The Distinguished Faculty Award (Emeritus) at Anoka-Ramsey Community College recognizes and acknowledges distinguished professional contributions to the college, the community, and the profession.
Distinguished Faculty Award Recipients
| Year | Individual | Department | Additional Information |
| 2023 | Kathleen Hoffman | English | Kathleen Hoffman taught English and speech on the Cambridge Campus, specializing in developmental education, from 1996 to 2017. She was a two-time Golden Apple teaching award recipient and was active on many college committees, including the Honors Council, Student Life Committee, the Editorial Board for Spirit River Review, the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Committee, and MSCF. Most notably, Kathleen was instrumental in starting the Honors Program on the Cambridge Campus and served for many years as faculty advisor to Phi Theta Kappa. Under her guidance, the Cambridge chapter of Phi Theta Kappa won multiple Outstanding Chapter Awards and attended 17 international conventions. Kathleen was awarded the Regional Advisor of the Year in 2002, the Robert Guiles Distinguished Advisor Award in 2003, and the Continued Excellence Award in Advising in 2004. She was especially proud of helping a Phi Theta Kappa student apply for and win a $30,000 academic scholarship awarded to just one student in the country each year, which allowed the student to pursue her career as a marine biologist in Hawaii. She also secured a Diana Hacker Grant to help fund the Academic Support Center on the Cambridge Campus. Kathleen had a gift for welcoming all students, especially first-generation and non-traditional students. She helped them find their voice and confidence, and many of her students continued to express their gratitude for her loving guidance long after graduation. She was active in her community garden and food shelf in Rush City and contributed artifacts from her father’s career as a ship captain on the Great Lakes for a display for the Cambridge Community-Wide Read with Peter Geye’s novel Safe from the Sea. |
| 2023 | Brad Wold | Biology | Brad Wold was hired in 1984 as only the second full-time instructor on the Cambridge campus. In the thirty-three years that followed, he taught general biology, plant biology, animal biology, microbiology, human anatomy, physiology, environmental science, chemistry, and astronomy. Working in learning communities with colleagues, Brad helped lead student trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, and the Nobel Conference at Gustavus Adolphus for nearly twenty years. In 1987, he organized and hosted the first of many annual Science Nights, welcoming middle school and high school science instructors and other members of the community to our campus to learn from renowned speakers on a variety of topics in science. Drawing on his previous work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Brad proposed and helped to plant the restored prairie that remains the signature of our Cambridge campus landscape. He also photographed and documented it extensively, the results of which can still be viewed on the college website today. Brad took on other roles to serve his colleagues and students, including MSCF president and vice president, organizer of a statewide meeting of biology instructors with the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences, PSEO mentor, volunteer and emcee at the annual Candlelight Ski event, and faculty advisor to the Hearts Ablaze student club. Still living in Cambridge, Brad remains active in his church and at a local thrift shop, which gives 100% of its proceeds back to community members in need and has always considered himself an ambassador of ARCC. |
| 2021 | Thomas Hanson | Sociology | Thomas Hanson started teaching at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in 1989. Throughout his career, Thomas has been a leader in department initiatives and college-wide committees, and a valued advocate for equity and anti-racist work. He served as a faculty mentor, brought guest speakers and film discussions to campus, and facilitated numerous conversations and workshops within his department, across the college, and in the greater community. Thomas also contributed expertise to his field as a board member for the Sociologists of Minnesota. |
| 2021 | Max Malmquist | Physics | Max Malmquist taught at Anoka-Ramsey Community College for 31 years. Joining the faculty in 1966, he was instrumental in the development of the college’s physics program. During his time at Anoka-Ramsey, Max worked diligently to advance the college’s instruction and curriculum, including through mentorship of younger instructors. His involvement extended beyond the classroom. Max started and coached a golf team at Anoka-Ramsey, served as an advisor to the college’s science club and students on spring and summer break trips to destinations from Wyoming to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. |
| 2021 | Tom McCarthy | Communications Studies | Tom McCarthy began teaching at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in 1982, and served as faculty in English, Speech Communications, Communication Studies, and Theater. Over the course of his 38-year teaching career, Tom served as a college-wide leader in faculty shared governance, curriculum, strategic planning and accreditation, chairing numerous committees, including AASC, and serving as faculty president. His colleagues cited his student-centered approach to teaching and service, noting that Tom coached a nationally competitive student speech team, advised the Multicultural Club, and won numerous teaching awards from his students. |
| 2021 | Melissa Mills | Biology | Melissa Mills began her career with Anoka-Ramsey Community College as a part-time instructor in 1984, beginning full-time service as a UFT in 1991. During her tenure at the college, Melissa served as the interim STEM dean and was a valuable member of many college committees, including Writing Across the Curriculum, Faculty Shared Governance, and semester conversion, among many others. She also served as MSCF President and was selected as Most Honored Faculty. Her contributions to teaching and learning included creating “A&P Out of the Box” for Anatomy and Physiology and service as a doula in the community and to inform her teaching. |
| 2019 | Darby Nelson | Biology | Darby Nelson retired from teaching at Anoka-Ramsey in 2001 after teaching here for 35 years. He taught Environmental Science, General Biology and Animal Biology and won many awards – Golden Chalk Award, Minnesota Post-secondary Science Teacher of the Year and our local chapter’s Faculty Excellence Award. But Darby did more than teach during those years. He served three terms as a Minnesota legislator served on many boards and committees and wrote on environmental topics in many venues – activities helping him to earn recognition from the Sierra Club, Izaak Walton League and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. |
| 2019 | Katherine Whelchel | Biomedical Technology | Katherine Whelchel came to Anoka-Ramsey in 1979. She was integral in the development of the college’s Biomedical Technology program. She also served as the first director of the college’s Office for Student with Disabilities. |
| 2003 | Anne Levig | ||
| 1997 | Robert N Bateson | ||
| 1992 | Loyola Thiltgen | ||
| 1987 | Gregory J LaPanta | ||
| 1985 | Robert Cutting |
