August 19, 2022 – Santa Fe College opened the 2022-2023 academic year with Fall Convocation Friday morning. The event, held at the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall looked back at the successes from the last year, but the primary focus was on developing innovative strategies and crafting relationships with students.
President Paul Broadie II, Ph.D., called it a “Year of Innovation” and challenged the college community to be innovative in teaching and learning strategies, utilizing new technology and evolving to meet the needs of today’s students. I want to help drive the college to where we go next – while still remaining steadfast to our strategic plan themes of growth mindset, clear purpose, equitable experience and seamless transition.
The event also was an opportunity to recognize employees who go above and beyond the call of duty.
SF’s Executive Director of Secondary Programs, Jen Homard, received the You Are Santa Fe award for her work leading High School Dual Enrollment, ACB Excel and the Santa Fe College Academy of Science and Technology.
Members of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence steering committee – Leslie Rios, Dave Tegeder (co-chairs), Christina Edwards, Michelle Freas, Nicole Keith, Ann Laffey, Diana Matthews, Kellie Miller, James Nichols, David Pfahler and Lorisha Riley were the recipients of the 2022 Impact award.
The college also thanked the employees for their years of service, in particular Jesse Milton (30 years), Kathyleen Hardage (35 years), Kathy Coyne-Russell (35 years) and Jimmy Yawn, who marked 40 years of full-time employement at SF – not to mention a history at the college that goes back 53 years!
Peter Felten, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University, was the keynote speaker. Dr. Felten spoke about the impact that relationships have on students and how the faculty are in a unique position to inspire students who may not have an extensive support network to succeed in the classroom.
Anyone who was unable to watch convocation can use this link for a video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwi_8me5AhE