Dean’s Award | Adult & Online Education
Award for Excellence in Teaching
Kenneth B. Carter
At its best, adult education blends theory, research, reflection, discussion and practical application. Faculty who bring exemplary academic credentials and formidable professional experience in the field of student to the classroom are lauded by their students.
One in whom academic preparation and career path meld to yield an outstanding adult educator is Mr. Kenneth B. Carter, the recipient of the 2020 Dean of Adult & Online Education’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Carter earned both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Computer Science from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. He then earned a series of certificates and professional designations in the areas of Project Management (e.g., Project Management Professional), Information Technology (e.g., Network+ Professional, ISO/IEC 2000 Certificate in IT Service Management) and Scrum and Agile practices. He has extensive experience as a project manager and senior project manager, software engineer and manager, Agile Practice lead and Agile Scrum master and coach at a range of large organizations, from IBM to GlaxoSmithKline, Fidelity Investments and the SAS Institute.
Carter is an outstanding instructor. An adjunct faculty member at the Raleigh campus since 2015 teaching Information Technology and Security (ITS) classes, he sought the opportunity to teach in the new Cybersecurity program. He now teaches classes such as Introduction to Cybersecurity, Programming Language II and Networking and Telecommunications.
His student evaluations are outstanding; students in his last three courses rated him an average of 9 or 10 out of 10 when asked how likely they were to recommend the instructor to others, and averaging between 4.5 and 4.85 out of 5 on all other questions.
Overwhelmingly, students report that their favorite aspect of all the courses that Mr. Carter teaches is the use of case study analysis. The use of a high-impact practice of case study analysis develops significant learning within courses. Further, the anecdotal data from class visits also shows that students are immersed in the practice of critical inquiry that is both authentic and purposeful. Visits to his classroom find students engaged in the topic of the evening by working in groups on lab assignment activities/simulations, discussing the nuances of a particular case study or students using Kahoot! to answer questions throughout a lecture.
Carter manages discussion in a way that keeps the students focused and on track, while deeply engaging them on key issues. All faculty have students who do not care for their instructional style.
However, students’ recommendation for changes in Carter’s classes ranged from “nothing” to requests to hold more classes. Carter has gone above and beyond his role as a faculty member in his support for Campbell University. For example, he has created promotional marketing videos that were shared on social media for the Cybersecurity program. In addition, he is a delightful colleague, and the staff look forward to interaction with him.
In recognition of her outstanding effectiveness as a teacher of adult learners and his many contributions to the success of Campbell students, I present Kenneth B. Carter the 2020 Dean of Adult & Online Education’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Dr. Beth Rubin
Dean, Adult & Online Education