Daily Archives: April 6, 2022

PSC honors 2022 Academy of Teaching Excellence inductees at dinner

Six of Pensacola State College’s best educators were treated like rock stars at a dinner in their honor on Tuesday, April 5.

They were feted and toasted, and their achievements celebrated at the Academy of Teaching Excellence dinner in the Molly McGuire Culinary Arts Dining Room on the Pensacola campus.

Five instructors were inducted into the 2022 PSC Academy of Teaching Excellence:

David Alexander – Adult Education
Dr. Stephen Gottschalk – Natural Sciences
Dr. Alex Ledgerwood – English and Communications
Lauren Rogers – Natural Sciences
Dr. Brian Ward – Business

Also, Humanities and Social Sciences instructor Robert Thead was named Outstanding New Faculty Member.

Academy of Teaching Excellence inductee Dr. Brian Ward started PSC career amid cancer battle

Just three weeks into his teaching career at Pensacola State College – and his first face-to-face teaching gig anywhere – Dr. Brian Ward underwent emergency surgery for stage 3 colon cancer just a day after being diagnosed. The cancer had advanced to that extent.

The surgery was supposed to last four hours – it took eight. He was so bad off surgeons had to stop the procedure four times to regulate Ward’s blood pressure.

Eleven days later, Ward, PSC Lead Human Resources Professor and a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, was in front of his students teaching class.

That was five years ago. Today, Ward said his doctor considers his cancer “cured,’’ though it is not in remission.

Katelyn Powell graduates from PSC in May, then off to Florida State University for Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences program.

Pensacola State College student Katelyn Powell is taking seven classes this semester. Six are Math and Science-based classes – she plans on going to Medical School – and one is Music Appreciation.

“The Music Appreciation class is the hardest class for me,” Katelyn said. “I can’t hear something and just understand the difference between the noises. It’s been hard.”

Yikes, that’s going to hurt a stellar 3.9 grade point average, isn’t it?

Dr. Sueann L. Donahue Beginning Teaching Endowed Scholarship helps next generation of educators

Dr. Sueann L. Donahue is known as a teacher’s teacher. She’s retired now and in less-than-stellar health, but her passion for teaching remains.

An endowed scholarship in her name will now help the next generation of educators studying at Pensacola State College

The Dr. Sueann L. Donahue Beginning Teacher Endowed Scholarship was established in 2019. The first scholarships were awarded in spring 2021. The endowment total is $25,001.

“This was a lifetime goal for Sueann,’’ said her husband, Chuck Donahue, a former engineering technology instructor at Pensacola Junior College, which became Pensacola State College in 2010. He taught at the College from 1985 to 2002.

PSC Art Student Honors Exhibition reception, prize ceremony is April 14

The best pieces from Pensacola State College’s best art students are now on display at the Switzer Gallery in the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts on the Pensacola campus.
The Art Student Honors Exhibition showcases 96 artworks in a variety of media, including ceramics, drawing, painting, digital design, photography and sculpture. The exhibition opened April 4 and runs through April 22.
The reception and prize ceremony for the exhibition is set for 5-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14. The exhibition was open to all two-year visual arts students.