Watson Named Carl Sandburg Adjunct Faculty of the Year

GALESBURG — Kirk Watson has been named the 2022 Carl Sandburg College Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year after students and fellow faculty members nominated him for his outstanding work in the classroom.

 

Watson was recognized as the winner this week during Sandburg’s 54^th annual Commencement. An instructor in Carl Sandburg College’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Department and now coordinator of Sandburg’s Testing Center, this marks the second time Watson has been named Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year. He previously won the honor in 2006.

 

Watson — who has taught courses in history, sociology and political science — first was at Sandburg from 2000-11 and came back to the College in 2017. In his time at Sandburg, Watson helped create its first online history class and was co-creator of the College’s initial online course in diversity.

 

“Success in the classroom starts with the design of the course. I use a diverse approach that is designed to address multiple learning styles and ability levels,” Watson said. “My courses are also taught in a variety of modalities (traditional, blended, everything in between). I have always been a fan of experimentation, but the pandemic has taken this to a new level. Lastly, I am a believer in the idea that teachers need to ‘meet students where they are’ in order to have any success with them.”

 

Watson graduated from Western Illinois University in 1998 with a bachelor’s in history and a minor in political science. He earned a Master of Arts from WIU in 2000 and has also taught at Augustana College and Black Hawk College. In addition to his teaching, Watson serves as the coordinator of the Testing Center at Sandburg.

 

“The foundational principle of my teaching philosophy has always been the promotion of ownership in my students over the direction of their own work. The goal is to help them realize that their success, not only in a specific course but also in their academic careers, will largely be of their own making,” Watson said. “The most rewarding aspect of this approach, for me, is when my students go on to realize that what they learned in my class(es) will apply throughout their academic and professional careers.”