Port Hardy's Pat Corbett-Labatt, mathematics teacher at North Island College's Mount Waddington campus, is one of a trio of NIC employees who will be recognized on an international stage this May.
Along with Campbell River library technician Diane Newman, who formerly worked at the Port Hardy campus, and early childhood care and instructor Laurie Fisher, Corbett-Labatt will be honours at this year's National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development’s (NISOD) annual Excellence Awards.
NISOD is a consortium of community colleges committed to teaching excellence and student success. The Excellence Awards, held at the University of Texas in Austin, are an opportunity for institutions to recognize outstanding faculty, staff, and administrators.
More than 1,800 professionals from over 400 community colleges and other higher learning institutions will gather at the conference May 25-28, to learn about new strategies and tools currently available to support learning and teaching excellence.
"Patricia Corbett-Labatt, Instructor, Mathematics, has been a leader at the North Island College Mt. Waddington Regional campus for over 28 years," said a release from the college. "She has embraced the growing demands of teaching in a post-secondary environment and has been a pioneer of distance teaching methods at the College. She is committed to the success of students taking her math courses from around the world, and has a special passion for Indigenous education."
“While Pat’s teaching is exemplary, so is her role as a leader,” said Caitlin Hartnett, Adult Basic Education Department Chair. “She is a mentor to her fellow faculty and an irreplaceable asset to our communities.”
NIC’s President John Bowman added, “The Excellence Awards are an annual recognition of what is good about community colleges – an opportunity to celebrate those who have contributed to student success and our college’s mission. Excellence is a quality or talent which surpasses ordinary standards and North Island College is extremely proud of this year’s NIC recipients – Laurie, Pat and Diane.”