WNCC Staff awards

Western Nevada Community College staff honored

Western Nevada Community College staff members Chris Ryan, Hillary Arthur and Kim Coker have been honored with Awards of Excellence, presented at the seventh annual Nevada Community Colleges Conference in Reno.

Ryan, a geographic information systems professor, was recognized for teaching excellence. He has involved teachers from around the state in projects on climate variability in the Great Basin, served as coordinator of the Geographic Alliance in Nevada, and directed the Teachers at Sea program.

Arthur, WNCC's head women's soccer coach, was honored for administrative excellence. She won the 2006 National Junior College Athletic Association Region 18 Coach of the Year Award and her team captured the Scenic West Athletic Conference Region XVIII Championship in their second season.

Her team was also recognized as one of the NJCAA's top academic teams of the year. The Wildcats were tied for fifth place in the U.S. in team grade point average.

Coker, a program officer in the office of financial assistance, was honored for classified staff excellence. She has earned three associate degrees from WNCC and has encouraged hundreds of students to follow in her footsteps.

Since 2000, she has concentrated her efforts on the Millennium Scholarship program, implementing a parent night event and a mentoring program. She has worked at WNCC since 1977.