Lamar Community College Recognizes Faculty and Staff of the Year

(Lamar, Colorado; January 20, 2014) Lamar Community College has awarded their Faculty, Administrator, Classified, and Adjunct Faculty of the year. The four annual awards, which are chosen by all faculty and staff, recognize those who stood out and made a difference during the previous year.

Faculty of the Year: Dr. David Frankel
In 2011, David Frankel moved west to Lamar Community College to teach English. Before coming to Lamar, which he likes to call the Athens of the Plains, he taught at the high school, two-year college, and four-year college levels on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He has also taught at four-year colleges in Philadelphia and New York City.

David has a B.A. in Philosophy from Haverford College, an M.F.A in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College, and a Ph.D. in English from Binghamton University. For six years he owned a small independent bookstore on Cape Cod, where he sold mystery novels to tourists. For four years in Philadelphia, he took acting lessons, which have come in handy in the classroom, particularly on days when he is under-prepared.

Administrator/Professional-Technical Employee of the Year: Deanna Siemsen
Deanna Siemsen began her career at Lamar Community College in the spring of 2011 as a part time employee for Adult Transition Services. She was trained as a GED examiner and worked with students trying to obtain their General Education Diploma. Currently, Deanna is the Resource Counselor with TRiO and Learning Support Services. She assists students with academic, career, and personal counseling as well as advising and mentoring.

Deanna is a graduate of Kansas State University with a B.S. in Psychology, and she completed her M.A. in Counseling with a school emphasis from Adams State University.

Mrs. Siemsen can be seen volunteering her time and talents to various organizations in the community. She is actively involved in teaching middle school students at Lamar Christian Church as well as leading small group discussions for women’s studies. She assists with Girls in the Middle and Knowledge Bowl and teaches a Parallel Parenting Class for the court system. She is married to Keith Siemsen and together they have two children, Mark (21) and Robin (18).

Classified Employee of the Year: Ava Bair
Ava Bair joined Lamar Community College in 1991 as an Accounting Technician I in the state classified system and has been involved in the day to day operation of the college since then. Some of her duties through the years have included accounts payable, purchasing, payroll and many other vital operational functions. She is currently classified as an Accounting Technician III.

Ava and her husband Scott, of 35 years, have four children and one grandchild. All of her children are Lamar Community College Alumni. She and her family have always been very supportive of the college and enjoy being a part of the Lamar Community College family.

Adjunct Faculty of the Year: Debbie Elam
Debbie received an Associates of Arts degree from Lamar Community College in 1970. After graduating from LCC she continued her education at Adams State College receiving a B.A. degree in education in 1972.

She began her long teaching career in Haswell, Colorado, teaching in a multi-graded classroom as well as music. After three years she added Head Teacher and basketball coach to her duties. In 1976 she was hired as a sixth grade teacher at Parkview in the Lamar School District. She transferred to Lamar Middle School as an English teacher in 1981.

Debbie earned a M.A. in Gifted Education from Western State College in 1988. She has served as a consultant in gifted education for the Colorado Department of Education. She retired in 2010 after 38 years.