IRSC Foundation - Endowed Teaching Chairs

Endowed Teaching Chairs

2021 Endowed Teaching Chair Applications

Through the Endowed Teaching Chair program, the Foundation supports and recognizes outstanding faculty for teaching excellence. At most colleges and universities Endowed Teaching Chairs are used to support research and publishing. At IRSC, where student learning is the #1 concern, our main purpose is to recognize and reward faculty for quality teaching which directly correlates with student success.

Throughout the year, applicants have the opportunity to submit a proposal for projects which will improve instruction, professional development, and/or provide a means to further contribute toward the excellence of the College. Following a competitive review process, recipients are rewarded with an annual stipend of $6,000 per year for three consecutive years. Two-thirds of the stipend ($4,000) is used to support the proposal and the remaining one-third of the stipend ($2,000) is paid directly to the recipient in recognition of his or her outstanding contribution to the College's mission. The recipients are surprised in their classroom or office and formally recognized at the annual Awards Breakfast in August.

Recipients are selected based on a portfolio review with consideration given to teaching and attainment of performance outcomes, overall contribution toward achievement of the College mission, commitment to professional development and the potential of the proposed plan to improve instruction and benefit IRSC students and the community.

This year, faculty have the opportunity to apply for the following Endowed Teaching Chairs:

BankAtlantic Foundation Endowed Teaching Chair (any discipline)
Richardson Endowed Teaching Chair in Business and Entrepreneurship
J. Douglas Stephens Endowed Teaching Chair in Technology
Banack Family Partership Endowed Teachign Chair in Agriculture

Full-time employees and faculty have the opportunity to apply for the following Endowed Chairs.

Endowed Chair in Innovations and Entrepreneurship

For more information on how to apply for an Endowed Teaching Chair Award, review the 2021 Endowed Teaching Chair Application Form which is located here. The deadline to receive applications is Friday, February 15, 2021. If you have any questions, please contact Brianne Hutchinson at x7856 or via email at bhutchin@irsc.edu.

The Endowed Teaching Chair Program is made possible by contributions to the IRSC Foundation. Each Endowed Teaching Chair represents a contribution of $120,000 from one or more donors. Each Chair is named in honor of the donor(s) who have funded the Chair. Endowed Teaching Chair sponsors are recognized at an annual awards ceremony, as well as through appropriate publications and publicity. For more information, or to support the Endowed Teaching Chair program through a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Ann Decker, Executive Director of the IRSC Foundation, at 772-462-4786 or via email at adecker@irsc.edu.

2020 Endowed Teaching Chairs Awarded

FORT PIERCE, FL—Four exceptional Indian River State College (IRSC) professors were named Endowed Teaching Chairs by the Indian River State College Foundation in recognition of their outstanding work at IRSC and to support implementation of new initiatives benefiting students and the community.

The recipients are Dr. Steven Hammer, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, with the Basil L. King Endowed Teaching Chair in Health Sciences; Dr. Moamer Hasanovic, Assistant Professor and Department Chair, Electronics Engineering Technology, with the Susan H. Johnson Endowed Teaching Chair; Dr. Robert Lowery, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences with the Marilyn C. Link Endowed Chair in Financial Management; and Ms. Mia Tignor, Interim Administrative Director of Library Services and Assistant Professor, with the Patterson Endowed Teaching Chair in Humanities.

“Through the Endowed Teaching Chair program, IRSC recognizes outstanding faculty for teaching excellence that directly correlates with student success,” says Dr. Edwin R. Massey, IRSC President. “Today we recognize four exceptional faculty members who, through this program, will implement projects that improve instruction and further contribute toward the excellence of the College.”

Presentations were made earlier today during the annual Faculty Awards Ceremony. Recipients were celebrated with flowers and a miniature wooden “chair.” Each will receive an annual stipend in support of their project: $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.

Dr. Steve Hammer seeks to improve student success in anatomy and physiology through the use of 3-dimensional viewing of anatomical structures and related iPad technology. Through the Utilizing iPad Technology and 3D4Medical Interactive Anatomy Program, the IRSC Biology Department will purchase technology and develop unique interactive applications that, together with instructor teaching and model interaction within labs, lead to a more complete, interactive and retaining learning environment for students.

Dr. Moamer Hasanovic will create the School of Photonics and Robotics at the Coast (SPARC), a partnership between local high schools and the IRSC Electronics Engineering Technology program. High school students participating in the SPARC academy will be offered a clear path toward completion of all the requirements of the IRSC Laser and Photonics Certificate, and the region will benefit from an uninterrupted pipeline of graduates to meet job market demands in photonics and possibly other areas of advanced electronics.

Dr. Robert Lowery will establish the IRSC Bioinformatics Consultancy Development Project, where IRSC students, working with faculty and IRSC graduates, can engage in paid internships that expand marketable skills, knowledge base and critical-thinking skills through active research in DNA sequencing. The project also seeks to bolster entrepreneurial scientific development for the region by supporting the growth of new biotechnology start-ups that will strengthen the local economy and provide employment opportunities for IRSC graduates.

Ms. Mia Tignor will create the IRSC Center for Digital Humanities. The Center will provide support to IRSC faculty who wish to incorporate new and emerging technologies into their humanities instruction or engage more mindfully with humanities questions in their technology and science classrooms. The Center will be among the first of its kind at a community college within the nation, and the first within the state of Florida.

To date, the IRSC Foundation has awarded 66 honored faculty members with Endowed Teaching Chairs.

Other Endowed Teaching Chair awards include the Banack Family Partnership Endowed Teaching Chair in Agriculture, BankAtlantic Foundation Endowed Teaching Chair (any discipline), Community Endowed Teaching Chair in Fine Arts, Endowed Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, John and Marilyn McConnell Endowed Teaching Chair, Richardson Endowed Teaching Chair in Business and Entrepreneurship, J. Douglas Stephens Endowed Teaching Chair (any discipline), J. Douglas Stephens Endowed Teaching Chair in Technology, and the Gladys Williams Wolf Endowed Teaching Chair in Communications.