The Minnie Piper Outstanding Faculty candidates were recently announced at San Jacinto College. The winners are: San Jac North, Bret Nelson, History and Geology Department Chair; San Jac South, Carol Wennagel, Business Administration Department Chair; and at San Jac Central, Dr. Gale McEnery, a language skills professor. The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation sponsors the annual awards program to honor professors for outstanding scholarly achievements and exceptional dedication. The local award is the equivalent to a campus “Teacher of the Year” award. The campus winners are referred to as “candidates” because they are eligible for the national award, which will be announced in the spring of 2007.

Nelson, who lives in Pearland, began teaching at San Jac Central as an adjunct in 1995 and was hired full-time to teach at San Jac North in January, 2000. His teaching courses include American and Texas History. He is teaching in the modified early college academy program this fall and has taught dual credit students from Channelview High School and an online class, in addition to several traditional courses. Nelson holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management from Baylor University, a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from South Texas College of Law and a Master of Arts in History from the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UH-CL).

Dr. McEnery, who lives in Clear Lake, began teaching at San Jac Central in 1991. She also currently serves as an adjunct instructor at UH-CL, a position she has held since 1996. She has taught at C.E. King Middle School and at Thomas Rusk Junior High School. She was named Sheldon ISD’s Teacher of the Year in 1989 and earned KTRK Channel 13’s “Teachers Who Make a Difference” award. Dr. McEnery holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stephen F. Austin University and a Doctorate of Education degree from the University of Houston.

Wennagel, who lives in southeast Houston, holds three degrees from UH -- a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Science degree in Accounting. She has been teaching accounting and business at San Jac South since 1982. Before that, she taught accounting at the University of St. Thomas. She has also served as an adjunct instructor in accounting at Houston Community College. Wennagel earned the University of St. Thomas’ Accounting Club’s Outstanding Instructor Award in 1982 and she was inducted into the San Jacinto College District Hall of Fame in 2002.