Six Albright Faculty Earn Awards

June 1, 2011

Reading, Pa.  – For excellence in teaching and achievements in scholarly and creative activity, Albright College presented five faculty members with awards during Albright’s Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 22, 2011, and one award during the Accelerated Degree Program’s annual honors ceremony on May 14.

Betsy Kiddy, Ph.D., of Reading, Pa., associate professor of history and Latin American studies, was awarded The United Methodist Church Exemplary Teaching Award. This award goes to a faculty member who embodies excellence in teaching, civility and concern for students and colleagues, commitment to value-centered education, and service to students, the College and the community.

Joseph Yarworth, Ph.D., of Reading, Pa., chair and assistant professor of education, received the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, which is funded by the Lindback Foundation. It is presented each year to one member of the full-time faculty who best exemplifies the criteria for teaching excellence and who contributes to the intellectual standards of the institution.

Ian J. Rhile, Ph.D., of Reading, Pa., was the recipient of the Dr. Henry P. and M. Paige Laughlin Annual Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching. This award is presented to a faculty member for excellence in teaching at Albright College.

Robert Seesengood, Ph.D., of Reading, Pa., assistant professor of religious studies, was awarded the Dr. Henry P. and M. Paige Laughlin Annual Distinguished Faculty Award for Scholarship. This award honors a person who performs his scholarship and teaching with unwavering enthusiasm and acumen.

Barbara M. Fahy, Ph.D., of Reading, Pa., professor of history and art history, received The Class of ’49 Annadora Vesper Shirk Award for Faculty Scholarship, which is named in honor of Albright Professor Emerita Annadora Vesper Shirk.

Lori Newcomer, CPA, M.S., of Oley, Pa., lecturer in accounting, Accelerated Degree Programs (ADP), was awarded the Melinda Riccio ’94 Memorial Faculty Award at the ADP Honors Ceremony in May. This award is given to an Albright ADP faculty member who best exemplifies Riccio’s enthusiasm, character and classroom impact. Riccio was a member of the ADP faculty from 2001 until her death in 2007.

Founded in 1856, Albright College is a nationally ranked, private college with a rigorous liberal arts curriculum with an interdisciplinary focus. The College’s hallmarks are connecting fields of learning, collaborative teaching and learning, and a flexible curriculum that allows students to create an individualized education. Two-thirds of students graduate with dual/individualized majors in more than 200 different combinations. Albright enrolls about 1,660 undergraduates in traditional programs, another 500 adult students in accelerated degree programs, and 100 students in the master’s program in education. Albright College is located in Reading, Pennsylvania, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia.