…Mary has developed and now co-coordinates a study
abroad program that has rapidly expanded over the past four
years. She has managed to leverage that opportunity into a partnership with Costa Rican educational resources and global research
opportunities for both students and faculty. In fact, she just returned from that country, with all 21 students in tow, along with
specimens for a scheduled DNA barcoding workshop Mary organized and funded through DNALC. Mary's Costa Rica collaborations
have multiplied to include other faculty, disciplines, campuses, institutions, and research organizations. It is a model for study
abroad.
Mary Phillips
Recipient of the 2012
National Association of
Biology Teachers
Two-Year Teaching
Excellence Award is
Mary Phillips
By: Lyn Kent, Associate Dean of Science and Mathematics
At the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) conference in Dallas this weekend, SEC Associate
Professor of Biology Mary Phillips was named the recipient of
the 2012 National Association of Biology Teachers Two-Year
Teaching Excellence Award. The announcement appears in
this month's issue of the American Biology Teacher journal,
and there may be an additional newsletter next month.
Here are a few excerpts from my recommendation
letter, just to give you a glimpse into some of the many reasons
Mary is so deserving of this award:
…Mary’s unmatched energy, enthusiasm, ideas, vision,
and ability to make the impossible possible are legendary. …
Mary will take her classes to explore the Arkansas River, various Oklahoma parks, and on overnight camping experiences to
connect them with the natural world she brings to life in
class. She pioneered campus use of Connect and LearnSmart
technology for TCC Biology, and was in the first TCC faculty
cohort for Quality Matters Advanced Professional Certification,
specifically focused on improving the success of students in
her online class. She has now been asked to help evaluate other college online courses for improvement. Through her efforts to engage and innovate, Mary’s students learn to move
easily from Wordle and wikis to tents and trails.
Mary’s unfailing drive for excellence in the learning environment for TCC biology students begins in her own classroom but
extends far beyond. In particular, her organized mentorship and
training of a large number of part-time instructors has a significant
impact on the academic quality of courses which touch thousands
of students each year. She has also enriched the development and
teaching excellence of full-time Biology faculty by including and
encouraging faculty participation in multiple development, workshop, and grant opportunities. Through her refusal to remain stagnant, Mary has received Faculty Innovation Grants for the past
three years in a row….
However May also engages students on a very personal
level and with an intense commitment. On any given week, you
may find her coordinating student independent study through the
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Paddlefish Project,
recording student interviews in the building foyer on Earth Day,
teaching her biotech workshop for Upward Bound students or middle school teachers, cutting pH paper into little pieces to stretch lab
dollars, or setting up food collection boxes in the building for student donations. And then she meets her PIPESTEMS mentee for
weekend hiking in her spare time! A story that captures some of
the personal teaching excellence Mary models relates to one particular student. This student was sitting way back in Mary’s Biology
for Majors lecture auditorium, with a rather defiant expression. Among a sea of faces, Mary noticed, and caught the student
for an after-class conversation. Recognizing quickly that this student needed a challenge, Mary introduced her to the college’s new
biotechnology program and pathway. This disengaged student
soon became an enthusiastic and highly successful TCC student and
… biotechnology graduate. …
…The above conveys only a fraction of the force of nature
that is Mary Phillips. Mary's leadership, innovation, participation,
development, and contribution to classroom, college, profession,
research, and community is remarkable, and demonstrates an unfailing commitment to students and science.
Mary is also deeply engaged in college, community, and
discipline service, through Hispanic Lunch, Majors Fair, Upward
Bound, Biology Assessment, a number of college committees, lab
assistant supervision, NABT committees, National Human Genome
Research Institute's (NHGRI) Spanish translation project, and service learning projects incorporated into her classes.
Mary was honored to represent TCC, and is truly representative of TCC’s outstanding faculty.
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