Sparrow and Tashjian Receive National Excellence Awards for Work at Northern Essex

Kristen Sparrow and Sue Tashjian, both of Haverhill. (Courtesy photographs.)

Two Haverhill residents are among five Northern Essex Community College faculty recently named as recipients of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Awards for Excellence.

Kristen Sparrow and Sue Tashjian, both of Haverhill, join Tom Greene of Salem, Scott Joubert of Oxford and Sharon McDermot of Amesbury in receiving the national honor, recognizing outstanding faculty and staff working at the country’s community colleges.

Sparrow, assistant professor, computer information sciences, has been teaching part-time at Northern Essex for 18 years and joined the full-time faculty three years ago. She is credited with developing courses that are accessible to all learners. Two years ago, she received a COD Award from Massachusetts Colleges Online for her hybrid course, Introduction to Computer Science.

Tashjian coordinates the college’s iTeach program, a six-week online training module the college created to help faculty develop courses for online delivery. She also co-chairs the college’s Textbook Task Force, and has supported more than 70 Northern Essex faculty in adopting, adapting and creating Open Educational Resources for their classes. The result has been $1.5 million in savings for Northern Essex students.

Greene has been teaching English at Northern Essex since 2008, while Joubert has been teaching at Northern Essex for 11 years and McDermot has been on the staff for more than 20 years.

National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development’s Excellence Awards recognize men and women each year who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues.

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