The Parkland College Leadership Award for Outstanding Adjunct Faculty is presented each year to a part-time faculty member who has taught at the college for a minimum of four semesters and has created a successful learning environment for their students, participated in the college community, helped to innovate their program, and demonstrated a commitment to professional development.
2023 Leadership Award for Outstanding Adjunct Faculty
Virginia Lehmann, Chemistry Instructor in the Natural Sciences department, is the recipient of the 2023 Parkland College Leadership Award for Outstanding Adjunct Faculty.
Virginia has been a part-time instructor teaching several different chemistry courses since 2006. Virginia sees herself as a catalyst for student learning and works to create an environment where students can learn. She believes in the importance of getting to know her students so that she can discover what they already know to fill in gaps and provide a safe environment in which they can learn. Virginia also strives to make learning chemistry meaningful to them by showing them its relevance in their daily lives. She has adopted mastery learning in her classes to improve student learning and to diminish students’ fear of failure.
Virginia has also been involved in improving chemistry courses by creating new instruction materials that have been adopted by other instructors. She is also working with Christina Beatty to implement a form of mastery learning called “specification grading.” Virginia also helped with lab revisions in several courses and led a review of the chemicals used in organic chemistry labs. This allowed for the removal of hazardous chemicals and their replacement with safer alternatives, creating a safer environment for students and faculty.
During her time at Parkland, Virginia has been an active participant in the Natural Sciences Department and the Chemistry Area. She has also participated in CETL workshops and EDU classes. Virginia recently completed a certificate program for online teaching. She has made many meaningful contributions to Parkland College and its students.