Three honored for commitment to education

BY MICHAEL BENAVIDES
Staff Writer

LINCROFT- Brookdale Community College and the Brookdale Alumni Association will honor three individuals for their continued excellence in the field of education at the 32nd annual Barringer Awards dinner.

The Barringer Awards dinner will be held at 7 p.m. on May 5 at The Mill at Lakeside Manor, 101 Old Mill Road, Spring Lake.

The award, named in honor of former college president Dr. Bob Barringer, is considered the Alumni Association’s most prestigious honor.

Executive Director of the Brookdale Community College and Alumni Affairs Timothy Zeiss said the award was created to honor individuals who made significant impacts in the lives of their students as well as their community.

“The Barringer Awards were established in 1986 to recognize excellence in education and honor individuals who have made a significant impact in the lives of local students. The first award was presented to Brookdale’s third president, Dr. Bob Barringer, and the award bears his name to this day. Brookdale faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and trustees are eligible to be nominated. The Brookdale Community College Alumni Association selects winners based on their outstanding service to students and the Monmouth County community,” Zeiss said.

“Past winners include mathematics professor Linda Wang, who was named New Jersey Professor of the Year in 2013; Seymour Siegler, co-founder of the Center for Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide Education at Brookdale; and hall of fame Brookdale softball coach Thomas “Bo” Scannapieco,” Zeiss said.

This year’s honorees are Communication Media Professor Deborah Mura, Chemistry Professor Shahin Pirzad and Institutional Research and Evaluation Director Laura Longo.

Mura joined the college in 1999 following a 20 year career as a professional journalist and has since served as an instructor of journalism, English and communications. She is also advisor for Brookdale’s student newspaper, “The Stall,” a member of the college’s Global Citizenship Project and a member of the Center for Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide Education (Chhange) at Brookdale. She lives in Toms River.

Mura said she was surprised to learn that she would be receiving the Barringer Award.

“I was very surprised to learn I was receiving the Barringer Award. I can only accept it in honor of my very hard-working, talented and inspiring students whose achievements make me look good.” Mura said.

Pirzad, of Toms River, joined the college in 1993. In addition to teaching introductory and advanced chemistry courses and serving as chemistry department chair, Pirzad serves as advisor for Alpha Pi Theta, Brookdale’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa international honor society. He has received multiple local and national awards in recognition of his exemplary service to Brookdale students.

Pirzad said he was very honored to be receiving the Barringer Award.

“It was very surprising to me. I had no idea I was even nominated. But it is a tremendous honor to be recognized by my colleagues and join the ranks of so many prestigious past Barringer winners. I truly enjoy the work I do with my students, and I am very proud to accept this award,” Pirzad said.

Longo, who joined the college in 1994, holds a doctoral degree in social psychology from Rutgers University and has completed postdoctoral work at Princeton University. As a member of Brookdale’s office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness, Longo has conducted valuable research into student success data, program effectiveness, college accreditation standards and other efforts. She is a previous winner of the New Jersey Community College Spirit Award as well as Brookdale’s Outstanding Administrator and Outstanding Contributor awards. She lives in Middletown Township.

Longo said she was thrilled to be receiving the Barringer award.

“I am so thrilled and humbled to receive this award. It means the world to me to have been nominated by my long-time colleagues and friends at the college,” Longo said.

The 32nd annual Barringer Awards Dinner will begin with a pre-dinner cocktail reception offering open bar and hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. Tickets for the dinner are $60.

Invitations for the event are due by April 28. For more information, call Michelle Stathum at 732-224-2705 or e-mail her at [email protected].