BLOOMINGTON— Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington named Patrick O’Neill, assistant professor of anatomy and physiology and life and physical sciences, the winner of Ivy Tech’s 2024 President’s Award for Excellence in Instruction. He was selected among 12 full-time faculty nominees on campus. Students submitted 169 nominations.
“I care deeply about my students’ success, growth, and learning,” O’Neill said. “In my experience students can detect when their instructor is genuinely invested in their learning, which is reassuring and inspiring to them. I have found students at Ivy Tech to be resilient and gracious, and I feel privileged to be working with them.”
O’Neill’s nominations prove that he has a passion for educating students and has positively impacted classroom learning outcomes.
In one nomination, a student said that O’Neill has been the most supportive instructor they have ever had. “Mr. O’Neill has a complicated subject to teach and has a true passion for explaining it and getting students excited about it,” the student wrote. “I would have quit and given up on nursing if it wasn’t for him. If anyone deserves instructor of the year, it is him!”
Another student said that he was the most amazing teacher they’ve ever had and that he was beyond helpful. “I am thankful I had this experience with him as my teacher,” the student wrote. O’Neill has amazing teaching skills and is very creative in his techniques for helping us remember the intense amount of coursework without making it overwhelming.”
O’Neill began teaching full-time at Ivy Tech Bloomington in 2023 after serving as adjunct faculty for two previous terms.
He is a statewide Physical Science Curriculum Committee member and the Ivy Tech Bloomington Teaching and Learning Advisory Board. He is also the director of the Science Olympiad. O’Neill represents the state’s community college as a member of the Indiana University Political and Civic Engagement panel on the cost of higher education, where he will present on how to build a sense of community and encourage collaboration within a course.
O’Neill is pursuing his doctorate in educational leadership at Rockhurst University. He holds a master’s degree in chemistry from Western Governors University and a bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry, and sociology from Indiana University.
The President’s Award is presented annually to one full-time faculty member from each Ivy Tech campus statewide. As recipient of the award, O’Neill is a nominee for the statewide Ivy Tech Founder’s Award for Excellence in Instruction.
Ivy Tech Bloomington offers more than 40 career and four-year transfer programs, with courses that start multiple times yearly for quick entry and graduation. To get started, apply for free online at ivytech.edu/bloomington, call 812-330-6013, or email askBloomington@ivytech.edu. For information on free, short-term training programs at Ivy Tech Bloomington, visit ivytech.edu/bloomington/NLJ.
