2021 Recipient: Professor George Searles
Throughout his forty-five year career at Mohawk Valley Community College, Dr. George
Searles has been a highly respected Professor in the School of Humanities. An outstanding
teacher, active scholar, and published poet, he has positively influenced hundreds
of students’ lives and careers. He is a masterful instructor who demonstrates patience
and respect for his students and their writing, while also providing a unique learning
experience based on individual student needs.
Professor Searles is recognized for fostering mentorships with students and colleagues and for his deep commitment to the mission of the community college. He is generous with his time, using his knowledge and skills to assist with various endeavors at the College. He welcomes new faculty into his discipline and quietly supports and guides them as they navigate the classroom experience. He has served extensively in campus governance and volunteers his time offering poetry workshops and writing grants for regional non-profit organizations.
Highly regarded in his field, Professor Searles is also a past recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, and the Carnegie Foundation’s New York State Teacher of the Year Award. He is considered a national authority on Philip Roth and has served as advisory editor for Philip Roth Studies. His text book, Workplace Communications: The Basics was born out of the needs of his students. Now in its 8th edition, it is used in over 200 colleges in the United States and internationally, including Canada, Saudi Arabia, and China. While maintaining an impressive scholarly and publishing career, Professor Searles’ deepest commitments remain in the area of classroom teaching and service to the community. Professor Searles exemplifies the passion, excellence and service leadership required of SUNY’s highest academic rank, that of SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor.
2016 Recipient: Norayne W. Rosero
Throughout her thirty-five years at Mohawk Valley Community College Professor Norayne
Rosero has been a leader in the classroom and in the college community. She makes
essential contributions as a teacher, as a colleague, and as an expert in assessment
review. She teaches younger faculty how to teach, often delivering presentations on
deep student learning methods and the development of effective student learning outcomes.
She is an extraordinary teacher who encourages and inspires while imbuing her classes
with new teaching methods, and her students respond with superior performance.
Professor Rosero has served on over seventy college committees and has worked tirelessly and successfully to convince college faculty that academic program review, accreditation review, and self-study are opportunities for all of us to learn and improve. She has frequently chaired major committees and self-study efforts at the college. Her expertise in the area of assessment has been broadly influential, both in her service as a member of several Middle States study teams, and as co-chair of the SUNY Council on Assessment.
The recipient of several teaching and faculty service awards, Professor Rosero exemplifies the passion, excellence and service leadership of the SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor.
2015 Recipient: Ronald M. Labuz
Professor Ron Labuz’s career spans over three decades of inspired teaching that engages
students in creative, experiential, project based learning. A Full Professor since
1991, Labuz expertly teaches a myriad of courses, and compassionately mentors former
and current students within the Graphic Arts program, in which he serves as Coordinator.
Ron led the total redesign of the art program and serves as a Teaching Fellow in MVCC’s New Faculty Institute. He currently serves on sixteen separate college-wide committees as well as the Faculty Council of Community Colleges. He is the recipient of Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Professional Service, Faculty Service, and Scholarship and Creative Activities. Ron has published fifteen books including Faces of the Mohawk Valley which features MVCC students.
Ron has the heart of a teacher, and the testimonials of countless students and colleagues spanning 34 years powerfully attest to this. Professor Labuz’s contributions through his students continue to reverberate within professional communities throughout the world as his mentees have gone on to excel in their own highly successful careers in Graphic Arts.