Do you have a favorite teacher or counselor who you feel deserves recognition?

Students can nominate an outstanding teacher or counselor for the Stephen Charry Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence until 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 16, which is the last day of final exams.

This award is given to one nominee each year to recognize their teaching, leadership, professional development and contributions to IVCC and the community.

The nominating guidelines say, “The nominee should be the kind of person who challenges students to pursue goals, prepares students to make life choices, improves student’s skills for employment and/or success in their academic endeavors, motivates students to be an active and concerned citizen of the community and is active on campus and/or in the community.”

Students, faculty, counselors, academic and student service administrators and IVCC president Jerry Corcoran can all nominate faculty and counselors for the award. Only full-time faculty and counselors who have been employed by IVCC for three years are eligible.

In addition, recipients of the award in the previous three years are not eligible for nomination. The past three year’s winners are 2013, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Economics Professor; 2012, Lori Cinotte, Journalism Professor; and 2011, Michael Phillips, Geology Professor

The winner of the award is nominated by the college for the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA) Annual Outstanding Faculty  Member Award, is recognized at IVCC’s annual recognition event and is awarded a $500 stipend.

The award is named for Stephen Charry, a former IVCC history professor and a 2003 recipient of the award, who died in 2008.

Student Government Association members had tables in the lobby Dec. 2-4 for students to take nominations papers. The forms also are available online.

Nomination deadline is Dec. 16 and forms must be turned in to the Human Resources Office. Once nominations are made, full-time faculty members and counselors score the final candidates. The winner is announced in the Spring.

Nomination forms are available by visiting www.ivcc.edu/TeachingExcellenceAward/.