Faculty Award

The Distinguished Teaching Award Honors Beloved History Professor

by Alana J. Mauger '97

Each year faculty and students select a faculty member to receive the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for teaching excellence.

This year, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Victoria Bastecki-Perez presented the 2013 Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, posthumously, to Dr. Ryan Johnson, Assistant Professor of History. His wife, Kate Johnson, accepted the award on his behalf.

A passionate, dedicated teacher, Dr. Johnson touched the lives of many students by creating a dynamic classroom environment and demonstrating genuine regard for students’ well-being and success.

In a letter of nomination, one of his students wrote, “Dr. Johnson would become so excited about what he was teaching, that I couldn’t help but be excited too. He would tell historical stories that were so descript and intriguing, that I could picture them perfectly.”

Another student wrote Dr. Johnson is “the most inspiring teacher I have ever gotten the pleasure to meet. He made me excited about learning; excited about History; and excited about being a student at Montgomery County Community College.”

During his five-year tenure at the College, Dr. Johnson taught a variety of Medieval and Modern European History courses. While teaching a course on the Holocaust, he would take students on a field trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.—a trip that many of his students cite as being among their most meaningful  experiences.

Dr. Johnson’s commitment to students extended beyond the classroom. He was the co-advisor of Phi Theta Kappa at the West Campus, helping the campus to establish its own Phi Theta Kappa chapter—Beta Tau Lambda—for the first time. Those efforts did not go unnoticed. Dr. Johnson was presented with the 2013 Horizon Award for Outstanding Advisors at Phi Theta Kappa’s Middle States Regional Convention, and, as a chapter, Beta Tau Lambda earned the national Executive Director’s Achievement Award in recognition of its growth and impact.

During his tenure, Dr. Johnson served the College as the Coordinator of History, a Faculty Mentor, an Executive Committee member of the Faculty Union, and as a member of the Middle States Re-Accreditation Steering Committee.

In his memory and in honor of his dedication and commitment, the College’s History Department established the Ryan Johnson Memorial Award. The award, to be presented annually at the Student Awards banquet, recognizes a graduate with a history concentration with the highest GPA. Kate Johnson presents the award to this year’s recipient, Allison Flood.

Photo by John Welsh