Wallace State’s Christine Wiggins and Karen Morris Selected for NISOD Excellence Awards

HANCEVILLE, Ala.–Two Wallace State employees–Christine Wiggins, Success Coach Coordinator, and Karen Morris, English instructor–have been named recipients of the 2018 NISOD Excellence Awards.
NISOD, a professional development organization for community college faculty, staff and administrators, which is affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin, annually recognizes the contributions and achievements of educators who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues.
“Recognizing those individuals who have contributed to student success and their college’s mission is something we look forward to doing each year,” said Dr. Edward J. Leach, NISOD’s Executive Director. “The extraordinary work of these men and women includes not only what they do for their students and colleagues, but what they do for the communities in which they live and work. We’re honored to be able to play a part in celebrating their achievements.”
Wiggins works as a Capstone Certified Success Coach and Coordinator. She, who has been with the Wallace State Success Coaching Program since it began in 2013, is known as a constant innovator. For example, she began utilizing Civitas software and predictive analytics to create a tiered system for coaching to increase retention of the most at-risk students. She also created Start Right Coaching to boost conversion rates of ‘applied to enrolled’ for fall enrollment increases. “My desire to see students reach their goals and live the life they imagined is my motivation,” she said.
As a member of the English faculty, Morris is also committed to student success. She promotes best practices through her instruction to engage and prepare students, thus enhancing their success. She is supportive of the college’s learning community activities and can be seen personally guiding her students to the Student Resource Center to ensure they are comfortable and knowledgeable about the supports available to them. She serves on Wallace State’s Pathways Team and Is leading a newly formed Transfer Committee, which hosted its first Transfer Summit in March, with the goal of enhancing partnerships with four-year Institutions and to provide more guidance for students in articulation and scholarship.
The pair will be celebrated during NISOD’s annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, May 26-29, in Austin, Texas.
For more information about NISOD, visit nisod.org.  To learn more about Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu.

Christine Wiggins, Success Coach Coordinator


Karen Morris, English instructor