Chattanooga, TN --- John Squires, Chattanooga State Community College math department head and associate professor, won the Faculty Innovation award, a new category in this year’s Excellence Awards.

All across the nation, community colleges are working hard to increase completion rates. Chattanooga State was one of six community colleges honored for their commitment to student success during the 94^th Annual American Association of Community College (AACC) Convention Awards of Excellence Gala in Washington, DC.

Over the past three years Squires assisted with the redesign of 12 math courses. Squires and his team of faculty members produced quality resources for each course that included videos and PowerPoint presentations. Because of this effort, developmental math student success rates increased from 48 to 65 percent while college level math rates improved from 66 to 73 percent. “This award is a reflection of both the hard work of our math faculty and the support of the college for our program. Math is often an area that students struggle with, and it has been very rewarding to see our students embrace the challenge and succeed in their math courses,” states Squires proudly.

In addition to Chattanooga State, Awards of Excellence also were presented to Howard Community College, Maryland; Midlands Technical College, South Carolina; Highline Community College, Washington; Miami Dade College, Florida; and Sinclair Community College, Ohio.

For more information on Chattanooga State’s award-winning program, “U Do the Math,” contact John Squires at 423.697.3164 or email john.squires@chattanoogastate.edu.