COSTA MESA : OCC Honors Faculty Member of the Year
Orange Coast College has honored art historian Irini Vallera-Rickerson as the faculty member of the year.
“I’m overwhelmed by this award,” Vallera-Rickerson, 41, said during her acceptance speech Tuesday afternoon. She thanked her students, “past and present, for inspiring” her.
The award is sponsored by the college’s Academic Senate. Professors are nominated by colleagues. Full-time faculty members participate in the vote.
Vallera-Rickerson of Laguna Niguel has been with Orange Coast for 16 years. A native of Athens, Greece, she speaks fluent English, Italian, Greek, Spanish and a smattering of German.
Vallera-Rickerson says her background played a major role in her decision to become a teacher and in her love for art history and architecture.
“I was raised among the great classical arts and ruins,” she said. “Those arts and ruins are very real and special to me and have made an indelible imprint upon my life.”
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