CWU COB 'Advancing The Dream' Recipients Named

April 18, 2005

Contact: Debbie Boddy (509-963-2931/fax 509-963-3042/e-mail: boddyd@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Central Washington University's College of Business (COB) will honor Andy Williams, Edmonds Community College business professor, with the 2005 COB "Advancing the Dream" award. It will be presented during the 12th annual College of Business Honors Banquet on Saturday, May 7, at the Triton Union Building on the Edmonds Community College campus.

"For many students, the dream of pursuing a baccalaureate degree becomes a reality only because of the instruction, counsel, encouragement and support they receive from outstanding community college professors in Washington," Dr. Roy Savoian, COB dean, says. "We established this award five years ago to recognize the outstanding contributions of professors in community colleges across Washington who work with students from a variety of backgrounds, capabilities and aspirations."

Williams has served with the Edmonds Community College faculty for the past 15 years, teaching courses including financial accounting, managerial accounting, microeconomics, macroeconomics, introduction to business, database management and entrepreneurship. He also developed and led financial accounting and economics courses via the Internet.

Edmonds Community College students nominated Williams as an "Outstanding Instructor" for seven consecutive years.

In 2001, he developed and presented workshop, titled "Preparing to Teach Online," to community college and high-school faculty and administrators, and 20 educators from Russia as part of a United States Information Agency grant focusing on curriculum and organizational development with four Russian universities.

From 1995 to 1998, Williams served as a volunteer in the Russian Far East with the "Citizens Democracy Corps." In five separate assignments, he represented Edmonds Community College to Vladivostok State University of Economics, Far Eastern State University, Khabarovsk State Academy of Economics and Law, Far Eastern Transportation University and Yakutsk National Gymnasium.

While there, he lectured to faculty, students and professional accountants on development and implementation of International Accounting Standards in Russia, led seminars on outcomes assessment, abilities-based education and business curriculum structure and developed a business administration program for secondary education in Russia's Sakha Republic.

Williams has also served as an adjunct instructor at Seattle University, North Seattle Community College, Shoreline Community College, and the Everett Community College extended learning division, where he developed and taught Accounting Fundamentals to members of the Tulalip Indian Tribe business office.

Williams received his bachelor's degree in modern European history from Stanford University in 1975 and his Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1979.

He is the eighth recipients of the "Advancing the Dream" awards.

The first recipient, in 2000, was Cecil Terk, Yakima Valley College accounting instructor; the 2001 award winner was Donnie Kristof-Nelson, Edmonds Community College accounting professor; in 2002, David Mowrer, Green River Community College economics instructor, received the award; in 2003, the co-recipients were Dorothy Brandt, accounting instructor, and Dr. Barry Kotlove, instructor and coordinator in economics, at Edmonds Community College; and last year, Cathy Pitts, Highline Community College accounting instructor, and Michael Choman, business administration and accounting instructor at Wenatchee Valley Community College, were honored.