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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Professor James Coffey awarded the 2011 Dr. Wesley T. Hanson Award for Teaching Excellence


The Hanson Award is the highest teaching award granted by Monroe Community College. Only one is awarded each year, and its purpose is to honor the truly superb teaching professional.

Please join the Faculty Senate in congratulating Professor James Coffey of Speech Communication (VAPA), the 2011 Hanson Award honoree.

Jim has served MCC for more than twenty years, epitomizing teaching excellence in and out of the classroom.  He constantly revamps his teaching materials to bring maximum impact to the lives of students and is untiring in his efforts to engage and motivate them.  He uses student input to modify his writing assignments and make them relevant to daily life.  Over 99% of his students pass the final oral skills exams because they benefit from the constant assessment and feedback Jim provides throughout the semester. And, over 95% of students in his classes find the frequent writing assignments valuable, even if they score poorly on them.  He is more than willing to work one on one with students. In one case he created an entire practicum that enabled one student to produce and edit educational videos.  It is truly inspiring to see that level of caring and giving.

Importantly, Jim sets high academic standards.  Balancing compassion with clear expectations, he has detailed policies regarding the classroom, including attendance and responsible interaction as well as academic excellence.  He also acts as a mentor to other faculty. To quote his department chair, “not only has Jim consistently taught with excellence, he has shared his knowledge with junior faculty and encouraged excellent teaching in others. “

Again, best wishes and sincerest congratulations to a wonderful teacher and dedicated colleague!



Carmen Powers
Faculty Senate
04/28/2011