Celebrating Our Newly-Tenured Faculty
At the September 10, 2020 Board of Trustees meeting, the Board honored six faculty members who successfully completed their evaluation in spring 2020 and have achieved tenured status as of fall 2020. Bob Van Der Velde, Senior Dean, Arts & Sciences; Bob Harris, Senior Dean, Health & Safety; Howard Willis, Senior Dean, Counseling Services and Student Success; and Charlie Monahan, Associate Dean, Economic and Workforce Development introduced the faculty. Congratulations to Dr. Josh Hanson, Stan Hitchcock, Molly Hodgins, Katie Ratliff, Andrea Ruybal and Hope Scott.
“Tenure is an important step in one’s professional career in the academy. It is not a job for life, but additional due process, and is not automatic; it is earned only after a rigorous review by peers and administrators. You might think tenure is not important to the sciences, but in this era of climate change deniers and virus conspiracy theorists, it remains an important guarantor of academic freedom. Tenure is our official statement to the faculty member that they are a valued part of the College and we want them to stay. Tenured faculty put down roots. They buy houses in our community. They become more fully engaged in the lives of our students, and more engaged in the life of the College.
Dr. Josh Hanson is a perfect example. Coming to us after earning his Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Davis, he is a gifted instructor who has been an active part of the College community. His colleagues recognize his leadership, selecting him to serve a just-ended term as co-chair of the Technology Committee, vital to all of us these days! Students regularly flock to his courses, filling them in the first days of registration. I’m a lawyer, not a scientist, but I’ve seen Dr. Hanson in action. If he can explain Chemistry so that I can understand it, he’s clearly an outstanding instructor!”
– Bob Van Der Velde, J.D., Senior Dean, Arts & Sciences
“Stan Hitchock began is journey here at Napa Valley College achieving his A.S. in 1989. He went on to complete his bachelor’s degree at USF in organizational behavior. Stan was the maintenance general supervisor for Napa Pipe for more than nine years before moving to Cal Maritime, where he worked and taught for almost 14 years. Stan Joined Napa Valley College in 2016. An anecdote I‘d like to share is when we brought High School and Adult School students into his class, he emphatically praised their decision to have been born into this specific time. There was a pause by the students unsure of the praise. He then outlined the huge amount of opportunities for grads in his program. One thing that showcases his love for machine tool technology is when he describes how he loves to be working with his head while he is also working with his hands.”
– Charlie Monahan, Associate Dean, Economic and Workforce Development
“Molly Hodgins attended Cornell University and achieved a Bachelor of Science in Biology. In 2002, she studied viticulture and horticulture at UC Davis and left with a Master’s of Science in 2005. Before coming to Napa Valley College, Molly worked at Stags Leap and Chehalen Winery in Oregon as a viticulturalist. Molly Joined us as faculty in 2016 and teaches general viticulture, vineyard operations, pruning, and soils, in addition to running the NVC teaching Vineyard. Molly is passionate about teaching and bringing the total experience for our student experience in the three elements of the VWT, Viticulture, Wine Making and Wine Marketing.”
– Charlie Monahan, Associate Dean, Economic and Workforce Development
“Katie began at Napa Valley College as an adjunct clinical instructor in the Nursing Program. She has served as a nurse in the Air Force and has a broad scope of experience in nursing and nursing education. She has been requested by nursing students to be the faculty speaker at their pinning ceremonies, which is an illustration of the respect and admiration that the students have for her. Katie is known as a gifted nursing instructor who exhibits compassion and caring while maintaining strict standards. She has taken upon herself to gain additional teaching certifications (as determined by the Board of Registered Nursing) and is able to instruct in four of the five areas of specialization in nursing education. She is not one to ‘toot her own horn’ but goes above and beyond to insure that her students will be competent and skilled upon their graduation from the NVC Nursing Program. She is a joy to work with and is well respected by her colleagues.”
– Bob Harris, Senior Dean, Health & Safety
“Andrea is our health occupations skills instructor and serves all of the HEOC programs to assist in the development and competency of healthcare skills for all programs. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Pacific Union College and is an alum of the NVC Nursing Program approximately eight years ago. Andrea has worked as a Registered Nurse in multiple facilities, most recently at Sonoma Developmental Center prior to coming to Napa Valley College. She is skilled in educating healthcare students and often serves as an impromptu ‘ear’ to the students who have concerns, are worried about their skill status, or just need to chat about a situation. She will be remembered by myself and Dr. Kraft during her interview for the position; to say the least, she left an indelible impression. We are pleased that Andrea has achieved tenure. Our students are very effusive in their praise of her and her skills in communication her ability to help them achieve their goals. She has recently received certification to instruct in the Psychiatric Technician Program as well and has been instrumental in helping PTEC students complete their clinical education during the COVID pandemic. Her colleagues tout her as an incredibly valuable colleague who provides important and congruent education to what occurs in the classroom.”
– Bob Harris, Senior Dean, Health & Safety
“As the first woman in her family to attend college, Hope began her educational journey as a community college student with career interests in the fields of education and psychology. She transferred to San Francisco State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies, and later earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. Prior to joining Napa Valley College faculty as a General Counselor in 2014, Hope spent more than six years volunteering and working at various community agencies and public schools where she provided therapy to children, adolescents and adults. Hope is grateful to have found her ideal career as a counselor and instructor at NVC where she is able to use her therapeutic clinical background to empower and advocate for community college students. Hope has held faculty leadership positions within the Counseling department as the Human Services Coordinator as an adjunct faculty, and currently the Counseling Faculty Coordinator. Hope believe’s that education and social justice is one of the most powerful ways to challenge systems of oppression, learn compassion and empathy for others, and nurture community and interconnectedness within the world around us.”
– Howard Willis, Senior Dean, Counseling Services and Student Success
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