Owens assistant professor honored with National Faculty Award

Owens Community College Assistant Professor Sara Burke, PT, DPT has been recognized by the American Association of Community Colleges on the 2023 Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty list.

Awarded to select individuals who make a difference in community college classrooms across the country, this highly competitive national designation honors faculty who are active in their students’ lives and in their colleges’ activities to ensure student success.

A total of 42 faculty received the honor named for former AACC President and CEO Dale P. Parnell. Qualities of the honored faculty include:

• Demonstrate passion for the students and the classroom

• Show willingness to support students, inside and outside of the classroom

• Participate in college committees

• Go above and beyond what is required to ensure that students are successful in their academic endeavors

“Dr. Burke has incredible passion for students and for teaching. Her dedication provides the opportunity for a transformational educational experience for her students,” Owens President Dione Somerville said. “She is a student and practitioner of teaching excellence and is intentional about ensuring an effective student experience.

“She elevates the performance of those around her,” Somerville added. “She embodies the Owens mission by creating pathways for students. She is not only inspiring her students but her colleagues, and in doing so, she is distinguished by establishing an Owens legacy of success.”

The AACC recognized the 2023 recipients at its national conference in Denver last week.

“I love working at Owens and being able to make a difference. It’s all about the Owens students and their accomplishments,” Burke said. “That’s why I’m excited to go to work every day. I’m humbled to be recognized for doing what I love.”

Owens faculty members Jen Hazel, English professor, and Sarah Long, mathematics associate professor, received the Parnell honor in 2022 and 2021.

Burke began her Owens career in 2008 as an adjunct faculty member in the science department. She began teaching in the physical therapist assistant program as an instructor in 2016 and rose to her current rank of assistant professor in 2021.

In 2018, Burke joined the interprofessional leadership team, which assists in the creation and delivery of School of Nursing and Health Professions events as well as facilitates and obtains data collection during the events for future publication of findings and results. She successfully completed the virtual 2021 IPEC Interprofessional Leadership Development Program. She also completed the Association of College and University Educators Course in Effective Online Teaching Practices co-endorsed by the American Council on Education.

She received the College’s School of Nursing and Health Professions Teaching Excellence Award in 2022.

This year, she took over the leadership of the Owens PTA program.

A licensed physical therapist who resides in Findlay, she served as the northwest district chair of the Ohio Physical Therapist Assistant Program from 2020-21. Burke earned her doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Findlay and bachelor’s degree in science at Ohio State University-Lima Campus.