PCC Teacher earns Risser Award

Television Operations instructor Carmen Porreca of Pasadena City College was honored this week with the Risser Outstanding Teacher Award, it was announced.

Given to a full-time, tenure track or tenured faculty at PCC, the Risser Award is the most prestigious honor an instructor can earn at the institution of higher learning. School officials stated Porreca was chosen for the award based on the quality of his instruction, inspiration to students, fairness in grading and evaluation, and loyalty to the college and the United States of America.

“When (PCC President) Dr. Paulette Perfumo announced that the 2009 Risser Award winner was Carmen Porreca, it was much bigger than I expected,” Porreca said in a released statement. “The satisfaction of this high honor is unbelievable. I have never felt anything like this. It is enormous. What could possibly be a greater award for any instructor on the planet? Initiated by a student and supported by students.”

The recipient of the Risser Award is determined solely by students, who submit a written letter of nomination and a petition with 50 student signatures. Awarded annually, a panel of five previous Risser winners selected the most outstanding instructor among those nominated.

According to school officials, instructors usually endure several nominations before earning the prestigious honor. Porreca was nominated on three previous occasions.

An adjunct instructor for PCC in the Performing and Communication Arts Division since 1991, Porreca received the Risser Award from PCC President Dr. Paulette J. Perfumo and Don Anderson, a member of the PCC Foundation and son-in-law of Ray Risser.

The previous recipient of the Risser Award was mathematics instructor Linda Mayo. Established in 1980 to honor educational support staff, the Risser Award was named in honor of former social sciences instructor and trustee of the college Ray Risser.