Eastern Professor, Glastonbury Resident Simon Gets Excellence Award

WILLIMANTIC, CT — The Board of Regents of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System has named Nicholas Simon, an assistant professor of sociology at Eastern Connecticut State University and Glastonbury resident, the recipient of its 2022 Excellence in Teaching Award.

Simon came to Eastern as an adjunct instructor in 2006, and while teaching at Eastern, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut. In 2015, the BOR awarded him its Adjunct Teaching Award.

Sociology professors Kimberly Dugan and Cara Bergstrom-Lynch nominated Simon for the award and said he “walks the talk as an educator and is among the elite of our institution in terms of excellence in teaching. He is innovative and effective and works hard to create collaborations to provide our students with the best opportunities for success. He is a highly effective, innovative and enthusiastic educator with a student- and community-centered approach. His commitment to student learning, research and engagement are far beyond the common instructor.”

Simon has taught 17 different classes since he started his tenure including “The Community and the Sociology of Education.”

Dugan and Bergstrom-Lynch said Simon has also contributed to the department’s Criminology major by teaching the required Criminological Theory class.

Over the past few years, Simon has mentored and instructed 27 independent studies and 10 internships. Those independent studies have fostered much undergraduate research.

See more about Simon from Eastern here.