FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 10, 2010

Contact:  Robert Preston, Jr.,
              912.260.4276
              robert.preston@sgc.edu

Dr. Lori Seward Receives National Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Lori Seward, Professor of Speech and Theater at South Georgia College, has been named a recipient of a 2010 National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Seward is an exemplary teacher who masterfully oversees SGC dramatic arts and advises several student clubs, including the SGC Democrats. She is also the previous director of SGC’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to improve student learning outcomes in critical thinking.

SGC’s QEP describes a carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined topic or issue related to enhancing student learning. The theme of SGC’s QEP is “Critical Thinking through the WRITE Plan: Writing and Reasoning to Improve Thinking Effectiveness.” The long term plan focuses on enhancing student learning by concentrating on the relationship between five specific critical thinking skills and the task of writing.

Dr. Seward’s award will be announced at the NISOD International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, to be held May 30-June 2, 2010, in Austin, Texas. Since its inception in 1978, NISOD has emphasized the importance of teaching and leadership excellence in institutions of higher education. NISOD has worked to serve, engage, and inspire teachers and leaders through conferences, publications, Web services, partnerships, programs, and more. In 1989, in connection with a University of Texas national study of teaching excellence, NISOD hosted its first ceremony, held in conjunction with its annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, honoring and naming the individuals featured in this study as recipients of the NISOD Excellence Award. The response to that ceremony was so positive that it became a tradition. The Excellence Awards tradition allows NISOD the distinct privilege of honoring so many of the world's best in higher education.

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About South Georgia College

South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu) was founded in 1906 and is a two-year institution in the University System of Georgia. Located in Douglas, Ga., the college's environment gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty.