TRUCKEE MEADOWS COMMUNITY COLLEGE NEWS RELEASE – Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) engineering professor Ann-Marie Vollstedt was honored by the American Society of Engineering Educators (ASEE) with the 2012-2013 Outstanding Community College Educator Award for the Pacific Southwest (PSW) division. The award recognizes those who exemplify the best in engineering and engineering technology education. Vollstedt’s positive impact on her students and outreach and service activities were cited as reasons for her being selected for this honor. Winners are nominated by peers and reviewed by the ASEE award selection committee for each division.
“She is a dynamite instructor,” said Ted Plaggemeyer, dean of TMCC’s Division of Sciences. “She is very innovative in the classroom and we are happy to have her at TMCC. She inspires her students and is a natural at teaching.”
Vollstedt holds advanced degrees in mechanical engineering and secondary science education and has taught a variety of engineering and renewable energy courses at TMCC for four years. In addition to her excellence in teaching, Vollstedt goes above and beyond the typical faculty duties. She uses her knowledge of science and gift as a teacher to help middle and high school students learn about robotics with curriculum, a summer LEGO robotics camp and workshops to inspire future science teachers to implement robotics programs. She also serves as the faculty advisor at TMCC for the Theta Tau professional engineering fraternity. Vollstedt attended the annual ASEE PSW Conference on April 19 at the University of California, Riverside to accept the award, where she received an award certificate and an honorarium of $1,000.
Truckee Meadows Community College is a comprehensive community college located in Reno, Nevada, and is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education. With five college sites and more than 20 community locations, TMCC serves over 20,000 students each year in state-supported programs and another 12,000 students in non-credit workforce development classes. For more information, please go to www.tmcc.edu.
