Atlanta Technical College Names 2012 Instructor of the Year

PRLog (Press Release) - Jan. 31, 2012 - Tamoura Jones, chair of the Culinary Arts and Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Management (HRT) department, has been named the 2012 Instructor of the Year for Atlanta Technical College. As Instructor of the Year, Jones receives the Atlanta Technical College Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Education and will proceed to regional preliminary judging for the state Rick Perkins Award, presented by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG).

Judging for the State Rick Perkins Award starts at each college and then continues on to the regional and state level, where the finalists are interviewed by a panel of judges representing business, industry and higher education in Georgia. The selection criteria include teaching experience and innovative learning techniques, leadership and community involvement, and a strong commitment to the technical education mission of the TCSG.

Jones has been an instructor at Atlanta Technical College since 2008. She received a diploma in culinary arts from Atlanta Technical Institute (now Atlanta Technical College) in 2000 and went onto obtain a Bachelor of Science in Food Service Management and a Master of Business Administration in Hospitality and Tourism, both from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Prior to joining the staff at Atlanta Technical College, Jones served as a restaurant manager for the Hilton Atlanta & Towers and as an event coordinator and chef for Contemporary Catering in Atlanta.

Under Jones’ leadership, the culinary arts and hotel, restaurant and travel management programs have flourished. In 2011, culinary student Sheila Davis was awarded the John Piskor Scholarship by the American Culinary Institute, Annette Flynn, another culinary student, was awarded the Chefs of the World: A Taste of Fame Scholarship, and the Atlanta Technical College Culinary Arts team placed third in the nation in the Culinary Management Institute competition. Hotel, restaurant and travel major Aleksandra Mora has advanced to the second level of the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship competition; along with two other hotel, restaurant and travel students, Alan J. Cobbs and Nia Turner, she received the Marriott Marquis Scholarship.

Harry Brockington, electronics instructor; Robbie Howard, pharmacy technician instructor; and Frederick Brown, general education instructor, also were finalists in the Atlanta Technical College Instructor of the Year competition.

The Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction honors the Technical College System of Georgia’s most outstanding instructors. The award has been an ongoing statewide event since 1991 and is designed to recognize technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields. Formerly known as the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence, the award was renamed in honor and memory of Thomas “Rick” Perkins, an instructor at West Central Technical College, who received the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence prior to his untimely death. The Technical College System of Georgia provides oversight for the Rick Perkins Award program through the system’s office, the college presidents’ Academic Affairs Committee, and the state planning committee.



About Atlanta Technical College
Atlanta Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, is located in the city of Atlanta, is an accredited institution of higher education that provides affordable lifelong learning opportunity, associate degree, diplomas, technical certificates of credit, customized business and industry training, continuing education and other learning services using state-of-the-art technology in more than 80 fields. The integration of academics and applied career preparation to enhance student learning is essential in meeting the workforce demands and economic development needs of the people, businesses, and communities of Fulton and Clayton counties.