Kaskaskia College Professor Wins AAACE Faculty Award at Conference in Nevada

Kaskaskia College is proud to announce one of its professors received a national award from the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE). Associate Professor of Industrial Technology and Wiring Dr. Lyle Gross was honored with the AAACE Faculty Award at the organization's conference in Reno, Nevada. The award is given to a faculty member within the field of Workforce and Professional Development who has made significant contributions in scholarship and service.

This is the inaugural year for the AAACE to give out a Workforce and Professional Development Faculty Award, and it is also based on excellence in research, publication, and community service. Dr. Gross was nominated by colleagues, which included two letters of support from coworkers within the field of Workforce and Professional Development. Dr. Gross often speaks at the AAACE conference, but this was his first time receiving an award. Gross said the AAACE educates attendees on instructor preparedness, improving yourself as an instructor, how to educate adults and understanding new technology.

It was really nice to see a community college program get some of that recognition with this award, Gross said. At Kaskaskia College, we offer a lot of things to help adult learners transition back into a college setting so they don't feel like they're going through the high school-to-college process again. Many of them have perceived barriers to going back to school, but those barriers don't always exist. We help them with those, like when they think theyll be the oldest person in the class. Most of the time, they are not.

Kaskaskia College is an institution that prides itself on educating nontraditional students, including adults who have worked in the field but come back to continue their training and education. Gross said KC excels with adult learners for many reasons, including that the college promises its industry partners to handle workers who work all hours of the day. KC offers classes and labs in the morning, afternoon, and evening to accommodate those who have jobs outside traditional working hours. Dr. Gross's program has around a 3 to 1 ratio of adults to traditional students, so he is extremely familiar with adult learners.

The work we do with students and the strength of our relationships with industry partners jump off the page at Kaskaskia College, Gross said. We remove prerequisites and course sequencing is not important to us, removing barriers some adult students had. We have people come in with previous knowledge who are trying to make a big impact in their job immediately. Organizations like the AAACE are important because they give us the chance to learn about educating adults, who are the lifeblood of my program. KC President George Evans tells us to find ways to improve ourselves as an instructor, which goes beyond just learning the technical aspects of industrial technology and wiring.