COD Instructor Receives Prestigious National Teaching Award
College of DuPage Professor of English Danica Hubbard Ph.D. was recently the recipient of a National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence Award.
Established in 1991, The NISOD Excellence Awards were established to recognize faculty, administrators and staff who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues. Since then, more than 25,000 recipients have been honored with the Excellence Award by NISOD member colleges.
Hubbard said she is thankful to College of DuPage Interim Associate Dean of English and ELS Mark Collins for nominating her.
"Accepting this award is a special honor," Hubbard said. "I am humbled to be associated with such a fine group of educators."
Hubbard earned a B.S. from Miami University, a Masters of Arts in Writing from DePaul University and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education, Reading, Writing, and Literacy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has worked at DePaul University as an English studies tutor, the National Writer's Voice Project in Chicago and as a Merchandising Specialist at IBM Corporation. She was awarded the Blackboard Catalyst Award for Exemplary Course Design, and the Math and English Department Integrated Curriculum Award in 2006.
Each May, NISOD hosts its International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence. During the conference, award recipients are celebrated during the Excellence Award Dinner and Celebration.
Hubbard said she looks forward to representing College of DuPage at the conference, not only an awardee but also as a presenter, sharing her experiences teaching online courses at College of DuPage with her discussion "Blogging for Beginners." She said though she's extremely honored by the award, she feels just as fortunate for her role as a teacher.
"It is an absolute delight to work with students in achieving their academic, professional and personal goals," she said. "I see our classes as cooperative ventures that build literacy histories and through listening, we extend student stories to audiences who can facilitate positive change. While it is exciting to be recognized on a national level, I believe our students deserve the most applause."
For more information about the English program at College of DuPage, please visit cod.edu/programs/english.