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MCC Daily Tribune

2026 Outstanding WAC Faculty Award Winners

Please extend your contratulations to Erin Strobl (BIO) and Valerie Senatore (AHPS), this year's recipients of the Outstanding WAC Faculty Award! Together, they illustrate the "across the curriculum" aspect of WR courses beautifully.  

In her BIO 156 courses, Erin encourages students' observational, reflective, and creative sides through sustained practices such as nature journaling. As she says in her nomination materials, "Nature journaling offers rescue for the anxiety-sufferer, a muse for the poets and artists, innovative inspiration for the engineers, patterns for the mathematicians, observation for the naturalists, and a method of hypothesis development and data collection for the scientists." Department chair James Murphy and colleague Julie Babulski commend Erin's commitment to equity and universal design principles, too: "By allowing flexibility in how students document their observations, through writing, drawing, or other formats, she ensures that all learners can participate meaningfully and develop confidence in their ability to communicate scientific ideas." 

Meanwhile, in SOC 101, Valerie's individual and group writing assignments help students see writing as part of the very social structures they study. They analyze Supreme Court rulings, work through case studies, and conduct literature reviews. In her nomination letter, department chair Nayda Pares-Kane speaks to the impact not only on skills, but mindset too: "[W]riting becomes a space where students slow down, reflect, and develop thoughtful analyses on topics related to human interaction, social structures, and institutions. This process not only deepens their understanding but also builds confidence in their ability to communicate their ideas."     

The Writing Across the Curriculum committee is grateful to Erin and Valerie for all they do to help students grow as thinkers and communicators. 

They will be honored with this award at the Employee Recognition Ceremony on May 27. 

Amy Burtner
Writing Across the Curriculum
05/06/2026