Bill Mulkeen Adjunct Teaching Award

Bill Mulkeen Adjunct Teaching Award 

This award, granted by the FCTL Advisory Committee, recognizes an adjunct member of Community College of Philadelphia’s (CCP) faculty for excellence in teaching at CCP.  The one-time award is given annually during the spring semester. The recipient receives a $500 award and is recognized at the FCTL end-of-the-year event in April. 

To be eligible for this award, adjuncts must have completed at least two semesters at Community College of Philadelphia and comply with all College and Department requirements.

Nominations

The call for nominations is made every spring semester. To nominate a colleague, please use the online nomination form. This award comes with a $500 prize. Submit all nominations by the last Thursday in February. Please note that individuals may nominate only one adjunct faculty member and the adjunct faculty members who have been honored in the past are ineligible to be nominated again. 

Nominees will be informed of their nomination the week before Spring Break. Nominees must then submit their application packet (see below for list of criteria) on or before the third Friday in March. Nomination packets can be emailed to FCTL@ccp.edu .  

Process 

  • Self-nominations or peer nominations are solicited every spring.
  • Nominees are notified of their nomination the week before Spring Break. 
  • Nominees submit items from the list of eligible criteria (see section Evaluation Criteria).
  • The Faculty Advisory Committee (FCTLAC) reviews the nomination packets using a rubric and selects a winner.  
  • Winners will be notified and requested to attend the FCTL Fellows Presentations and Awards Ceremony to receive their award. This ceremony is typically held before the end of the spring semester.

Nominee Evaluation Criteria

Nominees are responsible for compiling their application materials as evaluation criteria. Please submit all items from Section A, one item from Section B and one item from Section C to  '; // -->  . 

Please include headings or titles to identify what you have chosen to submit for evaluation, specifically for Sections B & C.

Section A (please submit all three):

  • A Title Page that includes your name, title, and department.
  • Teaching Philosophy Statement (no more than two pages) that conveys your teaching values, beliefs, and goals and/or provides evidence of teaching effectiveness.
  • A recent syllabus used in a course taught at CCP.

Section B (please select one from the following list):

  • Up to three discrete examples of teaching materials used at Community College of Philadelphia such as assignments, sample lessons, multi-media, etc. that explain the criteria, course learning outcomes, examples, and assessment.
  • A narrative that includes examples of how you foster learning outside the classroom at Community College of Philadelphia through co-curricular activities, service learning, experiential learning, etc... (no more than 1 page)
  •  A narrative that includes examples of how you engage students to meet course outcomes (no more than 2 pages) at Community College of Philadelphia.

Section C (please select one from the following list):

  • Evidence of how you are keeping up with best/current practices in teaching and an explanation of how this has been incorporated into the classroom at Community College of Philadelphia (no more than 2 pages)
  • Evidence that you are keeping up with your discipline by maintaining professional certifications/licenses, presenting at conferences, publishing work, etc... (no more than 2 pages)
  • Teaching-related contributions to your department or program such as curriculum development, mentoring, shared techniques, or tools, etc... (no more than 2 pages)

Questions? Email

Nominate someone for the Bill Mulkeen Adjunct Teaching Award

About Bill Mulkeen

Bill Mulkeen was an adjunct instructor for over 10 years in the disciplines of Criminal Justice and Paralegal Studies in the department of Social Science and passed away in September 2020. Bill taught JUS 221 Criminal Investigation, JUS 261 Criminal Evidence Procedure, JUS 291 Contemporary Issues in Justice, JUS 241 Criminal Law, and JUS 121 Legal Issues. 

Here is what his department heads had to say: "Bill was a beloved member of the Social Science department and a genuinely all around good human being. He excelled at teaching and also contributed a lot to the department and stepped up when others wouldn’t . . . He was adored by his students and he always went the extra mile for them. For example, about five years ago along with [two other professors], Bill took a full bus of Community College of Philadelphia students to the Pennsylvania state police training academy in Hershey. The academy put on a whole day of events for the students, including a physical fitness training session, a mini law class, and an information recruitment presentation. Bill was absolutely instrumental in putting that trip together and walked around the whole day like he was the proud papa of the students.  

Bill was working steadily on a health care law textbook and wanted to start a Health Care Law Paralegal course, but unfortunately, he passed before he could finish the book and get approval of the course. Such was his commitment to CCP that he would volunteer and invest time for the betterment of students.  

Bill was very active in the National Paralegal Association and was a site evaluator, who would go to other schools as part of the accreditation process. This was invaluable to our department as Bill was very generous in sharing his wisdom and experiences in accreditation with the department so they could excel when it came to CCP’s site visit. Bill also previously held positions in North Jersey politics, and these experiences in turn influenced his teaching where he often shared his insight. Bill was the ultimate storyteller, and he had many funny and interesting true stories that helped illuminate much of the content he taught and these stories which would always begin ‘when I was…’ We all sorely miss those amazing and enlightening stories!  

Bill also stepped up to the plate to be the Criminal Justice program coordinator when no one else -including full time faculty - would do it. Despite no one being there to help him transition into this position and receiving little support from his colleagues he gave it 100% and kept the program afloat until a full-time faculty was hired to fill the position. Without him in that position the program would have certainly dwindled. For example, while Criminal Justice coordinator, Bill volunteered to attend a 3-day Cengage MindTap training conference in Cincinnati, which he handled with aplomb . . . CAT team . . . worked closely with Bill on assessment and got to see first-hand his commitment to students and the program. Bearing in mind Bill was part time and volunteered for this work, he did an outstanding job throwing himself fully into the world of CLOS, PLOs, closing the loop and benchmarks!  

Bill was a regular fixture at department meetings and brought with him a wealth of experience and wisdom to the table. He was extremely supportive of his colleagues and was always generous and willing to offer his expertise. Bill happily volunteered for many panels, including those for Law and Society Week, Constitution Day and for Continuing Legal Education training, which is essential for all lawyers. It is fair to say that Bill was a part of the fabric of not only Social Science, but also the college.   

Personality wise, Bill could be described as the ultimate happy go lucky person and never had a bad word to say about anybody. He was well known for his love of all things Bruce Springsteen and would happily talk to anyone about what his best song was. Needless to say, he was well liked in the department. His students echoed this sentiment – in his more than a decade at CCP Bill never once received a complaint about him. Even after Bill retired from teaching, he stayed in touch with colleagues, and [two colleagues] would drive up every semester to a famous North Jersey deli to have lunch with him. He was still very much a part of our department right up until his passing [in year].”  

Past Recipients

  • Philip Kenerly (2020) 
  • Rafael Logroño (2020)
  • Paul Hanley (2021)
  • Cara Bennett (2022)
  • Jenna Sterling (2023)