VGCC instructor honored as state’s top community college teacher
Vance-Granville Community College instructor Marian C. Dillahunt-Andrews of Durham was recently named the recipient of the 2011 North Carolina Community College System Excellence in Teaching Award, the highest honor for an educator in the 58-college system. She will be formally recognized at the North Carolina Community Colleges Excellence Event, called “The Great Within the 58,” on April 14 in Raleigh. Dillahunt-Andrews (pictured above), who teaches developmental English and reading for VGCC’s Arts and Sciences division, was named VGCC’s faculty member of the year in August.
“It is a great honor for me to be recognized by my peers, my college, and the North Carolina Community College System for doing what I have been called to do — mentor and teach North Carolina’s present and future workforce,” Dillahunt-Andrews said. “I am truly fortunate to be a part of the North Carolina Community College System and Vance-Granville Community College, which have provided me with a venue in which to touch the lives of others in a most unique way, through developmental education.”
Since joining VGCC in 2004, Dillahunt-Andrews has taught courses such as Expository Writing, Academic Success and Study Skills, Southern Culture and Introduction to College Reading, both in traditional classrooms and online. She also founded and serves as an advisor for the VGCC Literary Arts Club. She is known for using innovative teaching strategies, and regularly speaks to fellow instructors at conferences, on topics including the use of technology and social media. Dillahunt-Andrews earned her bachelor’s degree at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (1992), a master’s degree in English literature at North Carolina Central University (2004) and a master of library science degree at East Carolina University (2009). She is currently working toward a Ph.D. through Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Before coming to VGCC, Dillahunt-Andrews was an adjunct instructor at two other community colleges (Wake Technical Community College and Craven Community College) and taught in the public schools of Durham, Pitt, and Craven counties. She was also an education specialist for IBM. Dillahunt-Andrews was selected for Who’s Who Among American Teachers in 2007 and was also VGCC’s representative on a 2007 trip to India sponsored by World View, an international program for educators based at UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Excellence in Teaching Award was established in 1985 by the State Board of Community Colleges to provide recognition for full-time teachers who exemplify the highest standards of instruction and professionalism in the classroom and who consistently demonstrate excellence in service to their colleges and communities. The award winner receives a cash prize of $8,000 and a plaque. The VGCC Endowment Fund will also receive a cash prize of $2,000. The award is sponsored by the State Board of Community Colleges and endowed by R.J. Reynolds. Only one other time has an instructor from VGCC received the honor. That was in 1987, when Dr. Nannette S. Henderson, then chair of the science department, was the Excellence in Teaching Award recipient.
