Instructors at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) have nominated five of their peer instructors for the Rick Perkins Award of Excellence in Technical Instruction competition.
The Rick Perkins Award honors the Technical College System of Georgia’s most outstanding instructors. The award has been an ongoing statewide event since 1991 and is designed to recognize technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields.
Listed are the nominees for the 2017 award, including (left to right) instructors name and program.
- Jeremiah Cooper, Welding and Joining Technology
- Tom Rittweger, General Education, Math
- Ron Vick, Computer Information Systems
- Kevan Watkins, General Education, Psychology
- Dwight Watt, Computer Information Systems
“We are fortunate at Georgia Northwestern Technical College to have instructors who care so much about the students and the learning process,” said Beverly Padgett, GNTC Rick Perkins Coordinator. “These nominees continuously go beyond what is expected of them to not only meet but to surpass the needs of their students. Commitment is a part of who these instructors are and it is evident in the relationships they have with their students.”
Formerly known as the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence, the award was renamed in honor and memory of Thomas “Rick” Perkins, an instructor at West Central Technical College, who received the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence prior to his untimely death.
The Technical College System of Georgia provides oversight for the Rick Perkins Award programs through the system’s office, the college presidents’ Academic Affairs Committee, and the state planning committee.
A screening committee of administrators at GNTC reviewed each of the nominated instructors and conducted personal interviews with the nominees. From the screening committee interviews, a winner will be chosen to represent the college as GNTC’s 2017 Rick Perkins winner and move on to the regional competition.