Students have voted and have declared that Professor Kim Karlberg will be the recipient of the first ever Student Alumni Faculty Prestige Award.

This is the first year in which the award will be given to a faculty member. The award is an opportunity to honor and recognize a full-time faculty member who has made a difference in students’ lives. According to Assistant Director of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations Kelly Myers, no one else at JJC has had the idea to honor the faculty. "This is a wonderful opportunity to honor our faculty and it offers us a platform to raise them up and thank them for all that they do," said Myers.

The award was conceived by the student alumni association, an organization that was established two years ago. This association helps to increase awareness of the JJC alumni association and promote relations between alumni and students.

"They hoped to provide an award that would in some small way repay the efforts that they have seen in some of the faculty here at JJC," said Associate Professor Deborah Dykstra. "The students came up with the idea, and came up with the plan to enable students to vote and recognize a faculty member at the annual alumni brunch."

On April 10 on the main bridge nominations were taken for this prestigious award. From there the selection was narrowed down to two professors, psychology professor Tom Swietzer and criminal justice professor Karlberg. Karlberg won the award after two days of online voting from JJC students.

Swietzer, who will be retiring at the end of this semester after 29 years at JJC, was grateful for this experience. "I am pleased that I have students who respect me enough to vote for me," Swietzer said. Karlberg could not be reached for comment.

The Student Alumni Faculty Prestige Award will be awarded to Karlberg on June 8, 2008 at the 27th annual alumni brunch. Per the guidelines of the award, Karlberg will not be eligible to win this award two years in a row. Other awards at the alumni brunch will include a distinguished alumni award and the Susan H. Wood award. Larry Walsch, a member of the class of 1972, will be receiving the distinguished alumni award. Natalie Miller and Myra Linden are former faculty members who were instrumental in improving the Academic Skills Center and will be receiving the Susan H. Wood award.

For more information on the alumni brunch or for those interested in joining the student alumni association, please contact Deborah Dykstra or Kelly Myers.