Zappin, Seok and Mathys earn honors

2020 Faculty Award Winners discuss awards, provide thanks, speak about Alvernia community
 

2020 Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement Faculty Award for Exemplary Real-World Learning

This award honors a full-time faculty member who demonstrates excellence incorporating real-world learning practices into their teaching and scholarship.  This includes service-learning, study abroad, project-based learning, student-faculty collaborative research, community-based research, and extra- and co-curricular experiences. The recipient uses real-world learning best practices as an innovative teaching tool to engage students in civic learning.

This year’s award winner is Dr. Robbin Zappin. Dr. Zappin organized a very unique international service-learning class that took place in Belize. It was an unbelievable and inspiring experience for Alvernia's Doctor of Physical Therapy students. Moreover, it helped a community with their dire health needs. Locally, Dr. Zappin has also assisted the Berks County Health Center in Oakbrook by providing care to patients there.

The Sr. Donatilla Legacy Award

This award is presented to a full-time faculty member who has given long service to the university in teaching, advising and support, and who is a social and cultural bedrock of the institution.

This year’s Sr. Donatilla Legacy Award recipient is Professor Polly Mathys.   

Professor Mathys'  devotion to athletics, advising, freshmen needs, and an continued service to the community I recognized and honored with this award.  

The Lindback Award

This award, which is presented every other year at Alvernia, is sponsored by The Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation. It recognizes excellence in teaching among long-time tenured faculty members.

This year’s Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award recipient is Dr. Bongrae Seok.  

Dr. Seok is an associate professor of Philosophy who has been teaching philosophy and other interdisciplinary courses at Alvernia for 16 years. He was the recipient of the Neag Professorship from 2014-2016.   

He works every semester with new and creative ideas of teaching. He not only has general education courses but has worked on and taught into to ethics, upper level philosophy courses along with graduate ethics courses. His adaptability to the needs of the university and students is commendable as shown with his ability to bring new courses and special topic courses to diversify the philosophy program.

He has held leadership roles and served on multiple faculty committees over the years.