The Faculty Senate of Surry Community College has selected Jay Smith of Winston-Salem as the Fall 2020 recipient of the Servant-Leadership Recognition award. Smith is the lead instructor for Digital Media Technology – Graphic Design.
The award formally recognizes a faculty member in the fall and spring semesters who exemplifies dedication to the mission of Surry Community College and meritorious service to the college and to the community. Both full and part-time faculty members are eligible after one year of service.
Candidates for the award should be sensitive to the needs of others, bring out the best in others, mentor and encourage self-expression, facilitate personal growth in those who work with them, and focus on achieving the goals of the college. They should also challenge the status quo in striving to solve problems and find new directions as well as uphold and support the mission of the college.
Faculty Senate President, Dr. Kathleen Fowler, told Smith: “The Faculty Senate has selected you as the Fall 2020 recipient of the Servant-Leadership Award because of the tireless leadership you demonstrated through Microsoft Teams training for your fellow faculty and staff here at Surry Community College during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
SCC College President Dr. David Shockley said, “Your peers recognize the tremendous effort that you provided our college throughout the transition to online instructional demands.”
Dr. Kathyrn Moland, Director of Computer Technologies at SCC, detailed Smith’s efforts.
“We were able to transition from seated to virtual classrooms and continue to offer a quality education to our students due to Jay’s work. He hosted many Microsoft Teams training sessions and posted videos explaining how to perform various functions. He was available at various hours throughout the day and evening and supported faculty who, for the first time, were teaching online and using Microsoft Teams,” Moland said.
“Thank you all so much. I appreciate the opportunity to share my experience in these areas with my colleagues. I hope it helped ease the transition for them and made life easier for our students,” Smith said.
Smith started working for Surry Community College in January 2011 as the Lead Instructor for Advertising & Graphic Design Technology. He was promoted to oversee the Digital Media Technology program in 2017. The two programs were combined in 2018 to create Digital Media Technology – Graphic Design.
He holds a Master of Arts in Educational Media from Appalachian State University with a concentration in New Media Literacies, as well as a graduate certificate in Online Learning & Professional Development.
The Digital Media Technology – Graphic Design program at Surry Community College prepares students for entry-level jobs in the digital design and multimedia industry. Students learn about the following topics: synthesized multimedia, hypertext, computer programming, information architecture, and client/server technologies using both Internet and non-network-based media.
Students develop skills in communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving, as well as interface design, multimedia formats, application programming, data architecture, and client/server technologies. The program develops technical skills through practical applications that employ current and emerging standards and technologies.
Graduates should qualify for employment as web designers, graphic artists/designers, multimedia specialists, web developers, web content specialists, media specialists, information specialists, digital media specialists, animation specialists, interface designers, and many new jobs yet to be defined in this expanding field.
For more information on Digital Media Technology – Graphic Design visit surry.edu/dmt, call Smith at (336) 386-3329 or email smithj@surry.edu.
