Nursing Instructor, Mary Jane Fleener, Wins Adjunct Teaching Award

Ivy Tech Community College’s Bloomington campus has selected Mary Jane Fleener, adjunct faculty in nursing, the recipient of the 2021 Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence in Instruction. She was selected among 41 adjunct faculty nominees.

“Mary Jane’s nominations highlighted her outstanding instruction, in addition to her nurturing, caring soul in a discipline that is challenging even outside of pandemic-style teaching and learning,” said Richard Chambers, Ivy Tech Bloomington faculty advisory council president and department chair of social sciences. “I can also recall that several of my Supplemental Student Instructors [peer tutors] spoke highly of Mary Jane, both as an instructor and as a positive person in their lives.”

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Fleener’s nominations spoke to her ability to communicate complicated subject matter in a way that is attainable and retainable. In one nomination a student said that “Mrs. Fleener is an exceedingly fresh breath of air in the complicated world that is nursing school.” Another student nomination said that, “Mrs. Fleener genuinely cares about her students and has made the daunting task of Zoom class seem easy, with a successful transition to the virtual classroom.”

The Adjunct Faculty Award for Excellence in Instruction is presented annually to one adjunct faculty member from each Ivy Tech campus statewide. As a recipient of this award, Fleener, is also the nominee for the statewide Ivy Tech Gerald. I. Lamkin Award for Excellence in Instruction. The Award is named for a former Ivy Tech president and recognizes an adjunct faculty member who exhibits excellence in instruction and represents the mission of the college.

Ivy Tech accepts free applications year-round and offers multiple course start dates for faster completion. Funding options are also available, from the state’s Next Level Jobs grant that aligns certification training with high-demand jobs, to federal grants such as the Pell. To get started and ask questions, email askBloomington@ivytech.edu or call 812-330-6013.