English
Kathryn Anastasi, Librarian
Exceptional Faculty Award Committee:
Kathryn Anastasi (CLASS)
Sarah Luther (STEM)
Kushlani de Soyza (SOFA)
Michiyo Okuhara (BEECH)
Layne Russell (BHS)
Heidi Summers – Interim Chair (OOI)
The awards are made possible through an endowed trust fund established by the Washington State Legislature and the Clark College Exceptional Faculty Endowment Fund, which was established in 1993. That fund provides recognition of exemplary work performance, positive impact on students, professional commitment, and other contributions to the college.