Montgomery, Ala.– Winners of the 2024 Chancellor’s Awards from Gadsden State Community College were recognized during the Alabama Community College Association Conference Nov. 24 in Montgomery.
“These individuals exemplify the very best of what it means to go above and beyond in service for our students and to each other,” said Dr. Tera Simmons, executive vice president of Gadsden State. “Their dedication, selflessness and unwavering commitment to excellence enrich our college community and inspire us all to do our best. We are truly fortunate to have such outstanding individuals among us.”
Winners were recognized locally in September at the Spring Convocation held at Gadsden State Cherokee. Two members of the faculty were selected for the award – Patricia Wilborn and Hollie Bonds. The support staff award went to Wes Wood, and the administrator award winner was Andy Robertson.
Patricia Wilborn
Wilborn is the 2024 Chancellor’s Award winner for academic faculty. She is currently the division chair for Languages and Humanities and serves as the director of the Alabama Language Institute, the oldest English language institution in the southeast. She began her career at Gadsden State in 1999 as an ALI instructor and went on to teach courses in English Composition, developmental reading and writing, humanities and German.
Wilborn earned a Bachelor of Arts in German in 1994 from the University of South Alabama. Two years later, she completed a Master of Arts in German at the University of South Carolina. In 1998, Wilborn maintained a 4.0 GPA in her pursuit of a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Alabama.
Wilborn presented at the 2024 National Organization of Student Success Conference in Las Vegas and has served as a member of the national search committee for the Fulbright Fellowship Program. She was awarded the 2015 Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year of the Alabama Association for Developmental Education.
Hollie Bonds
Bonds is Gadsden State’s Chancellor’s Award winner in the technical faculty division. She is the Mechanical Design Technology instructor on the Ayers Campus.
At Gadsden State, she has been instrumental in doubling the number of students in her program. Currently, the Mechanical Design Technology Program has the highest enrollment among technical programs. An advocate for females enrolling in STEM programs, Bonds has seen female enrollment increase in her program by 30 percent. In addition, the number of Machine Design dual enrollment students has increased by 833 percent from the spring semester 2022 to the fall semester 2023.
A Magna Cum Laude graduate of Gadsden State, Bonds spent a decade working in industry as a CAD designer, machine shop supervisor, manufacturing engineer and advanced PC&L analyst before becoming a college instructor in 2022. Bonds was honored in 2023 by the Gadsden State Alumni Association as the Outstanding Technical Faculty Member of the Year.
Wes Wood
The 2024 Chancellor’s Award winner among staff members is Wes Wood, Supervisor of Facility Maintenance. Wes previously served as the building maintenance supervisor at the Ayers campus since 2021. Prior to working at Gadsden State, Wes worked as an electrician for St. Vincent’s Health System and three other electric companies.
At Gadsden State, he is responsible for overseeing a team of maintenance and custodial technicians, managing repair schedules and implementing preventive maintenance programs.
Wood earned an Associate of Science in Industrial Automation Technology from Gadsden State in 2013.
Andy Robertson
This year’s Chancellor’s Award for Administration winner is Andy Robertson. He started his Gadsden State career in 2015 as an instructor of Electronic Engineering Technology at the Ayers Campus. In 2020, he was named workforce development coordinator for the College and also serves as the division chair of Applied and Engineering Technologies on the Ayers Campus.
At Gadsden State, Robertson has been instrumental in the development and success of two apprenticeship-style programs – the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education and the Consortium of Machining Education Training. Through FAME and CoMeT, students receive valuable hands-on experience with world-class industry partners while receiving education and training at the College. He also added several short-term certificates to Gadsden State’s available credentials, including Additive Manufacturing and Mechatronics Advanced Automation.
Robertson earned an Associate in Applied Science in Electronic Engineering Technology from Gadsden State in 2003 before transferring to Jacksonville State University, where he received two Bachelors of Science – one in secondary education and another in math. He is a graduate of the Faculty Development Institute, the Gadsden State Leadership Academy and Leadership Calhoun County. He also won the Eugne Prater Exceptional Achievement in Teaching Award in 2019.