Two STCC Professors Honored as Endowed Chairs for 2021
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) honored two faculty members as this year’s 2021 Endowed Chairs, awards named for two of the college’s founders. In a video sent to the STCC campus community, President John Cook congratulated this year’s recipients, Professors Ann-Marie Simao and Joshua Carreiro.
Carreiro received the Anthony M. Scibelli Endowed Chair, and Simao received the Joseph J. Deliso Sr. Endowed Chair. They received a monetary award — $3,000 each — and wooden chairs with plaques inscribed with their names. They can apply $1,500 to professional development and $1,500 to their academic department.
Cook said the awards are a way to “recognize significant accomplishment and excellence in teaching. As we know as a community college, this is fundamental to us and to our work, and I’m thrilled to once again help congratulate our recipients.”
In announcing the Deliso recipient, Barbara Washburn, interim dean of the School of STEM, said Simao, a mathematics professor, is known for her early adoption of open education resources (OER), which allows students to access textbooks and other resources for free. She uses OER for all of her math courses.
“She designed her math courses to be very hands-on and interactive,” Washburn said. “Her passion for teaching, her innovative ways for learning math, and her commitment to serve the college make her a great asset to the Math Department and STCC. “
Simao, who has taught full-time at STCC since 2012, said she was honored and humbled to receive the award. “One of the things I love about teaching is watching the ‘aha’ moment when the students finally get it. With math, we find that a lot of students who walk into the classroom are completely fearful of math. Part of my job is to explain math in a way that students can understand it and make them love it, and make them want to delve deeper into learning about math and how fun it can be.”
Simao earned a master’s degree in education from Fitchburg State University and in math from Central Connecticut State University. She received a bachelor’s degree from Providence College.
Richard Greco, dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, announced the Scibelli Endowed Chair recipient, Carreiro, who has been teaching at STCC since 2012 and serves as chair of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Greco said Carreiro has shown strong leadership in online education, and has helped faculty transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Josh has been a leader in the development of curriculum here at STCC, beginning with creating the Urban Studies program, which is a unique program that allows students to delve into problem solving in regard to real-life problems within our cities. Josh is a leader in the classroom, always employing the newest technologies.”
Carreiro said he was surprised and excited to receive the award. “It’s a great honor, and I definitely feel it represents not just my own hard work at the school but all of the great work that everybody is doing on campus, and especially within my own department. When I think about teaching and what drives me as an educator, I really do think about the larger community — how students can not only transform their own lives, but how they can strengthen their communities.”
Carreiro earned his PhD in sociology from UMass Amherst. He started his college pathway at Manchester Community College in Connecticut, where he earned an associate degree. He then transferred to University of Connecticut in Storrs, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and philosophy.
