Kibler Named 2018 LCC Distinguished Faculty

Parsons, KS--Labette Community College announced Monday, April 30 that Cathy Kibler, Associate Professor of Accounting and Business, was named the 2018 Distinguished Faculty Award Recipient. The Distinguished Faculty Award is presented annually. Faculty members must be nominated by students or LCC employees to be considered by the selection committee. Criteria for the award include teaching effectiveness, college service, student involvement, and community service. All full-time faculty who have completed at least four years of full-time teaching at LCC are eligible to be nominated.

Kibler was honored at a reception in the Cardinal Café on Monday afternoon among colleagues, staff, students and a surprise visit from her family. This award ceremony is to pay tribute to one instructor’s contribution to the central mission of the college- to provide quality learning opportunities to students of LCC. This award was developed to allow the college to publicly recognize and reward an instructor who has performed in an exemplary manner. 

She began working at LCC in October 1997 as the Accounts Receivable Specialist and held that position until August 2011 when she became a full time Business/Accounting Instructor. However, she has taught adjunct Business/Accounting classes since August 1997. Kibler supports consistent high quality instruction, unique teaching methods and focuses on student learning through her educational philosophy by presenting students with real world business experiences so they can relate to textbook material. She is  a member of the American Accounting Association and subscribes to publications to stay updated on changes in the Accounting and Business world that will have an effect on students. Group work is a large focus in Kibler’s classroom as well. A unique teaching method she has employed is utilizing Lego building blocks while studying the subject of inventory valuation.

“This can be a difficult subject to grasp, so this hands on approach to calculate inventory has proven to be effective for my students,” said Kibler. “Accounting is a subject that hasn’t really changed much over time, but how students learn has, so I have implemented the Lego project to bring in a different style of learning that has improved students’ knowledge and retention of this material.” 

“She is so knowledgeable in her subject field and makes learning accounting easy,” said one of Kibler’s students.  “Mrs. Kibler has a way of connecting real life situations to what we learn in the classroom, and that makes learning more relevant to students.”

Kibler firmly believes every student should have access to quality education. To provide students this opportunity, she makes herself available to help students and address different teaching styles as every student learns differently. 

“Mrs. Kibler definitely deserves this award. She devotes so much time and effort to the success of all her students, I don't know how she keeps up with it all. She inspired me through her teaching. She is engaging and shows great passion when she lectures,” said another student. 

Along with instruction, Kibler has been an integral part of developing 2 + 2 articulation agreements with Kansas Regent Universities. These agreements allow students to begin their first two years of a four year degree at Labette Community College and transfer with less difficulty. Kibler also serves as an academic advisor to over 100 accounting and business students. 

In addition to being a full-time instructor, Kibler is the advisor for the Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) business student organization on campus. The PBL organization holds regular meetings, attends state and national conferences in which students compete in a variety of events with both two and four year college students. The organization also participates in all of the LCC Student Government activities. Kibler’s dedication and service as the PBL advisor was recognized with the Elaine Guy Award of Distinction for Advising for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Her service to Labette Community College extends beyond student involvement. She attends college athletic events, music concerts, student and graduation activities and serving the college and students on numerous campus committees, advisory boards, and the LCC Foundation Auction for Scholarships committee. She regularly incorporates service-learning opportunities into course curriculum for students to gain real-world experiences while giving back to the community. Kibler demonstrates effective leadership by serving her hometown of Altamont, KS. She is the treasurer and substitute Youth Sunday School teacher at her church, and is the committee head for organizing the Altamont Easter Egg hunt each year. Kibler serves on the Labette County High School Business Department advisory board, Altamont Grade school site council and treasurer for the grade school PTO. 

Kibler will be recognized for her commitment to Labette Community College and quality instruction during the Commencement ceremony on May 11, 2018. For more information about the Distinguished Faculty award, contact Janice Every at janicec@labette.edu.