Miami Dade College recognized five faculty members with the College’s highest honor Tuesday night, Dec. 18, earning the distinction of 2018 Endowed Teaching Chairs.
The Endowed Teaching Chair Program is a distinctive faculty honor and one of MDC’s most prestigious and valued traditions. More than 300 MDC faculty members have been recognized since the Endowed Teaching Chair Program began in 1992. Endowed Teaching Chairs receive an annual stipend of $7,500 for three years to explore new teaching methods, develop projects and enhance their technological expertise. The program is generously funded by individuals, corporations and organizations through the ongoing work of MDC Foundation.
Meet the 2018 Endowed Teaching Chairs:
Yanely C. Cordero, Ed.D.
The Ruth Anderson Foundation Endowed Teaching Chair
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The concept of service is integral to the work of Dr. Yanely C. Cordero, who teaches English at MDC’s Homestead Campus. Dr. Cordero founded Pages for All Ages, an after-school service-learning project that pairs MDC students with local migrant children to help them write a book. The program won recognition by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
John Patrick Frazier, M.A.
Colonel Mitchell Wolfson, Sr. Endowed Teaching Chair
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Professor John Patrick Frazier’s lifelong passion is to develop his students into changemakers and help make the world a better place, especially for marginalized communities. At MDC’s Kendall Campus, he teaches art and art history. Outside class, Frazier travels the world to work with youth, including the Baka Pygmies of Central Africa, Ibo of Nigeria, Sudanese refugees in Chad and Kenya, Rwandan orphans in Kenya, Vodou practitioners in Haiti, and Mexican street artists. Frazier’s artistic changemaking education has enabled his students to impact nearly 20,000 people across Mexico, Haiti, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Thailand and the U.S.
Larry Frolich, Ph.D.
Betty T. Ferguson Endowed Teaching Chair
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Biologist Dr. Larry M. Frolich is a published scientist with ongoing research on urbanization, resource use and human ecology in Ecuador. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Ecuador and also received a Prometeo scholarship to pursue research in Ibarra, among other honors. A professor of anatomy and physiology at MDC’s Wolfson Campus, Dr. Frolich brings a global perspective to the classroom to enhance his students’ understanding of the role of humans in local urban ecosystems.
Mayte Insua-Auais, Psy.D.
MDC Alumni Association Endowed Teaching Chair
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Dr. Insua-Auais teaches psychology at MDC’s North Campus, creating numerous academic and service-learning programs that engage her students outside class. Every semester, her students work with the schoolchildren at the preschool on campus. Dr. Insua-Auais founded the North Campus Psychology Club and advises the Psi Beta National Honor Society in Psychology. In the community, Dr. Insua-Auais is a mentor for Kids and the Power of Work. She was a practicing child psychologist before becoming an educator 18 years ago.
Juan Jose Prieto-Valdés, Ph.D.
AT&T II Endowed Teaching Chair
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Dr. Juan Jose Prieto-Valdés is a professor of mathematics at MDC’s Kendall Campus who uses an interdisciplinary approach to teaching, drawing from his experience as a published author, poet and painter. Dr. Prieto-Valdés is a renowned scientist with published research in numerous journals and presentations of his work at various scientific and educational conferences internationally. He holds a joint appointment teaching calculus at the University of Maryland University College.