WVC Math Faculty Receives UW Inspirational Teacher Award

Wenatchee Valley College faculty member Mike Lavinder accepted a 2011-12 Inspirational Teacher Award from the University of Washington Computer Science and Engineering department at a banquet celebration at the Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering on the UW campus May 10.

The UW Computer Science and Engineering department invites undergraduate students to nominate inspirational teachers from secondary schools or community colleges and 25 teachers are selected each year. Teachers are honored for their contributions and have the opportunity to reconnect with the students who nominated them at the awards ceremony.

Lavinder, WVC Math Faculty since 1983, was nominated by former WVC student Mark Lattimer II. “Mike helped to foster a love for math when I was ready to give up on the subject entirely,” Lattimer wrote in his nomination letter. “By showing me the relationship between math and the real world, Mike has had a huge impact on my education and the way I look at life.”

“Professor Lavinder is a joy to watch teach,” said Dr. Walt Tribley, WVC Vice President of Instruction. “His teaching strategies and examples make difficult concepts understandable and fun to learn. Mike constantly reminds students to do each homework problem three times – to savor each problem, indeed, as you would a chocolate treat.”