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ICCTA Outstanding Faculty Member Award
2005 Recipient
David C. Leake
Parkland College
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David C. Leake's love and enthusiasm for science is reflected in
every aspect of his career.
For the past 15 years, he has held a split assignment as a physics and astronomy instructor and as
coordinator of Parkland College's state-of-the-art planetarium.
In addition to his classes at Parkland, Leake conducts night programs
for the University of Illinois' introductory astronomy classes -- more than 700 students in all.
He also hosts planetarium visits from more than 20,000 area school children each year.
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David C. Leake of Parkland College is
the 2005 recipient of ICCTA's Outstanding
Faculty Member Award. |
And in the interest of demonstrating that
science is "fun," he has coordinated showings of the University of Illinois' Fighting Illini basketball games
inside the dome of the Staerkel Planetarium.
Leake has become a fixture on local TV as the host of Parkland's "Surrounded By Science" show. He is also
a regular on the local CBS affiliate, where he is often asked to discuss current events in science.
His colleagues remark that "of all of Dave's remarkable attributes, the one that best epitomizes him professionally
is his continual yet understated desire to make better the people and projects he is associated with."
Leake himself describes his philosophy of education in the following way: "We must understand that "science" is
not a thing, but a process. It's a way of knowing the world, but not the only way. You don't memorize it,
recite it, or crunch numbers endlessly to understand it. You have to work with it and see it in action!"
No wonder Parkland president Dr. Zelema Harris noted in her ICCTA nomination letter that Leake "is out of this world!"
For additional information on ICCTA's Outstanding
Faculty Member Award, please contact
Kim Villanueva at 1-800-454-2282, ext. 1.
Illinois Community College Trustees Association
401 E. Capitol Ave., Suite 200
Springfield, IL 62701-1711
217-528-2858 (phone)
217-528-8662 (fax)
ICCTA@communitycolleges.org (e-mail)
http://www.communitycolleges.org |
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