Drafting-Faculty Member to Receive Award for Innovative Teaching

A member of the drafting faculty in the School of Construction and Design Technologies at Pennsylvania College of Technology will be presented with a teaching award at the 14th International Conference on College Teaching.

Jeffrey "J.D." Mather, an assistant professor of drafting and CAD technology, will receive an Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology at the conference, to be held April 1-5 at Florida Community College, Jacksonville, Fla. The conference is sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and is attended by approximately 900 faculty members from colleges and universities around the world.

Mather will be honored at a special awards ceremony, during which he will receive an engraved plaque. To receive the award, candidates must have "contributed in the most highly creative ways to teaching, learning and technology."

In nominating Mather for the award, Tom F. Gregory, dean of the School of Construction and Design Technologies at Penn College, said Mather deserves the honor because of "his mindful integration of technology into his courses, his dedication to student learning and his career-focused curriculum."

"J.D. is the embodiment of both a truly innovative educator, as well as a role model for lifelong learning himself," Gregory said. "Working in industry for more than 15 years before returning to complete his bachelor's degree and eventually enrolling in graduate school, J.D. has the industry experience so valued by students who often wonder how what they're learning in the classroom will translate in 'the real world.'"