Copiah-Lincoln Community College science instructor Angela Smith-Wilkinson has been named the recipient of the annual NISOD Excellence Award.

Smith-Wilkinson has been a faculty member at Co-Lin since 2005. The award recognizes instructors who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues. In 1989, in connection with a University of Texas at Austin national study of teaching excellence, NISOD hosted its first ceremony honoring NISOD Excellence Award recipients. The response to that ceremony was so positive that NISOD began what has become the largest and most inspiring gathering that recognizes the contributions and achievements of community and technical college faculty, administrators, and staff.

“Angela is a long-time member of the Co-Lin faculty and well respected amongst her colleagues,” said Co-Lin President Dr. Dewayne Middleton. “She is deeply dedicated to her students and goes above and beyond to ensure they have all the tools needed to be successful. She embodies all characteristics of the NISOD Excellence Award and is very deserving of this recognition.”

Excellence Award recipients are recognized during NISOD’s annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, May 25-28, 2024. Excellence Awards recipients receive a specially cast, pewter medallion hung on a burnt-orange ribbon. The names, titles, and colleges of all Excellence Award recipients are included in a special booklet that features congratulatory ads from many of the recipients’ colleges. In addition, presentations at the conference involving Excellence Award recipients are indicated in the Conference Program with a special icon.

“Recognizing those individuals who have contributed to student success and their colleges’ mission is something we look forward to doing each year,” said Dr. Edward J. Leach, NISOD’s Executive Director. “The extraordinary work of these men and women includes not only what they do for their students and colleagues, but what they do for the communities in which they live and work. We’re honored to be able to play a part in celebrating their achievements.”