Kelly Hubbard & Jeff Wright are the 2024 House/Bruckmann Award recipients and James Park receives the Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award

Kelly Hubbard, Professor and Program Chair for Early Childhood Education (Humanities & Sciences Division), and Jeff Wright, Professor and Program Chair for Aviation Maintenance Technology (Engineering & Information Technologies Division), are the 2024 recipients of the House/Bruckmann Faculty Excellence Awards.

The 2024 recipient of the Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award is Chanyung (James) Park, Sociology Instructor in the Humanities & Sciences Division.

• Award recipients will be honored at an Awards Celebration on Monday, April 22, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Conference Center.
• The celebration also will recognize the other House/Bruckmann award finalists, Dr. Bob Jakubovic and Chef Betsy LaSorella, as well as the new recipients of Professor Emeritus status.

Kelly Hubbard has been a full-time faculty member at Cincinnati State since 2015. Her award nomination recognized her Contributions to the Community and program leadership, including:

• Speaking at the National Association for the Education of Young Children conference.
• Serving as a campus leader for the Bold Beginnings in Higher Education grant, which funds curriculum enhancements to support inclusion of children with disabilities.
• Facilitating student participation in the Leading Men Fellowship program, which strives to increase the number of men of color who pursue Early Childhood Education careers.
• Serving as a member of the Butler County Educational Service Center Advisory Board.

• Strengthening a partnership with the Workforce Development Center to offer students opportunities to earn the Child Development Associate credential.
• Establishing lab site partnerships with community agencies for Clifton and Middletown ECE students.
• Creating a 2+2 articulation pathway with Northern Kentucky University.
• Serving as a subject matter expert on several review panels for the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

Jeff Wright joined the full-time faculty in 1997. His award nomination noted his Excellence in Instruction, Commitment to Student Success, and Contributions to the Community, including:

• Nearly doubling enrollment over the past five years, to nearly 180 students, making the program one of the 10 largest AMT programs in the U.S.
• Emphasizing “hands-on” learning and keeping all students focused and engaged while completing tasks like taking a jet engine apart and putting it back together.
• Connecting with all of his students and graduates on a personal level that means he can tell you where they went to high school, where they co-op, and where they are working now.
• Mentoring new full-time faculty members and adjunct instructors to achieve student success while also meeting the regulations required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and achieving program performance well above College averages for student persistence (84%), retention (68%), and other success measures.
• Helping to bring nearly $1,000,000 in grant funding to the AMT program.

Chanyung (James) Park began teaching at Cincinnati State in 2012. He was nominated for the Adjunct Excellence Award based on his Excellence in Instruction and Contributions to the College, including:

• Developing three sociology courses: Introduction to Sociology, Race and Ethnicity, and Social Problems.
• Leading College Credit Plus offerings of Introduction to Sociology at several high schools.
• Assisting new colleagues by sharing model course materials and serving as the Sociology disciplinary expert for the department.
• Preparing materials required for Ohio Transfer 36 approval for two Sociology courses.
• Leading a project to improve communication among Sociology faculty members.
• Serving as the faculty advisor for student organizations including Phi Theta Kappa academic honor society and the Cincinnati State Gamer’s Club.

Background

The House/Bruckmann Faculty Excellence Award was established in 1985.

• The award is named for Clifford R. House, the first president of Cincinnati Technical College, and Alice P. Bruckmann, a member of the College’s first Board of Trustees. 
• Tenured faculty members may be nominated for the award by faculty and academic administrators, based on demonstrated excellence related to the following criteria:
  • Excellence in Instruction
  • Commitment to Student Success
  • Collaborative Spirit
  • Contributions to the College
  • Contributions to the Community
  • Professional Achievements
  • Other
• Nominations are reviewed by a Screening Subcommittee comprised of past award recipients, and up to five nominees may be recommended for recognition as finalists.
• The award recipients are selected from the group of finalists through voting by faculty members and academic administrators.

The Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award was established in 2021.

• Any part-time employee with responsibilities that involve instruction, cooperative education coordination, clinical or practicum coordination, or academic advising is eligible for nomination.
• Nominations can be made by full-time and part-time faculty, academic administrators, staff members, and students, using the same criteria as those for the House/Bruckmann awards.

• Nominations must be endorsed by the applicable program or department chair and the applicable division administrator.
• Nominations are then reviewed by the members of the Faculty Excellence Committee, who select the award recipients. Up to five adjunct faculty members may receive the award each year.