2004 Regina Stanback Stroud Award

2004 Winners

Henry Ealy, Los Angeles City College

Regarded by his colleagues as a gifted teacher with "ferocity of personal commitment to equal justice and unflagging sense of principle, Ealy is the Department Chair and a Professor in the LACC American Cultures Department, which he co-founded early in his 32 year career. One of the first teachers to pioneer multicultural curricula, Ealy has demonstrated breadth and versatility in his commitment to diversity by teaching courses ranging from African American Studies to Asian American Studies, Chicano Studies and United States History. He created the first successful campus Upward Bound program that provided African American and Chicano/Latino students with opportunities for academic enrichment and cultural interaction. As a teacher, faculty mentor and role model, Ealy created and maintained a classroom setting where everyone is treated fairly and by transcending tolerance his students possess awareness and appreciation for unfamiliar aspects of other cultures. Ealy explained: Diversity is the lubricant necessary for people from different backgrounds to work in harmony with each other. My purpose as a teacher has always been to create exactly that kind of harmony &Therefore, one must treat all persons fairly and with an awareness of their unique individual attributes. In his efforts to involve and diversify the student body, Ealy has advised and served on numerous committees, extracurricular organizations, and in the greater community where he has organized countless citywide programs and conferences over the years, including hosting the African American Manchild Conference in 1999. Ealy has unceasingly led by example with the advice that he frequently offers to younger colleagues - Come early and stay until the last student has been served. Fellow faculty members note that it is this unwavering dedication that makes him a model of righteous morality and stalwart conscience.

Pablo Gonzales, Los Medanos College

Gonzalez is a 20-year veteran Professor of English, mentor and role model to many students. Regarded as a master teacher by fellow faculty members, he views a teacher as a resource who establishes the proper educational environment by transforming a classroom into an empathetic community for stimulating an exchange of ideas. Gonzales stated: It has always been my premise that a college classroom can become a community of friends who learn from each other & Teachers are resources setting the stage for positive classroom communities. My philosophy is based on a commitment that students come first. Student success is the highest priority for Gonzales, who encourages and motivates every student by telling them: Si, se puede (yes, you can)! Gonzalez has brought his renowned leadership ability and enthusiasm to numerous programs, including AVANCE, English as a Second Language, Ethnic Studies, Drama, Development Education, and the Puente Project, which ahs benefited by his hard work and dedication in establishing a permanent scholarship fund for Puente students transferring to universities. Los Medanos College recognized Gonzalez's ability to graciously and effectively transverse barriers of culture, creed, and language through his significant work with a diverse student population by bestowing him with the Faculty and Staff Diversity Award prior to nominating him for statewide recognition.

Janet Koenen, Lake Tahoe College

The Stanback Stroud Diversity Award is important to me for a number of reasons. First, it acknowledges that diversity makes our teaching, our classes, and our colleges stronger. Second, it reminds me that the educational culture, which once regarded diversity as a hurdle to be overcome, now respects it. Finally, the award also honors the students who enrich our classrooms and our lives. I am grateful to have been chosen and very thankful to my students for the lessons they continue to teach me.

Gayle Noble, Coastline College

Noble, a Professor in the Social Science Department and teacher education program, has played rigorous and influential roles in the support of diversity during the 26 years she has served her campus. Her outlook on teaching is exemplified by a maxim of Emerson's - The secret of education is respecting the pupil - whereby the integrity and individuality of every person must be esteemed for maximal learning to occur. Noble emphasized: This philosophy not only helped me to positively contribute to the climate for Coastline students, but also guides me in fostering an optimistic attitude in the philosophy of education for the students enrolled in my course who hope to become teachers in the future &.I believe that everyone can succeed. Noble started as Instructor/Coordinator for the Developmental Disabilities Program and was instrumental in developing curriculum for students with severe disabilities and academic programs to assist such students in acquiring skills for increased self-sufficiency. Outside the classroom, Noble's achievements include leadership as: project director for a Fund for Instructional Improvement grant to improve the success of non-native English speakers and the hearing impaired through close-captioning; author of the FLUENCY Program, an organized curriculum that institutes new techniques to assist non-native English language speakers to participate in mainstream, degree-applicable transfer level courses while improving their fluency in English; and author and director of the college student equity plan. Noble's achievements and versatility as Coastline's Renaissance person were lauded by her colleagues who noted that the initiative, commitment, and compassion she consistently shows in her quest for ever-improving, increasingly equitable student success is truly exemplary.