Marlene Dwyer
For the past decade, Marlene Dwyer has constantly been an excellent contributor to student learning. She goes beyond simply teaching in the classroom, by constantly being available to meet with students in her office and always being open to experimenting with new teaching methods. Many of our former Elementary Algebra students still remember and love her “Pizza and Word Problems" nights. In addition, Marlene was the driving force for the Math Lab at Gavilan College. Not only did she propose the initial idea but she worked hard to ensure the math lab was equipped with the proper materials and tutors. Marlene Dwyer is the real embodiment of a caring and intelligent professor because she takes education to a higher level, and her students succeed because of it. Furthermore her successes and contributions to the Gavilan family go beyond the classroom. She is constantly involved in campus affairs. For several years she had immense responsibility as a chairwoman of the Curriculum Committee, a position that calls for leadership, hard work, and expertise on numerous aspects of Gavilan academics. She has also been a chairwoman of the Equivalency committee for almost a decade. For the past two years, Marlene has been a treasurer of GFCA, and helped guide the union sensibly during time of growth and change. She was also a co-chair of the most recent Instructional Standards Committee for Accreditation.
In terms of community involvement, she has also taken on great responsibilities within the community and done so with care and persistence. Being the mayor of San Juan Batista is no easy task, yet Marlene did her job with the same attention to both the big and little picture, and high standards, which she has brought to her work at Gavilan College.
On a more personal note, my interaction with Marlene has shown me a very positive and caring person. When she thinks and acts, she goes beyond the required minimums and always takes people into consideration. She is a cultured woman, with a fine taste in music and dancing, and is always a very pleasant and intelligent conversationalist. Her colleagues love her because she never minds sacrificing her free time to help a fellow professor and deals with everyone with wisdom, sensitivity, care, and compassion.
Nominated by the Natural Sciences Department.
