Presidential Award Winner: 2006 – 2007
2006 Presidential Leadership Awards
From left: Powell, Brady, McGrady, and Chaves-Smith |
VGCC’s Global Studies Group Recognized for Leadership
Vance-Granville Community College President Randy Parker has presented 2006 President’s Leadership awards to the four faculty members who organized the college’s “Global Studies” program: Science instructor Phyllis “Button” Brady, Science Program head/instructor Steve McGrady, both of Durham; and Psychology Program head/instructor Lydia Powell and Spanish instructor Margaret Chaves-Smith, both of Oxford. The four instructors led eleven students on a twenty-five-day educational trip to Costa Rica earlier this year. More than one year before the trip, they initiated the Global Studies program, with the intention of leading a study abroad. Costa Rica was the obvious choice, since Chaves-Smith was a native of Costa Rica and Powell, a former resident of Nicaragua, had visited the country many times. For their efforts, the four have previously been awarded the Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Service from VGCC Dean of Arts and Sciences John Beck. One student who went to Costa Rica, Kara Fleming, recalled that, during the trip, the instructors became like “parents and mentors to the students.”
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Science instructor |
“The Costa Rica trip was heaven, and the four of us worked extraordinarily well together,” Brady, who is universally called “Button,” reflected. “I’m really proud of it, and I want VGCC to be a leader in global studies.” Brady, a full-time VGCC science instructor since 1992, said she was speechless when she heard that the four had won the leadership award, “and I’m not speechless often.” She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in zoology and psychology, and from Central Washington University with a master’s degree in biology. Brady was also once a certified emergency medical technician and is now a CPR and first-aid instructor and instructor-trainer. Prior to coming to VGCC, she was an instructor at several other colleges, most recently Pierce College in Fort Lewis, Washington. Brady was honored as VGCC’s Instructor of the Year in 1998. She is also a VGCC student, currently taking carpentry and cabinet-making courses. Brady lives in Durham and is the mother of twin daughters, both of whom are seniors in college. |
Science Program head/instructor |
“Going to Costa Rica was a worthwhile experience for the students, and I’m glad we have the Global Studies program,” McGrady said. McGrady has been a full-time VGCC instructor since 1990 and Program Head for Science since 1992. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree, and of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his master’s degree in biology. McGrady teaches courses in biology, chemistry and geology. Prior to teaching at VGCC, McGrady taught at Richmond Community College in Hamlet, N.C. in 1988 and 1989. He received VGCC’s Excellence in Teaching award in 1992, and the Chairman’s Award in 1997, in addition to that same honor this year. He has been active in World View, an international program for educators based at UNC-Chapel Hill, and in the North Carolina Community College Chemists group. McGrady lives in Durham.
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Psychology Program head/instructor |
Powell has been a full-time VGCC instructor for the past 24 years. She earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and education from Wake Forest University, and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from North Carolina Central University. After working in the mental-health field, Powell taught in VGCC’s education program and headed that program before becoming a psychology instructor. Powell grew up in Nicaragua and lived there until she entered Wake Forest. She lives in Oxford and is a mother of two: Gray, a North Carolina State University graduate, and Stuart, a senior at Webb High School. Powell is active in her community and in her profession. She helped found the North Carolina Community College Sociology and Psychology Association. A fluent Spanish speaker, she has served as an interpreter for non-English speakers and has been involved in mission projects to Nicaragua and Panama, where she helped construct libraries, computer centers for schools and a medical clinic. Closer to home, Powell has taken part in the Granville County Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Granville program, and she has served on the local State Employees Credit Union advisory board. At VGCC, she has been involved in the annual Cultural Fair and has chaired the Student Services committee, in addition to her role in the Global Studies program. “I was delighted that the administration at VGCC considered the Global Studies trip to Costa Rica a worthwhile endeavor,” Powell said. She expressed her “optimism that future students would be able to participate in similar studies abroad.”
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Spanish instructor |
Chaves-Smith, a full-time Spanish instructor at VGCC since 2000, said that “starting the Global Studies Program has been like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs. When we (the Global Studies Program team) received the Chairman’s award for Outstanding Service back in May, I was very pleased because our long days of endless efforts had finally been acknowledged. Receiving the President’s Leadership Award is both a surprise and an honor for me. This just confirms that this program is a good thing for VGCC and it must continue.” After graduating from the University of Costa Rica, Chaves-Smith first came to the United States as part of the Visiting International Faculty Program in 1994. Since then, she has taught at North Elementary School in Caswell County and Beaufort Academy in South Carolina before coming to VGCC. Along the way, she earned a master’s degree in the teaching of languages from the University of Southern Mississippi. Since she joined VGCC, she has worked in the organizing committee of VGCC’s annual Cultural Fair, and she enjoys engaging her students in unusual, creative activities. “I enjoy seeing the results of students learning not only the language skills but also about new ideas and new cultures,” she said. Chaves-Smith lives in Oxford with her husband and her two children, Roberto, 4, and Margarita, 2. |
