Two ACC Geology adjunct faculty members — Kusali Gamage and Leslie Davis — are getting national recognition for the impact they’ve made in the classroom and beyond.
Both were honored with the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). The award highlights their leadership in securing more than $500,000 in research funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), bringing rare hands-on research experiences to ACC students — something usually reserved for major universities.
Their work led to two NSF grants:
- A $307,000 grant launched a summer research experience that allowed science majors to get into the field early in their academic careers. The program included partnerships with the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M.
- A second $201,000 grant brought citizen science opportunities to ACC students of all majors, focused on Hurricane Harvey and its lasting impact on the Texas coastline.
The project, led by ACC faculty, was tailored for community college students — making it possible for students to participate in research without leaving their home campus.
The recognition came with a small cash prize, which they used to build a sense of community and belonging — covering food during long field days, supporting guest speakers, and attending conferences to improve their teaching.
“These simple gestures transformed routine learning environments into bonding moments,” Gamage wrote in the NAGT newsletter. “They helped our students feel like they belonged.”
Read the full write-up in the NAGT March Newsletter.