Exceptional Faculty Award recipient Jim Wilkins-Luton can tell you the exact moment when the course of his career changed. He was in his final year of graduate studies at Gonzaga University, listening to an English professor discuss Milton in pedantic detail.

At the time, Wilkins-Luton was well on his way to following that professor’s path. He’d already been accepted to a Ph.D. program in English literature at Stony Brook University in New York, after which he would aim for a professorship at an elite university where he could happily discuss his own favorite authors in pedantic detail. “It was all lined up,” Wilkins-Luton recalls. “I’d been accepted; I had my funding in place; I was going to focus on either medieval or Victorian literature. Everything was going according to plan.”

But lately, Wilkins-Luton had begun having doubts about that plan. It started when he took on a part-time job teaching homeless youth to make some money during grad school. “I had all these stereotypes about what these kids would be like,” he says. “I’m ashamed to admit it, but the night before I started the job I was worried they would give me head lice. And then that first day I went to work and came home just exhausted and devastated by these kids. And I started thinking, Maybe the world didn’t need another Shakespeare professor. Maybe the world needed people who were willing to teach—to teach the people no one wanted to teach.”

Which brings us back to that Milton seminar. Wilkins-Luton found himself staring at the lecturing professor. “I’m not even kidding: This guy actually had leather elbow patches on his tweed jacket, and he was expounding on some particular sentence Milton wrote,” he recalls. “And I remember thinking, ‘That’s my future. I don’t want any part of that. What I want to do is help.'”

As fate would have it, there was a poster advertising opportunities to teach English in Japan on the seminar room’s walls. Wilkins-Luton called his wife as soon as class let out, and soon after graduation, the two of them moved to Japan, where they spent the next sevenyears teaching English. Once the couple returned to the U.S. and settled in the Portland area, it was a natural progression for Wilkins-Luton to begin teaching at a private international school, and then English as a Second Language at Clark, and then pre-college and college-level English. He earned tenure in 2006.

Wilkins-Luton says he was surprised and honored to receive a 2013-14 Exceptional Faculty Award. The award was announced at Clark’s 2014 Commencement ceremony and officially bestowed at the college’s Opening Day festivities on September 10. Student nominators described a professor they called “funny” and “friendly,” who “makes all students completely comfortable in the classroom.”

“I love to teach,” says Wilkins-Luton. “I love the classroom. I love the engagement with students.” He is sitting in his book-lined office at Clark, which amply proves that he hasn’t entirely escaped the tropes of the English professor. (“I have a lot more books at home,” he admits sheepishly, casting an eye at the seven shelves of volumes arranged in meticulous alphabetical order by author. “These are mostly the ones I don’t want my kids reading.”)

Yet despite his love of both printed books and face-to-face teaching, Wilkins-Luton recently moved to teaching entirely online. “I think you have to make transitions sometimes to stay sharp,” he explains. “Also, I’d been reading some research discussing how the face-to-face classroom favors the extrovert—the person who’s willing to raise their hand and speak up in class. In the online environment, the introvert and extrovert become equal. As someone with introvert tendencies of my own, I liked that idea.”

Wilkins-Luton says that at first, he was concerned that the online classroom would stifle the sense of humor and personal engagement that he practices in face-to-face teaching. But in fact, he says, online teaching has allowed him to give even more personalized attention to individual students. “If they ask me a question, I send them back a two-paragraph answer,” he says. “And yeah, it might have a joke in it. Because you know what? Students don’t need gravitas; they need a reason to learn.”

Learn more about the other 2013-14 Exceptional Faculty Award recipients.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

“I believe in psychology,” says psychology instructor Kelly Fielding. “I believe it has value and purpose, and if I can affect a few students who want to make a dent in all the psychological distress in this world, then that’s a good thing.”

Fielding has seen first-hand the value of psychology: With almost 30 years of clinical experience as a psychologist, he has helped hundreds of patients cope with psychological distress. He brings this experience into the classroom at Clark College, where he has taught part-time since 1988. “I’m at the point where I’m teaching the children of former students,” he says with a laugh.

There’s a reason why parents are recommending Fielding to their kids—he has developed a reputation as an excellent teacher who incorporates personal and professional stories into his teaching. These are some of the qualities that earned him the college’s prestigious Exceptional Faculty Award. The award was announced at Clark’s 2014 Commencement ceremony and officially bestowed at the college’s Opening Day festivities on September 10.

“I already loved psychology when I went into [Fielding’s] course, but after I took his class, I gained a new love for the topic,” wrote one student nominator. “He would use storytelling to weave in the actual facts [of the course material], entertaining some students and allowing those students who required a visual aid to learn the material just as well as everyone else.”

Fielding, who has a Ph.D. from Brigham Young University, says he enjoys the diversity of Clark students. “I like the population mix,” he says. “I like that there are young kids who are still in high school and adult students who are much older than the ‘traditional’ college student. I think the older students gain from the energy of the younger students, and the younger students gain from the maturity of the older students. The older students, when they come back [to school], they’re very serious.”

Fielding says he’s felt his own teaching style develop as he’s grown older—though not necessarily toward the more serious. “I find that I become more and more open,” he says. “The younger you are, the more worried you are about judgment. The older I get, the less I find myself being afraid of what students will think if I share a particular idea or story.”

Over the years, Fielding says, the theory and practice of psychology has changed as scientists make new discoveries about the human brain. But when it comes to teaching psychology, some things remain constant—such as students’ misconceptions about the subject. “They think psychology is about manipulation,” he says. “And they have little to no idea how scientific it is. I teach them the scientific method. I show them how studies are conducted. By the time we’re done, I think they understand that science is more than chemistry, cells, and physics. But they also understand how those things play into psychology.”

Learn more about the other 2013-14 Exceptional Faculty Award recipients.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Student speaker Michelle Brincefield addresses her fellow graduates during the 2014 commencement ceremony.

Clark College honored its 78th graduating class—the largest in the college’s 80-year history—at the 2014 Clark College Commencement ceremony held Thursday evening, June 19, at the Sleep Country Amphitheater.

Approximately 2,100 degrees and certificates were conferred on the next generation of our community’s workers, leaders, and scholars—up from 1,900 the year before. Approximately 715 graduates participated in the commencement ceremony, including 235 Running Start graduates—again, a new record for the college, which has the largest Running Start program in the state.

“Tonight we are here to celebrate your individual accomplishment, and more than that, we are here to celebrate a community of accomplishment,” said Clark College President Robert K. Knight in his opening remarks tot he Class of 2014. “Our community needs each every one of you with your individual skills and talents.”

Clark College Board of Trustees Chair Royce Pollard echoed that thought in his own remarks, saying “We know our future is in good hands with you, just as our community has been in good hands with Clark College alumni for eight decades now.” The former Vancouver mayor then asked the graduates to raise their right hands and repeat the following pledge: “I will never forget that I am a member of the Penguin Nation.”

Presidential Scholarship recipient Natasha Hambrook takes her seat after receiving her diploma.

For the second year in a row, the ceremony’s student speaker was chosen through an essay contest open to all 2014 graduates. Outgoing ASCC president Dena Brill introduced Michelle Brincefield, who entered Clark through Running Start and is planning on attending New Mexico Highlands University on a full athletic scholarship.

“Wherever life takes you after today, you can always take pride in knowing that you have a college degree,” Brincefield said. “No one can take that accomplishment away from you.”

During the ceremony, Clark College President Robert K. Knight announced the names of the recipients of the 2014 Exceptional Faculty Awards. The 2014 awardees are Kelly Fielding, instructor of psychology; Chris Martin, instructor of computer technology and computer graphics technology; Sarah Theberge, professor of early childhood education; and Jim Wilkins-Luton, professor of English.

Knight also announced the recipient of the 2014-2015 Community College President’s Award, which is given to a Clark College graduate who is transferring to a WSU Vancouver degree program and who demonstrated leadership potential, a commitment to community service, and academic achievement. Natasha Hambrook will receive full-time tuition that is renewable for one additional year.

This year’s commencement speaker was ABC Evening News anchor Byron Pitts, who delivered an inspiring speech about the importance of helping others. Pitts began by explaining his own difficult beginnings with education: Until age 12, he was functionally illiterate, and it took the unflagging support of his single mother to help push him toward academic success.

2014 commencement keynote speaker Byron Pitts

Pitts said that while some of that night’s graduating class may have had an easy time earning their degrees, he suspected many had had rough roads to travel. “I imagine there are some graduates here tonight who heard too often, ‘Not you, now now, not yet. You’re not good enough. You’re not ready,'” he said, adding that he called such graduates “Children of the Storm.”

“To you, the Children of the Storm–to you for whom this night was not guaranteed–you especially have a responsibility, I think, to allow somebody else to live their dream,” he said. “Whether it’s in nursing or as a machinist or going on to continue your education—whatever it is, in that space where you stand, make life better for someone else.”

Pitts received a standing ovation, and it was clear that many attendees found his message inspiring, as posts on social media soon showed.

Photos and Video: Clark College/Jenny Shadley.

Watch the entire ceremony on CVTV.

After the office of instruction showed their music video “Rock of All Ages” a flash mob started at the front of the gym. The flash mob enticed members of staff, faculty, students and even members of the Clark College board of trustees to get up and dance.

On September 11, Clark College employees gathered in the O’Connell Sports Center gymnasium to kick off another academic year. Opening Day festivities are an annual tradition at the college, a time to recognize employees’ accomplishments and to reinvigorate the college community for the coming year.

This year, the day began on a more somber note than normal, as President Bob Knight took a moment to acknowledge that Opening Day happened to fall on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He noted that he had been in the O’Connell gym 12 years ago, playing an early-morning game of basketball, when he first learned of the attacks. Knight then asked the gathered crowd to hold a moment of silence in memory of the victims of September 11.

Knight then mapped out some of the challenges and changes the college would face in the coming year. He noted that after years of skyrocketing enrollments, numbers are starting to slip downward again, requiring staff in many departments to focus on recruitment and retention. The college is also gearing up to adopt ctcLink, a new collection of online systems being phased into use at all 34 Washington state community and technical colleges. And while the 3-percent pay cut that affected most college employees has ended, the college is still facing some budget difficulties, partly due to decreased enrollment and partly due to being underfunding by the state. For instance, the college’s new STEM Building was funded by the state–but at $4.5 million less than originally planned.

“I am confident that you will face these challenges and overcome them, just as well as you have done in the past,” Knight said, adding that the college would continue to rely on private support gathered by the Clark College Foundation, which is ending its $20 million Ensuring a Bright Future campaign next June.

Associate Vice President for Planning and Effectiveness Shanda Diehl spoke about another upcoming challenge: crafting the college’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan. “Since we will use the strategic plan as a tool to make decisions, we need all of your feedback during its development,” she said, mapping out how that would take place.

But along with the talk of challenges and policies, there was also time for fun and high jinks. Traditionally, Opening Day includes a music video about the college, and this year it fell to the Office of Instruction to create the video. Titled “Rock of All Ages,” it drew cheers and laughter from the gathered employees–and, afterward, sparked an impromptu dance party that lured to the floor faculty, staff, Student Ambassadors, and even the three trustees in attendance.

Clark President Robert K. Knight presents French professor Doug Mrazrek with an award for 35 years of service to Clark College.

The event also was occasion for President Knight to award Presidential Coins to five employees, and for Human Resources to announce the recipients of the 2013 Exceptional Classified Staff Awards and to present service-anniversary awards to employees who had worked at the college for five, ten, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years. One employee, French professor Doug Mrazrek, received an award for 35 years at the college–as well as a standing ovation from the crowd. The event was also an opportunity to present plaques to the recipients of the 2012-2013 Exceptional Faculty Awards, whose names were officially announced during Commencement.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

EDITED 9/30/13 to correct end date of Foundation campaign.

On Opening Day 2013, Exceptional Faculty Award plaques were presented to, left to right, Darcie Thompson (accepting the award for her mother-in-law, Mickey Thompson), Patti Serrano, Bruce Elgort, Tony Chennault, and Mike Arnold.

Clark College President Bob Knight announced the recipients of the 2013 Exceptional Faculty Awards during the 2013 Commencement ceremony on June 20; they were presented with engraved plaques during Opening Day on September 11. This year, five faculty members—two part-time instructors and three full-time professors—received the award, which honors excellence in teaching.

The Clark College Exceptional Faculty Awards are presented annually to full-time and part-time faculty members in recognition of exemplary work performance, positive impact on students, professional commitment, and other contributions to the college. Nominations are submitted by Clark College students, faculty, classified employees, administrators, alumni, Board members, and Foundation directors. 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.

This year’s Exceptional Faculty Award recipients are:

Mike Arnold

Mike Arnold, Health and Physical Education

Mike Arnold began teaching at Clark College in 1989 and over that time has taught everything from archery to weight lifting, as well as coaching athletic teams. His students praise him for helping them improve not only their bodies, but their minds and characters as well. “Not only does he want you to do well in his class, he wants you to do well in life,” wrote one student in his nomination.

Another student wrote, “Mike Arnold is one of the most caring, respectable, honest and genuine people I have ever met. He is willing to help any student that is in need. … He is more than a teacher; he is a friend and a mentor.”

Tony Chennault

Tony Chennault, Biology

“Simply put, Tony Chennault is the best professor I have ever had,” wrote one student in nominating Chennault for the Exceptional Faculty Award. Many students praise Chennault for making a notoriously difficult series of classes—namely, Human Anatomy and Physiology—fun and understandable.

Chennault, who also teaches Human Biology, began teaching at Clark in 2008 and received tenure in 2011. He strives to make his students feel comfortable as they tackle challenging material, providing them with helpful study tips and mnemonic tricks for learning anatomical terms. “I believe this award is a reflection of having a job that I truly love and am passionate about, and I take pride in bringing that passion and energy to class every day, trying my best to make learning the science of the human body fun for the students as I have fun, too,” he said.

Bruce Elgort

Bruce Elgort, Computer Technology

Bruce Elgort has only been teaching at Clark since winter quarter 2013, but already he has made a huge impression on his students. “I was worried when I started his class that I wouldn’t be able to learn the material or properly grasp the concepts, but after I was in Bruce’s class for an hour, I felt confident and comfortable and able to learn anything,” wrote one nominator.

While Elgort is relatively new to teaching in a college setting, he has a long career in computer technology. He has worked for major technology companies, including Sharp and Underwriters Laboratories, and launched his own successful software company. When he teaches courses about programming, HTML, and PHP coding, he brings real-life experience from the work world into his classroom—a classroom that extends into the virtual realm through help sessions conducted via social media. “In today’s hyper-connected, ‘always-on’ world, the ability to extend the physical classroom is something that has become an integral part of all my work at Clark,” Elgort says.

Patti Serrano

Patti Serrano, Business Administration

Patti Serrano has had plenty of time to develop fans at Clark College—she began teaching here in 1981, beginning by teaching Fashion Merchandising before transitioning to Business Management and Marketing courses. During that time, Serrano has demonstrated leadership at the college time and again. She helped draft the college’s Strategic Plan and participated in the college’s last three accreditation efforts, as well as serving on countless committees to improve college functions; she has also served as head of the college’s Business Department and chair of the Business Division. Additionally, she is a committed educator.

“Having known Patti Serrano for over thirty years, I have personally seen the many, many hours she has devoted to helping her students with guidance in professional and personal advice,” said one coworker. “She has been a positive force for hundreds of students.”

Mickey Thompson

Mickey Thompson, Paralegal

Mickey Thompson entered the legal profession in 1977, and she brings both a depth of knowledge and a great enthusiasm about paralegal work to her teaching. Students point to the countless hours she has spent serving as the advisor to the Clark College Law Club and to her patience when guiding them through the thicket of legal terminology.

“She’s compassionate, organized, strict, and funny all at the same time,” wrote one student in her nomination. “Legal procedure is tough and complicated, and Mickey makes sure that all of her students understand the course material and have a good grasp on the concepts.”

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley