Two RWC English professors, Rebecca McDaniel and Diana Becket, received Diversity Is Beautiful Awards this week. Both recipients were presented the awards for their contribution to the area of diversity. Dr. Mitchel Livingston, Dean Delores Straker, and Helen Kegler, Chair of the RWC Diversity Is Beautiful Award committee, presented each with an etched Sterling Cut Glass frame.Rebecca McDaniel, Associate Professor of English and Communications, was nominated as a result of students feeling they had “grown tremendously in the knowledge and understanding of communication in various cultures.” Her students credit her for their growth in the knowledge of diversity and in their awareness of people of various cultures.
“Professor McDaniel has an enthusiastic spirit about her teaching, and for all students to learn,” one student said. “She definitely displays an awareness and sensitivity of diversity to everyone she comes in contact with. She is willing and encourages students to enjoy their learning experience, and not to just take classes because they are required. She is truly valued at RWC. I have learned a lot from her and her teachings about other cultures.”
Diana Becket, Assistant Professor of English ad Communications, has been credited with helping students grow in their “sensitivity to people of other cultures while also teaching English skills.” Students feel they have grown in the knowledge of and appreciation for diversity through the methods she uses to integrate diversity into her classroom.
“Professor Becket’s whole English Composition course revolved around cultural diversity,” one of her students said.”We met other RWC students whose cultural background was different than our own and were expected to gain better insight on how it may be for a non-native person to come live in a non-native place. Even with the stories and poems we were assigned, we were dealing with culture. Diana is an awesome professor with no cultural bias whatsoever; we need many more like her. I’m sure Diana has helped many other students in the area of diversity, as she is a great teacher and woman.”
This was the tenth anniversary for the Diversity Is Beautiful Award presentations. In honor of this banner year, Dr. Livingston was presented with a Sterling Cut Glass plaque for his dedication to diversity through Just Community efforts, and for coming to RWC every year for the past ten years to present the award to the recipients.
Past winners of the award include the following:
Grace Auyang–1996
Lynn Ritchey–1997
Andrea Kornbluh–1998
David Leaver and Gwen Dean–1999
Stan Sulkes–2000
Robert Cadet–2001
Emil Yakali–2002
Sylvia Thompson–2003
Noreen Craven and Rebecca Whitton–2004