McKendree Political Science Professor is 2015 Faculty Award Winner

Alumni Association Honors Dr. Ann Collins at Commencement Ceremony

(LEBANON, Ill., May 9, 2015) - A political science professor who claims she has “the best job at McKendree University” has won a prestigious faculty award for 2015. Dr. Ann Collins, an O’Fallon, Ill. resident, received the William Norman Grandy Faculty Award at the May 9 undergraduate commencement ceremony. For 35 years, the McKendree Alumni Association has honored one full-time faculty member at the Lebanon, Ill., campus for outstanding commitment to the university and its students.

Collins, an associate professor of political science, teaches courses in American politics, state and local government, and public policy. “Students cannot help but be inspired by her positive spirit and intense love of teaching and learning,” said Maria Page, Alumni Association president. “She displays a particular talent for facilitating student discussion about complex cultural and political issues without alienating those on one side or the other. She is widely regarded as passionate, thoughtful and fair.”

Collins earned a Ph.D. in political science at Washington University in 2007 and joined the McKendree University faculty shortly thereafter. In nine years, she has developed the Virtual Center for Teaching Excellence, initiated the Teaching Circles faculty feedback program, and leads a faculty book study group about teaching strategies.

Beyond the classroom, she is an accomplished scholar of 20th century race riots who is often called upon to share her unique expertise with professional audiences and the media. Her first book, “All Hell Broke Loose: American Race Riots from the Progressive Era through World War II,” has made a significant contribution to the field. She is currently working on a second book.

Dr. Ann Collins, associate professor of political science at McKendree University, reacts to receiving the William Norman Grandy Faculty Award at the May undergraduate commencement ceremony. Standing behind her is Maria Page, Alumni Association president.