West Liberty University students named Courtney Huffman Professor of the Year for 2017 recently.
“As an educator, one of my goals is to have an impact on my students’ lives so it is very humbling and a true honor to receive this award,” she said. The awards ceremony took place during the annual Spring Honors Convocation, held on May 4, in Kelly Theatre.
Huffman teaches the following classes: Head and Neck Anatomy, Community Dental Health, Pain Management, Clinic 3 and 4 (both lecture and lab) and Senior Research and Educational Methods for the Dental Hygienist.
A professor of Dental Hygiene in the WLU College of Sciences, she has served as a full-time faculty member at the university since 2002. A highly successful educator, Huffman is now a three-time recipient of the coveted Professor of the Year Award (2009, 2010) and also was honored with the university’s 2010 Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.
In 2011, she was inducted into the WLU Liber Society, the university’s ranking women’s honorary for excellence and leadership in the classroom, on campus and in the community.
Prior to her faculty position, Huffman served as a part-time clinical instructor of Dental Hygiene in the West Liberty Dental Clinic in 2001-02 and was the Residence Life Dormitory Head Resident of Rogers Hall from 2001 to 2003.
Huffman is a 1996 graduate of Waynesburg (Pa.) Central High School. She graduated from West Virginia University in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene and was awarded the “Hu-Friedy Golden Scaler Award,” which is presented annually to the outstanding senior Dental Hygiene clinician.
In 2002, she earned her master’s degree in Dental Hygiene from West Virginia University. Huffman also served as Faculty Athletic Representative for 10 years (2006-2016). She and her husband, Aaron, who serves as Associate Professor of Education and Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at WLU, reside in West Liberty with their three children, Jacob (12), Jillian (11), and Joshua (9).
The Professor of the Year Award is coordinated by the Student Government Association, which collects student nominations and votes, prior to announcing the award.
The Sarah Whitaker Glass School of Dental Hygiene is housed in the College of Sciences and was established in 1938 and graduated its first class in 1940. Accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation, it offers both the Associate of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees.
WLU’s dental hygiene clinic is located in newly constructed Campbell Hall of Health Sciences. For more information, please visit westliberty.edu or call 1.866.WESTLIB.
