News
Randall Honored with Excellence in Teaching Award
04/28/20
Dr. Jennifer Randall is a creative teacher for both face-to-face and online learning who incorporates service learning and other engaging practices in her curriculum.
Randall, an associate professor of English, is the recipient of the Dalton State Foundation’s Excellence in Teaching Award for this year. Faculty members are nominated for the award by their peers, and a winner was chosen by a committee of faculty and students from each of the college’s schools.
“Dr. Randall is valued by students, peers and the greater Dalton State community,” said Dr. Bruno Hicks, provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, who presented the award via video due to remote learning and work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Her teaching evaluations are outstanding, her creative use of technology in the classroom and online is excellent, and her incorporation of service projects into the curriculum is inspiring,” Hicks said. “Her work serves as an excellent model for others.”
Students have stated in evaluations: “You have a love for teaching, and it shows the moment you walk in that room.” Another student thanked Randall for “going above and beyond to make the class an exciting learning experience.”
Other students praise Randall for her teaching style, for her individualized help and for the passion and excitement she shows for the material she is teaching.
“This passion and excitement and the help she gives her students is seen in comments by her peers as well,” Hicks said. “Her chair, Dr. Kerri Allen, commented, ‘Enthusiasm inside the classroom equals her excitement and dedication to preparing to go into it.’”
Randall finds new ways to teach students, tailoring lessons to individual needs and interests.
“One of her peers, in a support letter, put it this way: ‘She is an exceptional professor who goes to great lengths to engage her students and is most deserving of this award,” Hicks said. “She is constantly researching fresh ways of teaching, and then implements these into her classroom to better serve our students. Besides all the innovation, Jennifer deeply cares for students. She is patient and seeks to help them both inside and outside the classroom. It is obvious that she is a teacher extraordinaire.”