IRSC Foundation - Endowed Teaching Chairs

Four exceptional Indian River State College (IRSC) professors were surprised with Endowed Teaching Chairs from the Indian River State College Foundation in recognition of their outstanding work at IRSC and to support new initiatives benefiting students and the community.

The recipients are Ms. Kendra Auberry, Assistant Professor/Librarian, Pruitt Campus with the John and Marilyn McConnell Endowed Teaching Chair (any discipline); Dr. Heather Michaels, Master Instructor, Physical Science with the Gladys Williams Wolf Endowed Teaching Chair in Communication; Dr. Bodi Anderson, Associate Professor, Education with the J. Douglas Stephens Endowed Teaching Chair (any discipline); and Dr. John Southall, Professor and Director of Bands and Coordinator of Music Education and Therapy with the Community Endowed Teaching Chair in Fine Arts.

“High quality instruction is fundamental to IRSC’s mission, and we believe it is very important to recognize these outstanding faculty members and reward them with the resources to implement projects that will benefit our students and the community,” shares Dr. Edwin R. Massey, IRSC President. “Their contributions are an essential factor in our recognition as the Top College in the nation with the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.”

Dr. Massey and more than 30 IRSC administrators, faculty, and students surprised the recipients with balloons, flowers, and a miniature wooden “chair” for the surprise presentation. The recipients will be rewarded with an annual stipend of $6,000 a year for three consecutive years; $4,000 to implement their initiatives and improve instruction in their field of expertise and $2,000 in recognition of excellence in teaching. The Endowed Teaching Chair program is made possible by contributions to the IRSC Foundation.

Ms. Kendra Auberry will develop the Algorithm Literacy Initiative as an opportunity to teach students, faculty and the community basic algorithm literacy concepts and encourage them to consider the impact of algorithms.

Dr. Heather Michaels will create focused student panel discussions comprised of a diverse group of students as well as faculty from various disciplines. The goal is that, through the discussions, we will gain insight from the student perspective on how IRSC faculty can be more effective educators.

Dr. Bodi Anderson will create a Laboratory for Educational Technology (LET) which will provide IRSC’s pre-service School of Education majors access to trending technologies for educational enhancement. LET aims to provide teacher education students with the real-life tools and experience needed to prepare for the future of technology integration in K-12 classrooms.

Dr. John Southall will create the Meaningful Collaboration for Lifelong Participation in Music Program. The program will pair community musicians with IRSC instrumental music students in order to create a sustainable environment in which all participants can engage in meaningful music-making activities and develop mentor/mentee relationships.

Endowed Teaching Chair Recipients

To date, the IRSC Foundation has awarded 57 faculty members with Endowed Teaching Chairs.

BankAtlantic Endowed Teaching Chair

2018 - Dr. Kyle Freund

2015 - Dr. Tom D'Elia

2012 - Marvin E. Hobson

2009 - Teresa P. Hasenaur

2006 - Asoka R. Peiris

2003 - Mary Jane Hopkins, A.R.N.P.

2000 - Henri Sue Bynum, Ph.D.

Richardson Endowed Teaching Chair in Business and Entrepreneurship

2018 - Dr. Kimberlie Massnick