Teaching Excellence Award
The Teaching Excellence Award, presented by the Salt Lake Community College Foundation Board, recognizes cumulative excellence in professional education over the span of a career. Both full-time and adjunct faculty are eligible for the award.
Claire Adams, PhD
Associate Professor, Humanities
After 14 years of teaching at SLCC, Claire Adams describes her role in her humanities’ classes as a facilitator. She encourages her students to share their knowledge and lived experiences in class discussions.
“There are so many big social issues coming at our students so fast—that I think it is important to instill in them a thought process that is solution oriented, so they are not left feeling helpless,” she says.
Claire obtained a bachelor’s degree in Modern Studies in the Humanities from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown in Northern Ireland, a master’s in Irish Cultural Studies from Queen's University in Belfast and a PhD in Language and Literature from the University of Ulster. In 2018, she earned a master’s degree in International Affairs and Global Enterprise from the University of Utah.
Melissa E. Hardy, PhD
Associate Professor, Biology
Melissa Hardy relishes when students who at first think they’re not good at science, gain self confidence in her classes. In her biology courses, Melissa engages students by peppering them with questions and incorporating group activities. “They gain self-efficacy and leave [the class] proud of themselves,” says Melissa.
Melissa has enormous respect and admiration for her students, not just because they are smart and motivated but also because many pursue education despite significant hardships. “Being a professor here is an amazing way to cultivate empathy. You witness so many students who are going through incredibly difficult challenges but still persevere in their coursework,” she says.
Melissa joined SLCC’s faculty in 2011. She holds a master’s degree in Biology: Ecology and Systematics at San Francisco State University and her PhD in Neurobiology and Anatomy at the University of Utah.
Nikki Mantyla
Adjunct professor, English, Linguistics and Writing Studies
In class, Nikki Mantyla will display students’ sentences on a screen and invite them to shift around words and punctuation. She wants to disarm her students who may fear writing and perceive it as rigid.
“I find the best learning happens through curiosity, experimentation, discussion, questioning and simply playing around,” says Nikki, who teaches general education and novel writing classes. “I want all my students to be confident and able to engage with the world in whatever way they will need to through writing.”
Teaching is part of Nikki’s heritage, as her grandparents and parents were also teachers. She is a graduate of Brigham Young University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English Teaching and a master’s degree in English.