For the first time since the inception of the U.S. Professors of the Year program, one institution has two faculty members simultaneously receiving top honors. Tri-C’s Dr. Mark S. Lewine and Dr. Ormond Brathwaite received national recognition in Washington D.C. on Thursday, November 16.  Lewine received the nation’s 2006 Outstanding Community College Professor award. He is only the fourth Ohio college professor named U.S. Professor of the Year, and only the second Ohio community college professor to receive this prestigious national prize. Brathwaite received the 2006 Ohio Professor of the Year award. 

Both recognitions come from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The program, created in 1981, is the only national initiative specifically designed to recognize excellence in undergraduate teaching and mentoring. Campus provosts and academic vice presidents typically make nominations, and current and former students, colleagues, and peers from other institutions send letters of support. Nomination materials include the professors' teaching logs and course descriptions as well as personal statements describing their teaching and mentoring techniques, curriculum created and their impact on teaching on their campuses and beyond.  Tri-C’s Dr. Dorothy Salem and Dr. James Banks have received the state award previously.

Lewine, a professor of anthropology, sociology and urban studies, and Director of the Center for Community Research, has taught Tri-C students for 35 years. Selected by CASE from nominations submitted by institutions nationwide, U.S. Professor of the Year honorees are chosen for their proven commitment to teaching and for their influence on teaching. The award winners receive a $5,000 prize, and speak at the awards program.

“I often find myself still relying on his guidance as well as sharing with others what he has shared with me,” said former student Melanie Allamby.

“The selection of Dr. Lewine as the top community college professor in the country is a huge honor, for the professor and Tri-C,” said Dr. Jerry Sue Thornton, president of Cuyahoga Community College. “The fact we’ve been recognized as having two of the top educators in the state and the nation reflects on the overall quality of our faculty, and the first-rate education available at Tri-C.”

Brathwaite is a chemistry professor who has played a prominent role in the Bridges to Success in the Sciences Project during his 12 years at Tri-C. He received the National Role Model Award in 2003. 

“With his phenomenal interpersonal skills and mentoring abilities he spends countless hours helping students achieve their goals.  With his help, active participation, and caring for education, his students are able to receive an education that is unsurpassed,” said former student Irina Silver about Dr. Brathwaite.   

Board of Trustees Chair Nadine Feighan remarked that “the College’s mission statement calls for high quality educational opportunities to be provided to our community. This is another affirmation that we are accomplishing that mission.

The College will host receptions for both individuals.  Faculty and staff can recognize Dr. Braithwaite at the Eastern Campus President’s Plaza on November 27 at a reception beginning at 3:30.  A reception for Dr. Lewine will be held at the Metro Campus in MCC10 on November 30 beginning at 4:00 p.m.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905, is an independent policy and research center with a primary mission "to do and perform all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of the teacher and the cause of higher education."

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