Carla Adams Receives Connecticut Board of Regents Teaching Award
Manchester, Conn. (April 26, 2016) – Carla Adams, associate professor, information management and technology (IMT), is Manchester Community College’s recipient of the Connecticut Board of Regents Teaching Award for the 2015-16 academic year.
Board of Regents Teaching Awards are presented to faculty from each of the state universities and community colleges. Awards are granted annually.
“This is a special honor for Carla and for the college,” said Dr. Gena Glickman, president, MCC. “As we strive to meet the continuing needs of the community, her work to expand the scope of the college’s course offerings and programs and further our outreach is to be commended.”
Adams is credited not only for the curriculum she builds, the pedagogical techniques she implements, and her commitment to student engagement, but also for her positive impact on student learning and her excellent collegial collaborations, according to her award nominators.
She is also recognized by her students as a mentor and role model, as well as an inspirational teacher.
Adams joined the faculty in 2008 as a member of MCC’s Business Office Technology (BOT) program in the Business, Engineering and Technology division. In preparing administrative professionals for the local work force, she has updated the traditional formats for business office and computer applications to enable the college to offer the most up-to-date technologies. Adams currently serves as co-chair of the IMT department, as well as faculty advisor for the student Administrative Professionals Club. Additionally, she is proud of her involvement in various college committees and activities, as well as her contributions to the Center for Teaching, the Academic Support Center and her role in developing the transfer agreement with Charter Oak College toward the Health Information Management bachelor’s degree.
“My teaching philosophy is based on the concept that a positive, encouraging and engaging classroom atmosphere can foster student learning,” Adams said. “When students feel comfortable and interested in the content, they become fully present and immersed in the learning.”
She added, “A student in the community college classroom does not follow a ‘cookie-cutter’ profile. Behind every one of my lab computer monitors, I might find a first-generation college student, or a stay-at-home parent returning to the workforce, , or an unemployed individual, or a new immigrant to the U.S. Our students have come to MCC to change their lives through education, and it is my responsibility to support their goals.”
Adams holds a master’s degree in adult and organizational learning from Suffolk University and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from University of Massachusetts.
