STLCC Employees Earn Excellence Awards

Four faculty and staff members from St. Louis Community College have received Excellence Awards from the League for Innovation in the Community College.

The League for Innovation has been dedicated to informing, inspiring and celebrating innovation in learning, teaching, staff development and student success for more than 50 years. Since 2012, the league has presented Excellence Awards to outstanding faculty, staff and leaders in the community college field who have made a significant difference in the lives of students and in the communities their colleges serve. They recognize individuals who exemplify excellence in community college teaching and leadership. Individuals from any STLCC location can be selected to receive this honor.

STLCC’s award winners are:

• Michelle Petterchak, Florissant Valley
• Lindsay Fox and Amanda Gallogly, Forest Park
• Gwendolyn Verhoff, Wildwood

They will receive their awards at the league’s Innovations Conference March 17-20 in Anaheim, California.

Michelle Petterchak is an associate professor of nursing. She has worked in the nursing profession for 32 years and has called STLCC her work home for 10 of those years. She worked in lecture and clinical positions in the College’s nursing department before assuming her current position in the nursing skills lab. Although she works at the Florissant Valley campus, she is a founding member of the Wildwood campus’ nursing program.

After joining the College, Petterchak found her passion in the combination of nursing and teaching. She is inspired by the energy, enthusiasm and dedication of her students. She has served as a mentor for the College’s Student Nurses Association and as faculty advisor, volunteers her time with students at the Missouri Student Nurses Association and National Student Nurses Association each year.

Elizabeth Gassel Perkins, Ed.D., campus president and chief academic officer at Florissant Valley, said the College is fortunate to have Petterchak on its nursing staff.

“Michelle puts her students first. Nursing is a hard program, and I have seen firsthand how she guides and encourages her students to succeed,” Perkins said. “The nursing program and the College are a better place because of Michelle. Our students’ success and well-being are her first priority, and it shows.”

Petterchak earned a Master of Science degree in Nursing before being certified as a pediatric nurse practitioner. She has worked as a pediatric nurse for Dr. Brian Cady’s family practice, SSMHealth Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She has also worked as a phone triage nurse at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Lindsay Fox, MEd, RRT, RRT-ACCS, RRT-NPS, is an associate professor of respiratory care. She also is the program director for both the associate and bachelor’s degree programs for respiratory care.

To gain provisional accreditation for the College’s first bachelor’s degree program, respiratory care, Fox developed the state proposal and successfully navigated both the Higher Learning Commission and the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care processes. She also created the school’s curriculum, including developing the degree program’s new courses, and established the application and admission processes for students.

Fox began her career in academics in 2006 at her alma mater, the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has been a respiratory care educator for 16 years, with the past 10 at STLCC.

She has led the program to receive the CoARC Distinguished Registered Respiratory Credentialing Award for the past four years. She has served as a CoARC site visitor since 2014. She was elected as a CoARC board commissioner in 2018, where she currently serves as the secretary to the board.

Amanda Gallogly is the supervisor of the Writing Center at Forest Park. Collaborating with her colleagues in Academic Success and Tutoring, Gallogly guided her department through significant growth following the pandemic. The Writing Center increased its number of tutors to 12 from 3 and raised the overall usage by 126%, including both online and in-person sessions. Today, the center is a vibrant writing community where students, peer tutors, professional tutors and faculty members collaborate and connect around the written word.

Gallogly began in English education in the mid-1990s, teaching adult English as a second language in Chile. Over the past 11 years, she has gained a keen understanding of writing center theory and best practices. Gallogly leads by example to create a culture of respect and trust. She encourages and advocates for students and staff alike, highlighting their talents and identifying opportunities to advance their unique writing and career aspirations.

Gallogly helped launch a campus literary journal, and tutoring services for the Progress Attained through College Education program, which serves people incarcerated at the St. Louis County Jail. She is also in the process of building a peer writing tutor program that benefits all community stakeholders. She has taken a lead role in developing and implementing AS&T training and securing the department’s recertification through 2026. She currently is working toward a doctorate degree in language, literacy and culture.

Gwendolyn Verhoff, PhD, is a professor of history and chair of the liberal arts division at STLCC-Wildwood. Outside of the classroom, Verhoff has actively contributed to campus life, dedicating her efforts to supporting students and collaborating with colleagues. Notable contributions include leading faculty and administrative search committees, chairing the campus senate and serving as a club advisor. She has also taken an active role in global education and DEI initiatives.

Beyond STLCC, Verhoff continues to demonstrate scholarship and service by sharing her knowledge of America’s nuclear history, including the implications of nuclear weapons production for human health and the environment. Her work has gained recognition in both national and local media. Furthermore, she has taken the initiative to coordinate a symposium and actively participate in community events dedicated to honoring former uranium workers.

She holds a doctorate in history from Washington University in St. Louis. Her dissertation, "The Intractable Atom: The Challenge of Radiation and Radioactive Waste in American Life, 1942 to Present" (2007), earned the Rachel Carson Prize for Best Dissertation in Environmental History from the American Society for Environmental History.