Spoon River College faculty member Rebecca Werland is the recipient of this year’s Spoon River College Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Award and Illinois Community College Trustee Association Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Nominee. The award is presented each year to an outstanding faculty member who displays teaching excellence, has the ability to take a personal interest in students, and inspires enthusiasm through teaching techniques.
Werland has been a full-time English professor with Spoon River College since 2008, with a particular expertise in Developmental English Composition. She has been instrumental in developing the curriculum and coursework during the past fifteen years as well as consistently adjusting it through significant changes during her tenure. She was at the forefront of researching and implementing the corequisite model of teaching remedial English at the college even prior to the passage of the Developmental Education Reform Act.
In addition, Werland now teaches a full range of composition and literature courses as well as her “signature” class, Introduction to Visual Communication. She is highly skilled at delivering high-quality, academically rigorous instruction in every modality.
Werland is a leader among her peers in understanding the application of AI in the classroom, and her time and effort to understand AI programs and how AI can be utilized positively in the classroom are exceptional. Her work in this area has made her colleagues more informed and better equipped to recognize and utilize AI in ways that enhance rather than detract from academic rigor. Where others see obstacles, she often finds opportunities. This example perfectly typifies the kind of professor and faculty member that Werland has become.
In addition to serving several years as a faculty advisor to SRC’s student publication of poetry and art, Kaleidoscope, Werland has also served as faculty advisor to Phi Theta Kappa for the greater part of 15 years. Her leadership and commitment to this position have provided Spoon River College students more opportunities to explore their education and engage in service learning.
“Ultimately, my success as an educator is not measured by how much content I deliver but by how empowered my students feel when they leave my classroom. If they walk away more confident in their ability to think critically, ask questions, and persist through challenges, then I have done my job,” said Werland about her teaching philosophy.
The award was presented during an employee appreciation luncheon and announced at the college’s 64th Commencement held May 8 at the Canton Campus.
