Hinds, Steiner named 2009 TEA winners

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Posted: 2/5/10

From staff reports

Even with the abundance of technology in today's world, "teaching and learning is still a human endeavor," said Midland College (MC) President Steve Thomas, Ph.D., at the annual Teaching Excellence Award (TEA) ceremony.

MC honored that endeavor when Claudia Hinds, assistant professor of biology, and Valerie Steiner, professor and interim director of the associate degree nursing program, were named this year's TEA winners on Jan. 14.

The TEAs are the most prestigious awards MC gives its faculty, according to Rebecca Bell, dean of media services.

Both of the teachers said they believe in not only teaching subject matter in their respective fields, but also teaching students how to continue to pursue learning throughout life.

Hinds said that her goal for students is to "use the learning process for thinking, reasoning and problem solving which will lead to more self-reliant individuals able to adapt to life changes, make informed decisions and develop into life-long learners."

Steiner said, "If I had a motto, it would be 'Your success is my success.' One of my goals in teaching is to develop the love of learning. Never stop learning. Knowledge is power."

Hinds earned a bachelor's degree in zoology and entomology and a master's degree in epidemiology from Colorado State University. In addition to being an avid swimmer, she bikes, quilts, makes wine and leads MC's campus-wide recycling effort. She established Study Buddy tutorials and has headed MC's annual Science Extravaganza.

Steiner earned an associate degree in liberal arts from Fullerton Junior College in California and a bachelor's degree in anthropology from California State University in Fullerton before deciding that nursing was her "true calling."

In 1985, Steiner received an associate degree in nursing from MC and then a master's degree in nursing, certified nurse specialist and nurse practitioner designations from The University of Texas at El Paso.

Steiner also has a master's degree in management supervision from Central Michigan State University and has finished all but her dissertation for a doctorate in higher education at Texas Tech University. She has served as a nurse practitioner, nurse manager, charge nurse, surgery clinic coordinator, staff nurse and has been an officer in the Air Force serving with a transportation squadron in Texas, Michigan and Hawaii.

The award carries with it a cash honorarium, an individual plaque and a permanent listing in the Pevehouse Administration Building.

Vice President of Instruction Rex Peebles said, "It's time to honor what the college is really all about-teaching."