News
NSCC Instructor Wins National Award
Friday, November 18th, 2005
The Community College Humanities Association has presented its highest honor to Maureen Murphy Nutting, history instructor at North Seattle Community College. As the recipient of the Distinguished Humanities Educator Award, Nutting was recognized for her work as an exemplary teacher, accomplished scholar, and activist for the humanities and the strengthening of history in community colleges at regional and national levels.
The award, made biennially, was announced at the CCHA national conference held this week in Cambridge, MA. "Maureen Nutting stands out as a national leader for the humanities in the nation's community colleges," said CCHA Executive Director David Berry in his recognition statement.
Dr. Nutting joined the faculty of North Seattle Community College in 1996. She has taught a wide range of courses in World History and the history of the United States, including surveys of the history of the Pacific Northwest, Latin America, Asia, and the Contemporary World. As interdisciplinary in the classroom as she is in her research, Dr. Nutting has collaborated in the design of multi-disciplinary courses and curricula with sociologists, anthropologists, archeologists, economists, literature and film scholars as well as art historians.
Dr. Nutting received her B.A. from Fordham University in 1968 and her Ph.D. in History from the University of Notre Dame in 1975. As a researcher, Dr. Nutting has written extensively and given numerous papers on such varying topics as Brazil's Japanese population, the history of Seattle, and the history of Catholic women's education. She has been the recipient of awards and research grants from such prestigious institutions as the National Endowment for the Humanities, the East-West Center, and the Ford Foundation. With grant support from these institutions, she has participated in travel and research seminars in China, India, Central and South America, as well as at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and San Francisco City College.
As an educator, Dr. Nutting has demonstrated an extraordinary range. She has taught history at the University of Miami, Humboldt State University, Chaminade University, and Seattle University.
Dr. Nutting's ground-breaking work in the area of interdisciplinary curriculum development in the humanities has also seeded an important series of papers and publications in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Dr. Nutting's achievements as an instructor and innovator in the field of history and pedagogy have been recognized by numerous institutions, including the University of Miami; the University of Chicago, which awarded her Recognition as an "Outstanding Teacher" in 1995; and the Seattle Community College District, which awarded her a Lifelong Learning Award in 1999.
Dr. Nutting has distinguished herself as an activist who has devoted her career to advancing the field of history, the professional status of community college educators, and women in the historical profession, Berry said. She has written extensively on professional issues, in book chapters and articles that have appeared in the American Historical Association's newmagazine, Perspectives and the Chronicle of Higher Education. She has served on the American Historical Association as council member, professional division member, and assistant director for the Promotion of Minorities and Women's Scholarly and Professional Interests.From 2001 to 2004, she served as a member of the AHA Task Force on Public History. In 2005, she chaired the Local Arrangements Committee when the AHA brought its annual meeting to her hometown of Seattle. Dr. Nutting currently serves as a trustee for the National History Center and HistoryLink.org.
Those who know Dr. Nutting personally are accustomed to hear her speak about people who live their lives with conviction, CCHA's Berry commented. He added, "The Community College Humanities Association believes Dr. Nutting provides a compelling example of someone whose commitment to the dissemination of the humanities as a scholar and educator has always translated into thoughtful and forceful action. We are delighted to grant her our highest honor."
Founded in 1979, the Community College Humanities Association, an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges, is the only national organization of its kind dedicated to strengthening the humanities in the nation's community colleges. It serves over 1200 community colleges.
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