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NEWS RELEASE

-- For Immediate Release -- 

 

Date: August 26, 2004

Contact: Doug Lau, Director of Marketing & Public Relations

 

 

Columbia College Professor Recognized

for Academic Contributions

 

 

            Dr. Paula Clarke, a popular anthropology and sociology professor at Columbia College, has recently been recognized by six national and international organizations for her research and professional contributions. Each organization publishes an annual directory of honorees and Clarke’s professional biography appears in all of their current editions.

 

            Although Clarke was recognized by four of these organizations in past years, this is the first time that she has earned recognition from all six in the same year. These recognitions include Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who Among American Women, Who’s Who in the World, Great Minds of the 21st Century, and 2,000 Outstanding Academics of the 21st Century.

 

            Clarke said one of the most satisfying aspects of the honors is that you can’t seek them. “These forms of recognition cannot be purchased or directly pursued,” she said. “There is no application process for receiving either nomination or selection.”

 

            Instead, those named to the publications usually never know what aspect of their research or academic career led to their selection.

 

            Clarke attended Modesto Junior College before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, where she received a bachelor’s degree in 1982. She later earned a doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and has been an instructor at Columbia College since 1999.

 

            Clarke indicated that as larger numbers of university-bound students are being shifted into the California community colleges, it becomes more important to change any negative perceptions and stereotypes of these schools. “As a community college professor, these forms of recognition are appreciated but more importantly, will hopefully help to correct some of those common misattributions about our community colleges,” she said.

 

            “I am deeply indebted to my former community college professors, who provided me with the burden and privilege of developing the kind of skills that are often expected in demanding educational institutions,” she said. “If I did not have those valuable experiences, I would have been ill prepared for what I later encountered. In turn, I am committed to offering the most recent research and appropriate challenges to the students in my classrooms.”

 

            Columbia College’s fall semester classes begin on August 30.

 

 

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News Release No. 144-04

August 26, 2004

For Immediate Release

 

Photo: Dr. Paula Clarke