Betty Morgan Receives Adjunct Faculty Presidential Award at Tri-County Technical College
May 6, 2011
PENDLETON, SC – May 6, 2011 – Betty Morgan, a Registered Dental Hygienist who teaches in Tri-County Technical College’s Expanded Duty Dental Assisting program, received the College’s 2011 Adjunct Faculty Presidential Award May 3.
Photo at right: Betty Morgan, a Registered Dental Hygienist who teaches in Tri-County Technical College’s Expanded Duty Dental Assisting program, middle, received the College’s 2011 Adjunct Faculty Presidential Award May 3. Pictured with Mrs. Morgan are Dr. Lynn Lewis, dean of the Health Education Division at the College, left, and Mrs. Morgan’s husband, Glenn. The Morgans live in Liberty.
This award is given annually at the spring faculty/staff convocation to the adjunct faculty member who is recognized for excellence in teaching, who has consistently high student evaluations and who supports the philosophy and goals of the College.
Mrs. Morgan, who has taught at the College for five years, practiced in various dental offices in the Greenville area from 1975- 2006. She began working as a dental assistant in 1975 and earned an associate in science with a major in Dental Hygiene from Greenville Technical College in 1986. She went on to earn a bachelor’s in Health Science from MUSC in 1995.
Health Education Division Dean Dr. Lynn Lewis says Mrs. Morgan “generates enthusiasm for dental assisting in her students through her own enthusiasm for the program. She has become an integral part of the Dental Assisting program and serves as a partner to Donna Shannon, allied health department head. Without the solid support and teaching skills of Mrs. Morgan, Donna could not conduct her work as department head and maintain the program’s success. Mrs. Morgan’s steadfastness and commitment to the program is, therefore, critical to her students’ success.”
“Betty has a deep passion for the success of each students and is intent on graduating well qualified and educated students for our workforce,” said Ms. Shannon.
In addition to teaching a variety of classes that include lecture, clinical and lab components, she assists in lesson planning, book review and clinical scheduling. “During the summer semester she is assigned to clinical sites for student evaluations and she always presents herself professionally to our affiliating dentists and their staffs. She is respected by her peers and our students as a well educated and disciplined professional,” said Ms. Shannon.
This month, the Dental Assisting program will be visited by the Committee on Dental Accreditation for re-accreditation of the program. “Betty has been instrumental in developing and organizing program material and the department for the site visit. She will be participating in the interview process conducted by the site team to answer questions concerning the curriculum, teaching methodology and assessment techniques within the department. Her contributions to the program and the site visit have been beyond her teaching responsibilities for the College,” said Ms. Shannon.
In addition to dental assisting classes, Mrs. Morgan teaches an allied health science class for the Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) students.
“I have seen first hand Betty’s reliability as an instructor and her caring nature toward her students,” said Polly Kay, MLT program coordinator. “She works diligently creating relevant learning activities and has helped students out side of class on many occasions. Often she is in the adjunct office preparing class and lab materials early in the morning and later in the evening, well beyond the hours that most adjunct faculty members follow. She is always willing to accept extra classes, if needed, and has taken on a full load and above during several semesters,” said Mrs. Kay.
Mrs. Morgan is committed to her professional growth as an educator and has attended many college-sponsored faculty development seminars, as well as off-site conferences on dental materials and digital radiography. “This helps our department maintain the best and most recent information in our ever-changing world of new and improved materials,” said Shannon.
Mrs. Morgan, who also is a Certified Dental Assistant, maintains her dental hygiene license and is a member of the national, state, and local constituent of the American Dental Hygienist Association. She and her husband, Glenn, live in Liberty.
