Christina Stone has been named the 2021 Carl Sandburg College Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year after students and fellow faculty members nominated her for her outstanding work in the classroom.
Stone was recognized as the winner Thursday during Sandburg’s 53rd annual Commencement. This marks the second time in the last five years Stone has been named Sandburg’s Faculty of the Year.
A nursing instructor, Stone graduated from Sandburg’s associate degree nursing program in 2004. She worked as an RN at Galesburg Cotta Hospital while earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Phoenix before returning to Sandburg in 2008 — first as an adjunct clinical instructor and then as a full-time instructor in 2009.
“Care and compassion define my life and enhance my professional role as a professor of nursing,” Stone said. “I can only enhance my practice by continuing to learn from all aspects of life. I believe students come first, always. I teach nursing by example through respect, thoughtful reflection and continuous refinement of my teaching practices.”
In addition to her teaching duties, Stone is chair of the College of Nursing’s Admission and Retention Committee. She also is part of the program’s Retention and Curriculum committees and has served on Sandburg’s Faculty Council and Tenure Committees. Stone is a National League of Nurse (NLN) member and a Sandburg faculty ambassador. She previously was named Faculty of the Year in 2017, and in 2015 she received the College of Nursing’s Daisy Faculty Award, which recognizes faculty for their commitment and inspirational influence on their students.
“She constantly reminds her class that she is our biggest cheerleader, and I believe that,” one student wrote in their nomination of Stone. “I appreciate everything she has done to help me stay on track and understand the material in a real-life setting. She has made me feel better at times when I thought I couldn’t do it.”
“I have never had a teacher like Chrissy. I have been going to college for almost three years, and I have never had a teacher care for me or help me build confidence like Chrissy does,” another student wrote. “She doesn’t just teach us; she cares about us. She cares about what we think and if we understand material she’s teaching. She takes time to make sure we are okay. I’ve never had a teacher double as an instructor and a cheerleader for me to succeed. … I think Chrissy is a prime example of how an instructor should be toward students and their success.”
Carl Sandburg College Faculty Member of the Year Recipients
2021 — Christina Stone
2020 — Stacy Bainter
2019 — Marjorie Smolensky
2018 — James Hutchings
2017 — Christina Stone
2016 — Kylie Price
2015 — Michael Crandell
2014 — Lara Roemer
2013 — Dia McKillip
2012 — Shanon Dickerson
2011 — David Kellogg
2010 — Vickie Culbertson
2009 — Lisa Walker
2008 — Dave Burns
2007 — Keith Williams
2006 — Linda Lee
2005 — Wendel Hunigan
2004 — James Craig Sanford
2003 — Carol Petersen
2002 — Larry Schroeder
2001 — Dave Wujek
2000 — Norm Burdick
1999 — Michael Crandell
1998 — Cathy White
1997 — Julie Gibb
1996 — Jack Daddona
1995 — Carlene Woodside
1994 — Marilou Schisler
1993 — Cynthia Thompson
1992 — Janet LaDage
1991 — Carol Eiten
1990 — Jim MacDonald
1989 — James Graham
1988 — James Graham
1987 — Judy Helm
1986 — Genevieve Yaw
1985 — James Graham
***Report Courtesy of Carl Sandburg College***
