Minnie Piper nominee and Excellence Awards recipients named

Mar 24, 2020Colton Bennett
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PASADENA, Texas — San Jacinto College announced its 2019-2020 Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award nominee and the Faculty and Staff Excellence Awards recipients.

Dr. Connie Gomez, San Jacinto College South Campus engineering professor, is the College's 2019-20 Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award nominee and a Faculty Excellence Award recipient.

Since 1958, The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation has recognized outstanding professors from two- and four-year Texas colleges and universities, both public and private. As a non-profit, charitable corporation, one of its biggest programs is the Piper Professor Program. Ten awards of $5,000 are distributed annually to college professors for superior teaching based on submissions by each college or university.

San Jacinto College Faculty Excellence Award recipients also include: Dr. Abbie Grubb, South Campus history professor, and Gail Mason, North Campus business/information technology department chair.

Staff Excellence Award recipients include: Dana Kostecka, senior executive assistant to the deputy chancellor and president; Kathy Burris, senior administrative assistant of cosmetology; and Mandi Reiland, manager of executive operations for the Chancellor and Board of Trustees.

The Administrator Excellence Award went to Tanesha Antoine, director of educational planning, counseling, and completion.

Criteria for the College's Faculty and Staff Excellence Awards nominations include addressing the nominee's last two years of work and service in the following areas:

  • Ability to serve as a role model and work collaboratively with others
  • Possession of exemplary attributes or qualifications
  • Contributions to addressing or meeting the needs of our students and/or our employees
  • Dedication, service, and involvement in the College community

About San Jacinto College

Surrounded by monuments of history, evolving industries, maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has served the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, since 1961. San Jacinto College is among the top 10 community colleges in the nation as designated by the Aspen Institute for Community College Excellence, and was named an Achieving the Dream Leader College of Distinction in 2020. The College serves approximately 45,000 credit and non-credit students annually, and offers more than 200 degrees and certificates across eight major areas of study that put students on a path to transfer to four-year institutions or enter the workforce. San Jacinto College's impact on the region totals $1.3 billion in added income, which supports 13,044 jobs. The College is fiscally sound, holding bond ratings of AA and Aa2 by Standard & Poor's and Moody's.

For more information about San Jacinto College call 281-998-6150, visit sanjac.edu or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.