ECSU recognizes its Departmental Teachers of the Year

Kesha Williams
May 26, 2014 Elizabeth City State University congratulates its 2014 Departmental Teachers of the Year: Mr. Tommy Cox, a lecturer in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Margaret Young, an associate professor in the Herman G. Cooke Department of Natural Sciences, Dr. Kimberly Fitchett-Bazemore, assistant professor, Department of Education and Psychology Eligible faculty members must meet the following standards: Full time faculty members with at least five years of teaching experience at ECSU Must have demonstrated excellent or exceptional teaching ability over a sustained period of time Must have taught at least 9 credit hours for the last three academic years Must not have received this award within last three years Fitchett-Bazemore, a professor in the Education Department, has been an educator for the last 21 years. She worked in elementary, middle, and high schools before coming to ECSU. She’s taught here for the last seven years. &quotNot many educators are afforded the opportunity to experience each level personally and comprehend the significance of how all levels build upon one another. It has been very rewarding to see the &quotbig picture,&quot Fitchett-Bazemore said. &quotI am deeply honored, very humbled and extremely fortunate to receive such an esteemed recognition. Here I have the ability to share the &quotbig picture&quot with future teachers, and this is my most rewarding experience!&quot Young, a biology professor, said she too is honored to receive this recognition. She taught biology in her native country, Jamaica (University of the West Indies), the Mona campus, then assisted with labs and courses at Mississippi State University. She is encouraged by the former students who have gone on to successful careers in the sciences. She has taught biology here since 2003. Her instruction style has modified as the amount of information available online has increased. She expects students to develop a high level of curiosity which leads them to consult relevant online resources that are related to the material she presents in class or in biology labs. &quotI strongly believe that teaching is not a job but a career which demands a passion for learning. As a faculty, it my responsibility to ensure that I am up to date and technology can play a part with the use of webinars, e-learning courses etc.,&quot Young said. &quotI try to make my courses as real-world as possible, and I treat the students as potential employees, graduate or professional students. I believe in using YouTube videos and animations to better explain a topic, however, there is nothing equal to doing comprehensive science labs and seeing the light bulbs going off as the lectures etc. come to light. You witness that response when you work face to face with good students.&quot Chancellor Becton congratulated these outstanding faculty at the university’s recent Faculty/Staff Institute. There the Departmental Teachers of the Year, the 2014 recipient of Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching, Dr. Eyualem Abebe, and the runners up for that award, Dr. Krishna Kulkarni and Dr. Rebecca Seaman, received awards for their contributions to higher education.