As spring semester comes to a close on Thursday, April 24, 11 Cerritos College outstanding faculty winners were honored for their distinguished service to the 22,921 Falcon students during the annual luncheon.
The “Most Distinguished Faculty Award” recipient for the 2013-2014 academic school year is Bill Sparks.
“I’m greatly honored by this award but also humbled. I really do think that I teach at one of the best community colleges, if not one of the best colleges in the country,” he said. “I’m really accepting this award for hundreds of my colleagues that I think are also excellent teachers.”
An associate professor of speech, in the Liberal Arts Division, Sparks accepted the plaque from Scott O’Neil, faculty senate president, who moderated the afternoon luncheon held in the Student Center. In addition, the Cerritos College Foundation Executive Director Steve Richardson presented Sparks with a financial award of $500 dollars for his service to the college.
O’Neil said the (luncheon) wasn’t just a time to recognize faculty for the work they do but also for their years of service. Service awards were given to those who have ‘a quarter century plus’ as Cerritos faculty, while further acknowledgment was given to “those who were working to get to the escalator to that plateau.” Service pins for faculty at Cerritos were for five years (1), 10 years (8), 15 years (5) and one faculty twenty-year recipient
Dr. JoAnna Schilling, Vice President of Academic Affairs/Assistant Superintendent, presented the Years of Service Awards.
25 Years of Service awards went to Dr. Robert Buschauer and Cheryl Shimazu, Science, Engineering, and Mathematics; Michael Farina, Business, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Dr. Frank Gaik, Liberal Arts and Dr. Edward Rother, Technology divisions.
30 Years of Service awards went to Gene Lazor and Dr. Mervat Zewail, Science, Engineering, and Mathematics and Beverly Whitson, Liberal Arts Science, Engineering, and Mathematics divisions.
And for 35 Years of Service, Ingeborg Potter of the Liberal Arts division.
The Distinguished Faculty Award Recipients for the 2013-2014 year are (alphabetically):
- Mario Guerrero, adjunct instructor of machine tool technology
- Jayananda Hiranandani, professor of engineering design technology, Technology Division
- Jesusita Lopez, assistant professor of culinary arts, Health Occupations Division
- Ian McCance, instructor of mathematics, science, engineering, Mathematics Division
- Dr. Miodrag Micic, instructor of engineering design technology, Technology Division
- Terrance Mullins, instructor of political science, business, humanities, and Social Sciences Division
- Edward Rother, professor of architecture, Technology Division
- Charles Robertson, professor of automotive collision repair, Technology Division
- Carlos Sanchez, adjunct instructor of woodworking, Manufacturing Technology, Technology Division
- Traci Ukita, assistant professor of counseling, Counseling Services
“The nomination process begins in the fall, October through November. During the winter break through early spring semester, the nomination committee ran through approximately 100 nomination papers,” Monica Lopez said. She is the chair for the senate committee on professional relations. “This year over 25 part-time and over 50 full-time faculty were nominated.
“The nominations from our students, faculty, staff and managers, believe the faculty nominees made a difference in their lives, or have contributed to our campus community with their dedication at Cerritos College,” Lopez said.
The Department of Engineering Design Technology at Cerritos College welcomed two of this years honorees, Department Chair Dr. Miodrag “Mickey” Micic and Professor Jayananda Hiranandani.
Dr. Micic, Sc.D., Ph.D., M.T.M., CSWP, has been teaching at Cerritos for two years and is an adjunct project scientist at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Prior to Cerritos he was vice-president for Research and Development at MP Biomedical LLC, Santa Ana, is an author and co-author of 65 publications, most in leading international journals, and has one US patent issued.
He is very excited about the introduction of a new class offered next fall 2014, Product Development 101, MPD101. “A student will be able to, by the middle of the semester, go home (having made) a new 3-D printer and our students would be able to start his/her own 3-D business at home,” Dr. Micic said.
“Of course, the student will buy the parts, and the kit to assemble it, (but) for a couple hundred dollars, they can do it inside an enclosed classroom environment and test it. There are no per-requisites just being a Cerritos College student. The students won’t have to be an Engineering or Engineering Technology major to take this class.
“We expect many people from the art fields, business and other aspects will join the class,” he said. “3-D printers will change the world, like the PC computers and the Internet have changed the world. We would like to be at the fore front of this.”
Professor Hiranandani M.Tech., M.S., P.E has taught at Cerritos College for 22 years, and from 1987-92 he has taught at various colleges throughout the area and taught six years in Eastern India. Currently he is teaching design and production technology, fundamentals of design and Auto-Cad. His flagship class is CATIA, Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application.
He added that it wasn’t too much of a surprise to receive the award. “We are nearly 250 full-time faculty, and so if you look at the law of averages … one is very likely to hit it.”
