Dr. James Gentile Receives Award for Excellence in eTutoring

C. Rodgers (CTDLC), J. Gentile, D. Goldsmith (CTDLC)

Manchester, CT – (September 24, 2012) . . . Dr. James Gentile, professor of English at Manchester Community College, was honored last month by the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium (CTDLC) when he received the first Diane J. Goldsmith Award for Excellence in eTutoring. CTDLC is a division of Charter Oak State College and a member of the Connecticut Board of Regents of Higher Education. It provides services and support to help educators in and out of Connecticut meet the demands of developing and delivering effective technology-enhanced learning opportunities for students.

In Fall 2001, CTDLC launched a new grant-funded online tutoring initiative to support the growing number of online students. This initiative was led by CTDLC’s Executive Director at the time, Dr. Diane J. Goldsmith. Today, the eTutoring program delivers online tutoring services to more than 100 campuses nationwide. The Diane J. Goldsmith Award recognizes outstanding tutors and advisory council members who have made a significant impact on the development and delivery of online tutoring services. Dr. Gentile was honored for “his years of dedication to the eTutoring program and the countless hours and efforts given to developing the online writing lab.” Examples of his contributions include creating the initial eTutoring writing lab policies, protocols, standards of practice and the content for the online tutoring training modules.

Dr. Gentile, a resident of East Hartford, has been teaching full-time at MCC since 1993. He received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from Columbia University. In addition to his work with eTutoring, Dr. Gentile has served as the chair of the college’s English department, the chair of the Center for Teaching of the Community College System and the co-director of the Connecticut Poetry Circuit.

Students of any age who possess the desire to pursue higher education are welcome at Manchester Community College. MCC is proud of its academic excellence, new facilities, flexible schedules, small classes, low tuition and faculty with both academic and “real world” credentials. The college offers over 60 programs, transfer options, financial aid and scholarships, as well as access to baccalaureate degrees through guaranteed admissions programs with several universities. MCC is situated on a park-like campus and is easily accessible from I-84.