Oct. 8, 2008

HARRISBURG – Four faculty members at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, recently received national recognition for their excellence in teaching by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD).

Taking home the national NISOD Excellence in Teaching Award were Deborah Ennis, nursing professor and program coordinator; William Mack, electronics professor; Janice Waltz, instructor, human development and English; and Sandra Zagar, associate professor of dental hygiene and program coordinator.

They represented HACC at the annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, sponsored by NISOD at the University of Texas, Austin. All were selected by a committee of HACC students, faculty and administrators for their commitment to students, teaching, professional growth and college service.

Ennis’ career teaching nursing at HACC spans 27 years. While teaching many topics in HACC’s nursing curriculum, her specialty is cardiac and critical care. Ennis fosters a learning environment that teaches students that among the technology – the I.V.’s, cardiac monitors and tubes associated with critically ill – there is a human being who needs someone with strong technical skills and sincere emotional care.

Ennis also writes for CGFNS International (formerly the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools), a private, independent, non-for-profit organization that develops and administers a predictive testing and credentials evaluation program for internationally educated nurses. Invitation to the commission is selective and those elected are recognized for their nursing knowledge and experience.

Another long-time HACC professor, William Mack, has received positive reviews from his students for the past 24 years. Colleague Ed VanBlargan, professor of computer information systems, said Mack has the right formula.

“Mention Bill Mack to any student, or faculty for that matter, and you will hear words like ‘great professor,’ ‘highly skilled,’ ‘works hard’ and ‘cares about students,’” said VanBlargan. “He consistently works very hard, stays informed about his subjects and the technology and challenges his students.”

Among his service on various HACC committees, Mack serves on several advisory boards for high schools and coordinates programs, particularly in electronics and nanotechnology.

Janice Waltz reached beyond her academic division of Adult Basic Education to collaborate with faculty members in HACC’s McCormick Library and the Communications, Arts and Social Sciences Divison to develop and improve courses on college success. She led faculty from the three divisions in refining a curriculum that integrates the library instruction with classroom presentations and videotaping in the speech center. The students are the beneficiaries of this collaboration.

She has presented topics for the Pennsylvania Association for Developmental Education and the Pennsylvania Library Association Annual Conference. At the Harrisburg Campus Waltz plans and leads workshops related to assessment, group interaction in the classroom and developmental English in addition to her teaching and student advising.

Recently promoted to dental hygiene program coordinator, Sandy Zagar has taught at HACC for the last 12 years – most of the area’s dental hygienists studied under Zagar’s tutelage. She is a good role model among her students and colleagues, guiding students academically, professionally and personally. Students gain additional experience through Zagar’s coordination of their Career Day presentations at HACC and Children’s Dental Health Month presentations at schools and community sites.

Zagar is active in keeping the high standard of HACC’s dental hygiene program and moving it forward with new technologies. She was instrumental in an in-depth, self study report for reaccreditation from the American Dental Association. Zagar continues to lead the faculty and the program toward compliance with all accreditation standards. She also teaches continuing education courses for dental hygienists through the local component of the American Dental Hygiene Association.