In recognition for her creativity and strategic vision in developing and directing Colorado State University’s Higher Education Leadership distance Ph.D. program, Linda Kuk was honored last week with a CSU Online Innovative Educator Award.
“The award is our opportunity to recognize a faculty member who has gone above and beyond to engage with students, exemplifying outstanding instruction and relationship building in an online or distance program,” explained Mike Palmquist, Associate Provost for Instructional Innovation.
Kuk, an associate professor in the School of Education, was nominated for the award by graduating student Jeanine B. Went. In her nomination of Kuk, Went wrote:
“This program, which I believe was the first of its kind, offered me an opportunity to receive a high-quality CSU education from my Rhode Island home, nearly 2000 miles away. My cohort, masterfully selected by Dr. Kuk, worked well together, challenged one another, and developed a close bond that I never would have imagined possible in a distance format. Dr. Kuk fostered our cohort bond. Thanks to [her] commitment to building community, I am certain that I will maintain a relationship with my cohort mates for years to come.”
In response to receiving the award, Kuk said, “I was deeply honored to receive the Innovative Educator Award. For me innovation is about more than adapting new technology or new pedagogy. Innovation is about always trying to enable students to access higher education and to enhance learning among our students. It is about ensuring that our students feel connected to the learning community and to each other, even when they are thousands of miles away. For the students in our Higher Education Leadership program it is about enabling them to connect to our learning/leadership network as both students and alumni.”
More about CSU Online
Colorado State University Online has more than 45 years of experience creating and delivering CSU’s online and distance programs. The division provides affordable access to a quality education from wherever students call home around the nation and world, on a schedule that fits their lives.
CSU’s online students receive the same education, learn from the same faculty, and earn the same regionally accredited degree as students on campus.
For more information about CSU’s online programs, visit www.online.colostate.edu or call (970) 491‑5288.
