Faculty to receive Chancellor’s Award in Adjunct Teaching

Two Fredonia faculty members are among recipients of the 2018-2019 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching, a system-wide honor that recognizes consistently superior teaching at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels.

Diane Everett, an adjunct instructor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, and Dr. Andrew Smith, an adjunct instructor in the School of Music, are the recipients of the honor that was initiated in 2014.

It was stated in her nomination papers that Ms. Everett embodies the concept that learning is not confined to the classroom. She engages in teaching and learning in not only her Spanish classroom, but on trips abroad, in community events and through student groups and community interactions. Everett focuses on students’ understanding and absorption of the culture, as well on their grasp of languages that she teaches.

Everett earned her M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature and B.S. in Spanish Education from the University of Missouri. She also studied Spanish at the graduate level in Monterrey, Mexico, and received her endorsement to teach French from the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon, France.

Since beginning her teaching career in the K-12 system, Everett has consistently refined her craft through the use of music, art and dance as well as engagement activities. She recognized that allowing students to engage creatively in their newly learned language made them more successful.

Everett has taught Spanish and French at the secondary school level and has published three articles on secondary level language learning in the Journal of the New England League of Middle Schools as well as a teaching manual, "Have Fun With Harry Potter: Exciting Activities for Middle School and High School Spanish and French Classrooms."

She taught at the University of Missouri before arriving at Fredonia as an adjunct faculty member in 2009, initially teaching Elementary French before moving to Elementary and Intermediate Spanish. Everett continues to utilize creative approaches to learning language through engagement, so while students are having fun they are also engaging in the culture while fine-tuning their language skills.

Everett was an early adopter of Open Educational Resources at Fredonia, which she says has enabled her to design a course based on her own students’ needs and abilities by creating her own materials and using online resources. By creating her own curriculum, Everett has incorporated course activities that are engaging and balance all modalities.

Outside of the classroom, Everett is the faculty sponsor of the Fredonia Dance Team and serves as the program assistant for Fredonia’s J-Term course in Puerto Rico.

It was stated in his nomination papers that Dr. Smith excels at a teaching style clearly guided by and grounded in musicality. His study of composition and his impressive record of performances inform his teaching, and his teaching informs and drives his creative work. Smith uses his own professional experiences to instruct his students in practical ways.

Smith’s teaching experience is varied, ranging from group and private composition lessons, to large lecture presentations and small skills laboratories in composition, theory, history and technology. He has also taught specialized courses in orchestration, band scoring, choral arranging and advanced theoretical analysis.

Smith has pursued unique collaborations with other departments to create opportunities for students, serving as a liaison between the Composition area and the Department of Theatre and Dance. He has overseen projects that paired 12 student composers with 12 student choreographers to create original performance art. One of these collaborations took place during the grand opening of the Rockefeller Studio Complex in 2017. 

As Head of Database Management for the Institute for Composer Diversity, Smith helps to bring greater diversity, equity and inclusion in musical programming to his field, and ultimately, his students. 

Smith joined the School of Music faculty in 2015, earned his D.M.A. in Contemporary Music and M.M. in Composition from Bowling Green State University and a Mus.B. in Music Composition and Music Performance from Fredonia. A composer, clarinetist, and entrepreneur, Smith has written a variety of compositions for solo instruments, voice, choir, mixed chamber ensembles, wind ensemble, orchestra and electronic media.

Smith is also a faculty member at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp and previously served as an adjunct instructor at Bowling Green State University and Owens Community College.

His teaching interests include music composition, music theory, music cognition and contemporary music. He is a member of the National Association for Music Education, New York State School Music Association, Composer Diversity Project, Society of Composers, Inc., Chautauqua County Music Teachers Association, the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the U.S., College Music Society, ADJ•ective New Music, LLC and American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

The official campus presentation of their medallions will be at the all-campus meeting in August.

Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence are presented annually in seven categories: Faculty Service, Librarianship, Professional Service, Scholarship and Creative Activities, Teaching, Classified Service and Adjunct Teaching.