February 18, 2019

Two Delta College professors have been named recipients of a 2018 John & Suanne Roueche Excellence Award, which celebrates outstanding contributions and leadership by community college faculty and staff nationwide. Kevin Dehne, Associate Professor in Physics, and Bruce Kemmer, Associate Professor in Management, will be recognized at the League for Innovation in the Community College’s Innovations Conference on February 25 in New York City.

The pair were nominated by Delta College President Dr. Jean Goodnow, with the final selection made by the League for Innovation in the Community College. The awards are named for John E. and Suanne D. Roueche, leaders in the community college field and early proponents of the idea that teachers have major responsibility for students’ performance in the classroom.

Dehne is being honored for his work at expanding teaching beyond the classroom. Dehne, who teaches primarily astronomy and geology, is known for hosting night-time sky observations on campus known as “Star Parties” and for taking students on stargazing trips to Lapeer and on rock hounding trips to the Upper Peninsula.

“The best part about this job is working with students, and anytime I can get them out of the classroom where they can learn hands-on, I am going to do it,” said Dehne. “It provides a great opportunity to get to know them better, they get to know me better, and it creates a great learning environment.”

Dehne has been a full-time professor at Delta for 19 years, and was an adjunct for four years before that. He is pleased to be named a recipient of the award and is excited for his first trip to New York.

“I’m humbled by this award, and I was surprised,” he said. “But it’s always nice to know someone appreciates what you’re doing. Coming to Delta was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

Kemmer, a 30-year Delta employee, is being recognized primarily for his contributions to a program offering classes in the Michigan Department of Corrections with funding from a Pell grant. He teaches management and accounting classes to three cohorts of qualifying prisoners at the Saginaw Correctional Facility. Delta is one of three colleges in Michigan to have earned a grant to conduct such a program. The others are Mott Community College (Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer) and Jackson College (Jackson Correctional Institution). Kemmer said Delta may expand its program to the Alma Correctional Facility and possibly even to locations in the Upper Peninsula.

“I’m very proud of the program we’ve started,” he said, noting that teaching on-site at a prison means going “old school” with no internet access or other conveniences found on campus. “The students are very motivated, and this is another way Delta can fulfill its mission and contribute to society. We’ve laid a good foundation, and I’m optimistic it will continue as long as there is funding.”

Kemmer credits Goodnow, Dean of Career Education/Learning Partnership Ginny Przygocki, Vice President of Instruction/Learning Services Reva Curry and John Neal in the Admissions Department, as well as the staff at Saginaw Correctional Facility for the program’s success.

Teaching at Delta has provided many memorable moments for Kemmer, and he is proud to be named a recipient of the Roueche Award.

“Delta has been a great place to teach,” he said. “I’m at the point of my career it’s nice to get an award like this. It’s not something I ever set out to do or thought about, but when you work hard, it feels good to be recognized for that.”

The League for Innovation in the Community College is an international nonprofit organization with a mission to cultivate innovation in the community college environment. The League serves as a catalyst for introducing and sustaining deep, transformational innovation within and across colleges and international borders to increase student success and institutional excellence.