by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College Professor Janet Velazquez was recently named a regional recipient of the 2017 ACBSP Teaching Excellence Award. The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs recognizes individuals every year who exemplify teaching excellence in the classroom.
“It is an honor to be selected for this award. It is also humbling because I know there are lots of excellent teachers among the region’s community colleges,” Velazquez said. “My mother was the best teacher I ever had. I never thought I would follow in her footsteps as an educator. I feel like she’s smiling down on me and saying ‘good job.’”
Velazquez will be honored, along with the other regional recipients, at the 2017 ACBSP Conference this summer in Anaheim, Calif. In addition to a medallion, she will receive $250 for winning the award.
As a regional recipient, Velazquez is now a candidate for the International Teaching Excellence Award, which is given to two recipients at the special Salute to Regions luncheon – one from a baccalaureate/graduate degree-granting institution and one from an associate degree-granting institution.
“Janet’s students find her to be a demanding and yet fair teacher. Students comment on her knowledge of the material and teaching innovations in the classrooms,” said Ed Kremer, dean of the Mathematics, Science and Business Technology Division at KCKCC. “This is especially true of her business law students who appreciate her knowledge and ability to give them real world examples.”
Velazquez started as a full-time instructor at KCKCC in 2001 after a successful career as a trial attorney. She said her main motivation in the classroom is to challenge her students to think.
“Perhaps this is just a small affirmation that I am achieving that goal,” she said. “To me, teaching excellence is knowing my students have come away with more than book knowledge.”
Kremer said Velazquez “truly goes out of her way” to do more than just teach her students.
“She is able to give them more than just a text book based explanation,” he said. “As the business coordinator, she works to cultivate relationships with colleagues and industry partners to better the program at KCKCC.”
ACBSP’s mission is to promote continuous improvement and recognize excellence in the accreditation of business education programs around the world. The organization is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as a specialized accreditation agency for business education. ACBSP is the only global accrediting body to accredit business, accounting and business-related programs at all degree levels.
