Petaluman earns prestigious award

Petaluman Dr. Daniel Clemens, professor of biology at Napa Valley College has received the 2016 McPherson Distinguished Teaching Award.

Clemens credited the support of his wife, Jane, who is also a teacher; and his mother, an Austrian refugee from World War II, for instilling the value of education in achieving an “enlightened life.” He also thanked his students for working to attain a “new understanding of life and themselves,” in accepting the award.

He credited the college for the opportunity to work with his colleagues to solve problems and develop new ways to support student success.

“Napa Valley College built a way, not a wall, for students,” he told a gathering of about 50 educators gathred to honor him.

Clemens was described in nomination forms as “extraordinary, phenomenal, passionate, honest, dedicated, selfless and organized in ways that benefit the success of his students.”

“He is a teacher who cares, who is always there for his students,” said Dr. Terry Giugni, the NVC vice president of Instruction.

Prior to joining Napa Valley College in 2005, he taught at UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, The University of Chicago, Williams College, Dominican University and Santa Rosa Junior College.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from UC Santa Cruz and completed his Ph.D. in biology from UCLA under Dr. George Bartholomew, who was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1985, and is known for the 39 Ph.D. students he trained over seven generations, including Clemens.

At NVC, Clemens teaches human anatomy, human physiology and general zoology. Outside of the classroom, he advises the NVC Community Garden Club and supports students in the biology department and is on the Academic Senate and the Curriculum Committee. He has also worked on program evaluation and and planning, student learning outcomes assessment, and helped prepare the college’s accreditation self-study reports in 2009 and 2015.

The McPherson Distinguished Teaching Awards, established in 1987 to recognize excellence in teaching at Napa Valley College, is funded by the McPherson-West Fund of the Napa Valley College Foundation and the Office of Instruction.

Nominations are submitted by peers, students and other members of the college community, and the selection is made by a committee based on comprehensive knowledge of subject matter, stimulation of student thought and interest, use of innovative techniques, continuing helpfulness to students, ability to apply knowledge to other disciplines, contributions to the instructional program and commitment to quality.

Each McPherson Distinguished Teaching Award recipient receives $1,000, thanks to an endowment established by the founding president of the college, Dr. Harry McPherson, and held by his family and the Napa Valley College Foundation.

McPherson helped generations of Napa Valley College students. From his vision and institutional leadership to his support of scholarships and encouragement of individual students, he touched many lives. Establishing the McPherson Distinguished Teaching Award is another example of his support of the faculty and his commitment to excellence in education.