[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 167 (Tuesday, November 18, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S15056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 2003 NEW JERSEY PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR

 Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, it is my honor and pleasure to 
recognize Dr. Carole A Gavin, recipient of the 2003 New Jersey 
Professor of the Year Award. This award, which is sponsored by the 
Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie 
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, acknowledges outstanding 
professors for their excellence in teaching and their commitment to 
students.
  Dr. Gavin has been a professor of English as a Second Language, ESL, 
and French at Burlington County College since 1971. She has worked 
tirelessly to develop supportive infrastructures in which her students 
can learn and thrive. As a professor of ESL and the ESL program 
coordinator, Dr. Gavin uses innovative strategies to engage her 
students and help them reach their full potential. For example, the TNT 
Tutoring Team is an idea that Dr. Gavin developed to match her ESL 
students with retired professionals from an adult living community. 
Exposure to the English language is just the beginning of the program. 
Through writing journals and discussions of current issues, the 
students gain a cross-generational perspective that enhances their 
cultural experience. The education the students gain is not one that 
can be found in any classroom or textbook--the interactions between the 
senior citizens and the students offer knowledge that will not only 
help students succeed in passing a test but succeed in life.
  Dr. Gavin is also the principal faculty advisor of the Phi Theta 
Kappa Honor Society. In order to strengthen the resources available to 
her students, Dr. Gavin assembled 17 new and current faculty members to 
join her in mentoring the students. Her efforts have succeeded in 
enriching the programs available to the members of Phi Theta Kappa by 
offering a diverse group of advisors who bring knowledge and experience 
from a variety of disciplines. Again, Dr. Gavin's creative ideas have 
positively impacted the lives of her students.
  Along with the 2003 New Jersey Professor of the Year award, Dr. Gavin 
has been the recipient of several honors including the Lindbach 
Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, South Jersey Literacy Award 
for ESL Program Teaching and various grants, including a Presidential 
grant to work with Fort Dix Kosovar refugees.
  In a Nation where higher education is vital to an individual's 
success, I applaud the hard work, energy, and expertise of our Nation's 
professors. Dr. Carole Gavin's successful career as a teacher, mentor 
and innovator is an inspiration to us all and I am proud to acknowledge 
her as New Jersey's Professor of the Year.

                          ____________________