CLC professors receive 2013-14 teaching excellence awards

College of Lake County professors Bob Dodd (business) and Dr. Martha Lally (psychology) have received the 2013-14 Teaching Excellence Award from the Austin, Texas-based National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).

Dodd and Lally, who were nominated by other CLC faculty and deans, were chosen from a pool of 12 CLC applicants by a faculty committee. They accepted their awards at the NISOD conference, held May 25-28 in Austin.

Dodd, who has taught at CLC full time for six years plus one year as an adjunct, said he likes to engage students through humor and applying business concepts to students' everyday lives. "The issues regarding the finances of a business are similar to those of an individual," he said. "Buying a house is an example of using both debt financing (mortgage) and equity financing (down payment)."

Lally, who taught as a CLC adjunct for seven years before moving to full time in 2008, said she also stresses practical application of concepts. "I cannot compete against a smartphone in terms of knowledge," she said. "Consequently, my teaching objective is not just to disseminate information, which students can get from a variety of sources, but rather to assist students in applying this information to real-world situations."

Both professors said they were honored to receive their awards among other CLC faculty they consider exceptional or equally deserving of the award. And both had praise for their students, too. "The students at CLC make coming to work a joy," Lally said. "So many of them are juggling work and family obligations with other personal constraints. When they are successful and appreciative of my instruction, there is no better reward."

Since its inception in 1978, NISOD has emphasized the importance of teaching and leadership excellence in institutions of higher education.