(North Canton, OH – Sept. 23, 2020) – Stark State College has named its top faculty and staff members for 2019-2020.

Bryan Gerber, PhD, PsyD, associate professor of social science, received the Distinguished Teaching Award; Beth Liggett, adjunct instructor, accounting and finance, earned the Adjunct Excellence in Teaching Award; and Jackie Hostetler, assistant director of admissions, was chosen for the Distinguished Staff Award.

Gerber, of Canton, earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Akron, a master’s degree from California Coast University, an additional master’s degree from Capella University, a doctor of psychology degree from California Coast University, and an additional doctorate from Capella University. Dr. Gerber has been active on the national level serving on numerous American Psychological Association committees and panels. His work has been recognized in many professional publications and he is a frequent invited speaker at national conferences. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Gerber is the executive director of Psi Alpha, the international honor society for high school psychology students. He has been at Stark State since 2005.

Liggett, a licensed attorney, is the chief of the Family Court Division at the Stark County Public Defender Office during the day and teaches at Stark State at night. Beth has a passion for learning and education and working with under-served populations. An educator at SSC since 2014, she says she loves both of her jobs. She hails from a family of educators: her mother is a retired middle school guidance counselor, her stepfather is a retired high school teacher and administrator, two sisters are teachers, and her father taught college classes at the community college level.Liggett earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Utica College of Syracuse University and a juris doctor degree from The University of Akron.

Hostetler earned an MBA from Louisiana State University, a master’s degree in education from Kent State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Baldwin-Wallace College. She’s served on numerous SSC committees and has active membership in Ohio Association of Community Colleges, Ohio Association for College Admission Counseling, National Academic Advising Association and National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. She also worked as a crisis intervention specialist at Dover Community Mental Healthcare.

The College also named its 2020 Board of Trustees Award winners. Strategic Excellence Award recipients are: Rick Babcock, Security; Jim Belcher and Brad Palmer, Communications, Humanities and Reading; Bill Cook, Physical Plant; Heather Gasaway, Surgical Technology; Beth Klein, Marketing and Communications; Cathy Spino, President’s Office; and Natashia Willmott, Social Science.

Management/Leadership Awards went to Claudia Barr, Chemistry and Physics, and Melanie Carr, Advising and Gateway Student Services; while Tom O’Brien, English and Modern Languages, and Caryl Tickner, Biology, earned Lifetime Achievement Awards.