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Assessment Director Dr. Karen Pain and English Professor Laura Clouse will be among this year’s recipients of an Excellence Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development.

They will travel to Austin, Texas to receive their awards at NISOD’s annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence set for May 26-29. NISOD presents the awards to all faculty, staff and administrators nominated by their respective institutions to attend the conference each year.

College leaders chose Pain, who leads the General Assessment Committee and Clouse, who serves on the committee,  for “consistently going above and beyond the expectations for their respective positions,” said Dr. Roger Yohe, vice president for academic affairs. “They are recognized by their supervisors and peers for their exemplary work and service to students.”

During the conference, they also will present a workshop titled “Ease on Down the Rubrics” on effective usage of rubrics in student assessments.

“I’m thrilled but humbled to be receiving the NISOD Award,’’ Pain said. “I know I’m in excellent company, not only with Professor Clouse who will present with me this year, but with many faculty who have received the award previously.”

“I was surprised and honored,’’ Clouse said of her selection from among College faculty and staff.

Pain, a PBSC alumna, began working at the College in 2000 during her second semester as a student pursuing an Associate in Arts degree. She started as an English Writing Lab tutor and later became a Supplemental Instruction leader. During her tenure, she also worked as a math adjunct tutor, Title III academic success coordinator, full-time faculty member and QEP manager before moving into her current role. She continues to serve as an adjunct instructor of Introduction to the College Experience. She has played key roles in preparing the College’s report for the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and ASPEN Award applications. She holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from FAU.

Clouse, who teaches English at the Belle Glade and Loxahatchee Groves campuses and serves as department chair, will begin her fifth year at the College this fall. Prior to joining the PBSC faculty, she taught at Purdue University as a continuing lecturer. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a master’s degree from DePaul University in Chicago.